Ocean Spray's Big Apple Bog returns
Ocean Spray's Big Apple Bog returns
NEW YORK -- Ocean Spray is once again bringing the beauty and the mystique of the cranberry harvest to the public with its "Bogs Across America" tour.
The tour's first stop was Oct. 7-9 at New York City's Rockefeller Center, marking the "Big Apple Bog's" third year at the world-famous location.
The cooperative constructed a 1,500-square-foot bog filled with 2,000 pounds of fresh cranberries in front of the landmark General Electric building. . Three of the cooperative's growers fielded numerous questions from the public about the berries and the harvest during the event.
The winners of Ocean Spray's $25,000 Ultimate Cranberry Recipe Contest Grand Prize were announced during a cocktail reception the evening of Oct. 7.
Consumers and foodservice professionals nationwide were challenged to develop innovative cranberry concepts highlighting the versatility of the quintessential American fruit and were judged by an esteemed panel, including celebrity chef Tyler Florence; Michael Tyrell, associate food editor of Family Circle magazine; and Brian Whisman, a chef for Kroger. The trio narrowed the top four finalists in each category, who competed in cook-offs Oct. 6 at DeGustibus Cooking School, here.
Justin Ward from the Art Institute of Atlanta in Atlanta was chosen as the foodservice winner with his pork tenderloin with Ccranberry mole and cranberry salsa recipe. Michael Cohen of Los Angeles was chosen the winner of the consumer contest with his roasted cranberry quesadillas recipe. The tour will head west to Los Angeles' Hollywood & Highland Center from Oct. 15-17 and then come back to the East Coast, where it will wrap up Oct. 25-26 at Gillette Stadium in Foxboro, MA.
New acreage for co-op
With worldwide demand for cranberries booming, Ken Romanzi, Ocean Spray's chief operating officer-domestic, told The Produce News Oct. 7 that for the first time it will be planting on 2,000 acres of land purchased and owned by the cooperative in New Brunswick, Canada.
Until now, its growers owned and farmed cranberries individually on approximately 30,000 acres, but Mr. Romanzi said that professional farm management will be handling the operations on the new acreage.
"We think we are only limited by our supply," Mr. Romanzi said. "We looked at the projections for our business and said, 'we need fruit.' "
Mr. Romanzi said that the cooperative had been working on the project for nine months and expected planting to begin in 2009. The new acreage should bear healthy yields in about three years, he said.
Peter Beaton of Bayside Agricultural Inc. a member of the Ocean Spray cooperative and one of the three growers at the Big Apple Bog, told The Produce News that there was "a lot of agricultural savvy in eastern Canada. People there live off the land and it is a nice new frontier for us."
Mr. Beaton added that it would normally take five years for a new bog to produce sizable crops, but that number was cut to three thanks in part to Ocean Spray-supported research and the ideas and energy of the cooperative's younger growers, who he dubbed "the new wave."
Mr. Romanzi said that an additional 5,000-6,000 acres could be added over the next five years in New Brunswick, depending upon the cooperative's needs.
Mr. Romanzi added that Ocean Spray recently made a capital investment of over $1 million at its Middleboro, MA, facility to make sure its fruit is as safe as possible, including special equipment for washing and exposing cranberries to ultraviolet light.
(Photos from the event appear in the Oct. 13 issue of The Produce News.)
The tour's first stop was Oct. 7-9 at New York City's Rockefeller Center, marking the "Big Apple Bog's" third year at the world-famous location.
The cooperative constructed a 1,500-square-foot bog filled with 2,000 pounds of fresh cranberries in front of the landmark General Electric building. . Three of the cooperative's growers fielded numerous questions from the public about the berries and the harvest during the event.
The winners of Ocean Spray's $25,000 Ultimate Cranberry Recipe Contest Grand Prize were announced during a cocktail reception the evening of Oct. 7.
Consumers and foodservice professionals nationwide were challenged to develop innovative cranberry concepts highlighting the versatility of the quintessential American fruit and were judged by an esteemed panel, including celebrity chef Tyler Florence; Michael Tyrell, associate food editor of Family Circle magazine; and Brian Whisman, a chef for Kroger. The trio narrowed the top four finalists in each category, who competed in cook-offs Oct. 6 at DeGustibus Cooking School, here.
Justin Ward from the Art Institute of Atlanta in Atlanta was chosen as the foodservice winner with his pork tenderloin with Ccranberry mole and cranberry salsa recipe. Michael Cohen of Los Angeles was chosen the winner of the consumer contest with his roasted cranberry quesadillas recipe. The tour will head west to Los Angeles' Hollywood & Highland Center from Oct. 15-17 and then come back to the East Coast, where it will wrap up Oct. 25-26 at Gillette Stadium in Foxboro, MA.
New acreage for co-op
With worldwide demand for cranberries booming, Ken Romanzi, Ocean Spray's chief operating officer-domestic, told The Produce News Oct. 7 that for the first time it will be planting on 2,000 acres of land purchased and owned by the cooperative in New Brunswick, Canada.
Until now, its growers owned and farmed cranberries individually on approximately 30,000 acres, but Mr. Romanzi said that professional farm management will be handling the operations on the new acreage.
"We think we are only limited by our supply," Mr. Romanzi said. "We looked at the projections for our business and said, 'we need fruit.' "
Mr. Romanzi said that the cooperative had been working on the project for nine months and expected planting to begin in 2009. The new acreage should bear healthy yields in about three years, he said.
Peter Beaton of Bayside Agricultural Inc. a member of the Ocean Spray cooperative and one of the three growers at the Big Apple Bog, told The Produce News that there was "a lot of agricultural savvy in eastern Canada. People there live off the land and it is a nice new frontier for us."
Mr. Beaton added that it would normally take five years for a new bog to produce sizable crops, but that number was cut to three thanks in part to Ocean Spray-supported research and the ideas and energy of the cooperative's younger growers, who he dubbed "the new wave."
Mr. Romanzi said that an additional 5,000-6,000 acres could be added over the next five years in New Brunswick, depending upon the cooperative's needs.
Mr. Romanzi added that Ocean Spray recently made a capital investment of over $1 million at its Middleboro, MA, facility to make sure its fruit is as safe as possible, including special equipment for washing and exposing cranberries to ultraviolet light.
(Photos from the event appear in the Oct. 13 issue of The Produce News.)
