#78 - July 2024 - © Sandy Lang - slang@xtra.co.nz FRUIT QUALITYJuly/Aug: Mid/late-winter. When it’s dry, get on with the pruning. Buy new trees /shrubs now. First in gets the best, last in gets the rejects. Talking of rejects... Export rejects: Most NZ fruit producers grow for export because that’s where the money is. But an export fruit must be top quality, or its price at some distant market doesn’t cover the cost of packing and shipping. So, we Kiwis get the export rejects. These usually oversupply our home market and keep our prices down. But it’s worth understanding why a fruit’s been rejected for export. Sometimes it looks second rate but tastes good, other times it looks good but tastes awful. What to look for... Cosmetic: There’re a whole bunch of visual criteria for export rejection: misshapen, russeted, over /under-size, no stalk, skin growth blemishes. None of these affects nutritional quality or taste, so all are still a good buy. Worrying: But there’re a few blemishes to avoid - bruising, skin punctures, small areas of rot. These worsen fast once home, and may already have spread deep inside, giving fruit an off taste. There are also a number of taste /texture criteria that clever packhouse machines detect but you may miss. The key one is... Under /overripe: A fruit picked too early is sour and hard, one picked too late is bland and soft, and may have an off taste /smell. For economic reasons, the trees /vines of most fruit species are strip-picked at some optimal stage when the average fruit is just right. But there’s often 2 or 3 weeks between when the first fruit ripens and when the last one ripens. Meaning, at harvest, maybe 15% are underripe and 15% overripe. The 70% that’re about right go offshore. How can you tell if a fruit’s under /over ripe? Depends on species... Apples: Don’t be misled by a rosy-red cheek. Look on the other side. Green, underripe. Yellow, overripe. Oranges: Colour not a good guide. A smooth, shiny skin is likely sweeter than a dimply ‘orange-peel’ skin. Kiwifruit: Hard to tell. Colour not indicative. Soft in patches, not good. Rock-hard may ripen in the fruit bowl. Melons: No smell, underripe. Strong smell, overripe. If you can, buy a half melon so you see the insides. Cherries: Some cultivars darker than others. For a particular cultivar the darker, the sweeter. Bananas: Colour. Easy. ___________________________________