Soft Fruits

Afewitems, strawberries, other soft fruits and pieces of cauliflower, are quick-frozen with liquid nitrogen. 

Parathion Spray Residue on Soft Fruits, Apples, and Pears... 

The amount of parathion spray residue on soft fruits is roughly proportional to the length of time between date of application and date of analysis. Parathion spray residue was lost from the surface of Delicious apples at the rate of 80 to 85% in 12 to 13 days and 93 to 100% in 30 to 32 days. The rate of loss was the same for 1-pound as for 4-pound concentrations. Fifty-five samples, collected from commercial orchards, were analyzed. No significant relationship was found between the number of days between spraying and analysis and the parathion residue. There was no significant difference in parathion residue due to the concentration of the spray mixture used. All residues were only a fraction of 1 p.p.m. 

Although parathion has not been recommended to date for insect control on soft fruits, there are indications that some injurious insects may be controlled by applications of parathion. Experimental sprays of 1 pound of the 25% wettable powder per 100 gallons of water were applied to soft fruits to determine the amount of parathion residue that would remain on the surface at harvest time. The parathion residue at harvest time is presented in Table I. 

Table I. Parathion Residue on Surface of Soft Fruits at Harvest Time...

WALKER—PARATHION SPRAY RESIDUE ON SOFT FRUITS, APPLES, AND PEARS... 

Control of weeds in fruit is just as important as for vegetables—except where fruit trees are growing on vigorous rootstocks. A full-sized fruit tree surrounded by a wildflower meadow gains many benefits from it, and together this association forms a valuable wildlife habitat. But in the case of small trees and all soft fruits, weeds compete with the crop plants for light, water, and nutrients if very profuse, they can reduce air flow and increase the likelihood of fungal attack. Do not let weeds get out of hand. 

There is no doubt when a plum is ripe. It will be fully colored (but note that plums come in many colors, including green) and soft. Fruits will pull away easily. Once picked, eat immediately, or keep them cool until you are ready to use them. They do not keep for long but can be frozen or used in preserves. 

Uses Vulcanizer seed disinfectant rubber accelerator rabbit, deer and rodent repellent bacteriostat in soap. Protective fungicide applied to foliage to control Botrytis spp. On ornamentals, lettuce, soft fruit, and vegetables Venturia pirina on pears. Also used in fields and orchards to control birds, rodents, and deer (Worthing and Hance, 1991). Prevents infestation of... 

The majority of outbreaks linked to enteric viruses is typically caused by person-to-person contact although fresh produce can also be a significant vehicle, especially with regards to soft fruit which are handled and rarely washed prior to consumption (Koopmans, 2008). Both hepatitis A and Norwalk-like viruses (NLV) have been implicated in cases of foodbome illness associated with contaminated vegetables (Koopmans, 2008). In such outbreaks, the crops had been directly exposed to sewage or had been handled by infected workers (Holtby et al., 2001 Long et al., 2002). 

Kurdziel, A. S., Wilkinson, N., Langton, S., and Cook, N. (2001). Survival of poliovirus on soft fruit and salad vegetables. ]. Food Prot. 64,706-709. 

The water contents of several soft fruits such as strawberry, 90.2% raspberry, 85.0% and grape, 77.0%, were obtained by Zubeckis (5). These values are only general averages because the moisture contents are influenced by many known factors. 

Recently, nine flavonol glycosides including 3-/ -monoglucosides and 3- -glucuronides of quercetin and kaempferol were detected and purified from strawberry fruit (168). A summary of phenolic compounds in soft fruits is presented by Green (40). 

Figure 3.1 The structure of the soft fruits, (a) Currants, e.g. blackcurrant (Ribes) (b) raspberry (Rubus) (c) achenes, e.g. strawberry (Fragaria).

Although freezing will disrupt the cell structure of soft fruit and render it pulpy upon thawing out, any adverse changes to juice quality will be minimal and flavour and colour can be easily preserved by this treatment... 

In citrus fruits, where the outer skin or epicarp is a composite structure containing certain flavouring substances, it would be detrimental to juice quality if the fruit were subjected to direct pressure as is the case with the fleshy fruits, that is, soft fruits, pome fruits and stone fruits. Stone fruits, before being processed for juice separation, must first be separated from their stones, or pits, in order to facilitate ease of handling and to avoid unwanted notes in the finished... 

Ascorbic acid. Many juices contain ascorbic acid or vitamin C, which is quantitatively the most important vitamin in soft fruits, ranging from a negligible level in some whortleberries to around 200 mg/100 g in blackcurrants. Ascorbic acid performs a valuable function as an antioxidant in minimising degradation of certain flavour principles, and it is often important for it to be included in the processed juice or in a soft drink formulation. Levels in the range 200-400 mg/kg are typical. It should be noted that ascorbic acid can be added to natural strength juice only if it is... 

Refrigerants. Solid carbon dioxide (dry ice) is used for refrigerating ice cream, meat and soft fruits. It... 

Enzymic juice extraction (apples, soft fruit, stone fruit)... 

Six months later, Hartle wrote a scathing attack66 on a book of domestic science written by R. H. Jones, Head of the Chemistry Department, Harris Institute, Preston, in which he claimed that science can be directly and adequately taught in the kitchen and that a previous training in elementary science is not indispensable. Hartle not only attacked the book in principle, but also pointed out the many errors in science that it contained, particularly loose phraseology such as distilled water contains nothing and is quite soft fruit contains as a rule 80% of water and this is in pure condition. 66... 

Moulton, M.F. 1995. Growing and marketing soft fruit for juice and beverages, in Production and Packaging of Non-Carbonated Fruit Juices and Fruit Beverages, 2nd ed., ed. P.R. Ashurst, Glasgow, UK Blackie Academic Professional, pp. 129-152. 

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