Opal Apples In Stores Pt 1
With today’s Fruit Grower Report, I’m Bob Larson. The number of apple varieties at the grocery store might leave you scratching your head.But, First Fruits Marketing president Chuck Zeutenhorst says their butter-yellow Opal is crispy with a great sweet-tart flavor profile, and has a great shelf-life. What more could you ask for? …
ZEUTENHORST … “We also were concerned because some people thought maybe that it had been genetically modified. So, we also have managed it and it’s a non-GMO variety which most of the new ones, in fact almost all varieties are non-GMO other than a couple, and this one is certainly in line with that.”
And, Zeutenhorst says with all that going for it …
ZEUTENHORST … “It’s doing really well and, like I said, we’re excited, we’re going to continue to put it in the ground and grow more of them. And, obviously, the apple situation has been a bit of a struggle the last few years so this is certainly a strong bright spot for us as a company and we’re excited for its future.”
So, Zeutenhorst says expect even more Opals in the years ahead …
ZEUTENHORST … “We’re continuing to expand the acreage, and the reason for that is our retail pull for it continues to grow so we’re excited about that.”
It’s been First Fruits goal all along …
ZEUTENHORST … “But we just said, we want a new variety that’s going to be exciting in the consumers hands. Like I’d mentioned earlier, it hits those two things, it’s got to maintain its condition., it’s got to be a crisp apple and it’s got to maintain its flavor profile even as it goes through storage.”
Look for First Fruits’ “Crave the Crunch” signs at your favorite grocery store soon.
Tune in tomorrow for more.