Ballantine introduces color maturity guide for fresh green seedless grapes
Ballantine introduces color maturity guide for fresh green seedless grapes
REEDLEY, CA -- Ballantine Produce Co. Inc., here, has introduced what it believes to be the industry's first color maturity guide for green seedless table grapes.
The company has put together a kit entitled The Fine Art of Grapes: The Original Green Seedless Table Grape Guide that includes descriptions and photos of green grapes at six different stages of maturity. The kit consists of a large wall poster, a desk reference booklet and a set of laminated color discs for use in the field, warehouse or store -- each depicting the six stages.
According to a written statement from the company, the guide "offers descriptions of each stage of maturity, explaining which color and harvest stage are the most likely to ship and store the best, which stages yield the best flavor, [and] which will satisfy the most consumers. We have focused on defining important words used to describe the color, flavor, levels of maturity, and the shipping and storage qualities of the six important stages of green seedless table grapes."
The development of the guide was "a collaborative effort between the Ballantine grape farming and quality control teams and Ballantine's & retail partners, the statement continued.
"Defining the parameters of color and how they relate to maturity and flavor indexes are, we felt, one of the ways we could contribute to the grape industry, Scott Albertson, director of marketing at Ballantine, told The Produce News. "Not that we feel we have the definitive voice in it, but the company does have many years of experience in growing, packing and shipping table grapes not only domestically but internationally, he added.
"Over the years, we have become a late green seedless specialist, Mr. Albertson said. "By focusing on late grapes, you are inherently dealing with a grape that has a very rich color to it that has a lot of finish. You need to work very closely with your retail and customer base for them to understand the characteristics of a grape that has had time to develop sugars, and its storing and shipping capabilities. In addition, he said, Ballantine works with some of the earlier areas of grape production.
The guide is designed to be used at all stages of the distribution chain, from harvesting to store level, Mr. Albertson explained. The Ballantine field department uses the guide during harvest to determine color definitions. Sales personnel will use it to describe the product to customers. Produce managers can use the guide when selecting products "from the back room to bring out to the front, and there are many other uses in between, he said.
The names selected for the six stages of maturity are glassy green, light green, cream finish, straw finish, amber and sunburn.
Glassy green grapes have not yet developed sugars and should not be harvested and shipped, according to the guide. Light green, cream and straw finish are most preferred by the marketplace, cream being "the ideal maturity for commercial shipping, storage, display and taste.
However, amber, or "honey colored, berries are described by the guide as being "particularly sweet and juicy, and are "prized by knowledgeable grape lovers. Sunburned grapes are sweet but not well suited to the fresh market.
For the purposes of consistency, Thompson seedless grapes have been used for the photographs in the guide. However, the color stages are applicable to most green grape varieties, Mr. Albertson said.
The guide does make certain distinctions between varieties, noting, for example, that "light green color is a characteristic of maturity with early-season grapes such as Perlettes but a light color stage for mid-season varieties like Thompson and Sugraone.
The company has put together a kit entitled The Fine Art of Grapes: The Original Green Seedless Table Grape Guide that includes descriptions and photos of green grapes at six different stages of maturity. The kit consists of a large wall poster, a desk reference booklet and a set of laminated color discs for use in the field, warehouse or store -- each depicting the six stages.
According to a written statement from the company, the guide "offers descriptions of each stage of maturity, explaining which color and harvest stage are the most likely to ship and store the best, which stages yield the best flavor, [and] which will satisfy the most consumers. We have focused on defining important words used to describe the color, flavor, levels of maturity, and the shipping and storage qualities of the six important stages of green seedless table grapes."
The development of the guide was "a collaborative effort between the Ballantine grape farming and quality control teams and Ballantine's & retail partners, the statement continued.
"Defining the parameters of color and how they relate to maturity and flavor indexes are, we felt, one of the ways we could contribute to the grape industry, Scott Albertson, director of marketing at Ballantine, told The Produce News. "Not that we feel we have the definitive voice in it, but the company does have many years of experience in growing, packing and shipping table grapes not only domestically but internationally, he added.
"Over the years, we have become a late green seedless specialist, Mr. Albertson said. "By focusing on late grapes, you are inherently dealing with a grape that has a very rich color to it that has a lot of finish. You need to work very closely with your retail and customer base for them to understand the characteristics of a grape that has had time to develop sugars, and its storing and shipping capabilities. In addition, he said, Ballantine works with some of the earlier areas of grape production.
The guide is designed to be used at all stages of the distribution chain, from harvesting to store level, Mr. Albertson explained. The Ballantine field department uses the guide during harvest to determine color definitions. Sales personnel will use it to describe the product to customers. Produce managers can use the guide when selecting products "from the back room to bring out to the front, and there are many other uses in between, he said.
The names selected for the six stages of maturity are glassy green, light green, cream finish, straw finish, amber and sunburn.
Glassy green grapes have not yet developed sugars and should not be harvested and shipped, according to the guide. Light green, cream and straw finish are most preferred by the marketplace, cream being "the ideal maturity for commercial shipping, storage, display and taste.
However, amber, or "honey colored, berries are described by the guide as being "particularly sweet and juicy, and are "prized by knowledgeable grape lovers. Sunburned grapes are sweet but not well suited to the fresh market.
For the purposes of consistency, Thompson seedless grapes have been used for the photographs in the guide. However, the color stages are applicable to most green grape varieties, Mr. Albertson said.
The guide does make certain distinctions between varieties, noting, for example, that "light green color is a characteristic of maturity with early-season grapes such as Perlettes but a light color stage for mid-season varieties like Thompson and Sugraone.
