Issue link: http://read.dmtmag.com/i/100223
PUTTING THE APPLE into apple juice A offering growers enough to secure raw materials without losing customers on the other end.��� Juice grape concentrate In Washington State, a handful of major juice grape processors handle the bulk of the state���s juice grape production. Thus far, growers have welcomed FruitSmart���s entry into the Concord deal. ���More competition is always a good thing,��� said Prosser grape grower Dennis Pleasant, adding that he believes FruitSmart will help develop new grape concentrate markets. ���They had a few issues last year when starting up, but this year, FruitSmart has really been putting the grapes through the plant, and they���re doing a nice job with the fruit.��� FruitSmart is a minor player in the grape concentrate deal and has only a very small percentage of the market, Early said. But that���s by design, as their focus has been to produce a high-quality grape concentrate with deep color. Adding juice grapes to their apple and other fruit processing helps the company offer a full line of fruit products, and they can also better utilize processing equipment. Early pointed out that, just as in farming, diversification and not being tied to any one crop or product help in weathering over- and undersupply and shifts in market demand. Chambers said that the equipment used in the juice grape line is on the small side because they want to move juice through the process quickly. ���In Concords, the longer it takes to heat things, the more color you lose. The equipment we put in has done a great job of maintaining color by minimizing the amount of heat and length of time the juice is exposed to the heat.��� Grapes can be turned into concentrate within a couple of hours from receiving. FruitSmart also works closely with its Concord growers to shorten the interval between harvest and delivery. ���We have the cooperation of our growers to not harvest too far in advance of processing, so that we can minimize any color loss from grapes sitting in trailers waiting to be delivered,��� Chambers said. Though a small player in juice grapes, FruitSmart is growing its grape concentrate volume. In 2012, its second year of grape processing, the company added a second 160,000-gallon storage tank for grapes. The increased storage allows more tank space to store grape concentrate for the four to six weeks needed for cold stabilization and tartrate formation. According to FruitSmart���s Web site, the facility has just under a million-gallon storage capacity for all fruit juices and concentrates. FruitSmart is a small part of the fruit-processing world, www.goodfruit.com but they���ve found a niche being a locally owned business with a strong grower connection and are optimistic about future growth. ���We welcome growers through our doors to tour the plant,��� said Chambers, adding that growers are the key to their success. ���Because we���re local and not a large corporation, we can make decisions in ten minutes. We take pride in our grower partnerships and also in bringing the old Safeway plant back to life.��� ��� Photo by melissa hansen pples make up the bulk of the volume of fruit processed at FruitSmart, but it���s not traditional apple juice concentrate they are making. A unique cold-pressed technology called NFC (not from concentrate) is used to create what is essentially the modern, food-safe version of old-fashioned apple cider like that pressed in backyards. ���It puts the apple back into apple juice,��� said company co-owner Jim Early, adding that the cold press technology preserves the apple flavor. Early explained that they can���t compete in the global apple juice concentrate market because of competition from China. But they have found a domestic market for not-from-concentrate apple juice, selling to small, quality-minded food manufacturers. He says there is a tradeoff in using the cold press system, the only one of its kind in the state. Using heat to make juice concentrate dramatically improves yield but at the sacrifice of flavor. The apple cold press equipment, made in Switzerland, looks big enough to be a subway car. It uses mechanical force to press the fruit, compared to the centrifugal force commonly used in other juice-processing applications. Because quality is so important, fruit used to make juice, concentrate, and value-added byproducts cannot be just any cull from the fresh market. External, cosmetic blemishes are okay, but apples must be sorted for quality defects like bruises and postharvest molds and rots. Terry Chambers, FruitSmart���s president and general manager, said that the plant operates year-round with its apple processing, pulling fruit all 52 weeks from local packers to use in the fresh-pressed juice product. Because the coldpressed juice has a short shelf life, product turnover is high. ���M. Hansen Terry Chambers, left, and Jim Early stand in front of five new tanks added this year to increase bulk storage capacity of finished juice and concentrate products. GOOD FRUIT GROWER JANUARY 1, 2013 29