Dried blueberries are fairly new to the shelf, but not to University of Georgia food scientists. They started working on the idea in the 1970s at the request of the Georgia Blueberry Growers Association.ÿ
"The blueberry growers were worried about what to do with their excess blueberries," remembers Romeo Toledo, a food scientist with the UGA College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences.ÿ
"They wanted to find alternatives to using the berries fresh," he said. "We studied juices made from blueberries and dried blueberries."ÿ
"Granola bars were gaining popularity, and we wanted to hit
that market,"
Toledo said. "For the kinds of uses we envisioned -- cereals and
granola
bars -- dehydration was the perfect outlet."ÿ
ÿ
joined Toledo on the blueberry project.
The scientists first treated the berries with a sugar syrup.
"This draws out the water and reduces the time it takes for
the berries
to dry," Toledo said. "The
result is a semimoist berry. Today, the main manufacturer in
Michigan
also uses a fruit concentrate which allows the product to be
labeled as
'all fruit.'"
Four years ago, the fledgling dried blueberry industry
received a big
push when Tucker became
director of research and development for Cherry Central. The
Traverse
City, Mich., marketing
cooperative makes food products from apples, blueberries,
cherries
and other fruits. It is the main
processor of dried blueberries.
"Cherry Central had been producing dried blueberries for a
couple of
years before I joined the
company," Tucker said. "Since then, I have been pushing the
product."
Most of the blueberries the Michigan plant uses for drying
are actually
Southern-grown. "The
percentage of Georgia-grown berries varies from year to
year. But we
have used up to 100
percent in our dried blueberry division," Tucker said.
"The Southern berries process very well and give us better
yields,"
he said. "They also retain
their size well."
Much of Georgia's blueberry crop is sprayed with gibberellic
acid to
enhance fruit set. "This has
resulted in superior dried blueberries, since the berries
contain fewer
seeds," Tucker said.
In the spring of 1996, Georgia began drying its own
blueberries when
Rustan, Inc., opened in
Alma, Ga. The company dries blueberries, cherries,
cranberries and
vegetables such as carrots,
onions and potatoes.
The vegetables are often used for dry soup mixes. Last year,
Rustan
processed more than 40,000
pounds of dried blueberries, too. The berries were used in
commercial
bakeries and packaged
trail mixes.
UGA Extension Service
horticulturist
Gerard Krewer said
about one-third
of the blueberries
grown in Georgia become dried blueberries.
"The beauty of it is that the process uses a lot of berries,"
Krewer
said. "It takes about three
pounds of fresh berries to make one pound of dried
blueberries."
Georgia blueberry growers produce 6 million to 13 million
pounds of
blueberries each year.
Krewer figures the state has 4,000 acres of bearing
blueberries and
about 400 acres of younger,
nonbearing plants.
The state ranks fourth behind Michigan, New Jersey and Oregon
in U.S.
cultivated blueberry
production.
Dried blueberries, which have no fat, cholesterol or sodium,
are most
often used in cereal
products, cake mixes, pastry products, granola bars and
dried fruit
mixes.
"You commonly find them now as an airline snack mixed with
dried cherries
and raisins,"
Tucker said. "They also perform well in baked goods,
especially bagels,
because baked goods are
kneaded and frozen fruit won't hold up."
