32 MAY 15, 2015 GOOD FRUIT GROWER www.goodfruit.com
O
regon's distinction of
having two of the nation's
largest maraschino cherry
producers is no coinci-
dence. An Oregon State
University food scientist developed a
brining method in the late 1920s that led
to modern cherry processing.
OSU's Ernest Wiegand's discovery
of adding calcium salts to the preserv-
ing brine, which reduced cracking and
resulted in firmer fruit, is credited with
helping Oregon's cherry industry find a
use for surplus fruit and turn fresh cher-
ries into a host of value-added products
and ingredients.
Portland-based Gray & Company and
Oregon Cherry Growers are said to pro-
duce about 65 percent of all maraschino
cherries in the United States. Last year,
Oregon Cherry Growers processed more
than 27 million pounds of cherries. About
half of the cherries went into maraschi-
no-type cherries and 30 percent were
made into ingredient products.
Though today's brining solution used
Brining key
to
CHERRY
Brine solution makes
cherry processing a
year-round operation.
by Melissa Hansen
processing
