WENATCHEE, Wash. – Harvest has officially begun for the 2016 crop of SweeTango apples. With orchards spread across prime apple-growing regions in Washington, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Michigan, New York, and Nova Scotia, Canada, harvest first begins in the West and then moves to the Central and Eastern regions soon thereafter.
Harvest in the West began earlier this month, and the Central region’s harvest began this week. The unparalleled flavor of SweeTango, with its lively touch of citrus, honey, and spice, will be in full effect this season. Warm and dry weather conditions during the growing season contributed an extra touch of sweetness in this year’s crop. In addition, SweeTango are conditioned, a process that involves cooling the just-picked fruit to 60 degrees Fahrenheit to help deliver the peak flavor and texture that SweeTango fans expect.
To date, weather across all growing regions has been favorable for producing a good, clean crop of SweeTango with its signature bright red coloration over a sunny yellow background. Overall crop quality is excellent, with a good range of fruit sizes expected, from tray-pack fruit for eye-catching bulk displays, to smaller sizes perfect for SweeTango pouches that are popular with consumers.
The anticipated total crop yield is slightly larger last season’s crop, despite severe hail that impacted the production in isolated areas in the Central and Eastern regions early in the growing season. Minimal russet is to be expected, with the overwhelming portion of the SweeTango crop featuring a beautifully smooth finish.
Roger Pepperl, Stemilt Growers’ marketing director and member of Next Big Thing, the cooperative that grows and markets SweeTango apples, remarked, “Retailers will be pleased to hear that we have another SweeTango crop of excellent quality with a range of sizes that appeal to retailers and consumers. With harvest in Washington already underway, the Central region having begun this week, and the East soon to follow, retailers can expect to have the new crop of SweeTango grown in their respective regions to be back in their produce departments in a matter of weeks. We know shoppers are eagerly anticipating their return.”
In fact, a recent Facebook post announcing the start of the harvest in Washington garnered nearly 30,000 views from SweeTango fans, more than 100 comments, and more than 125 post shares – a post engagement nearly 10x the norm, signaling a heightened awareness and interest in SweeTango apples for 2016.
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ABOUT NEXT BIG THING, A GROWERS’ COOPERATIVE
Next Big Thing, A Growers’ Cooperative is a 47-member cooperative of family growers, spread over five time zones from Nova Scotia to Washington State, that grows and markets managed varieties of apples, beginning with SweeTango. You can find more information on SweeTango at http://www.sweetango.com or on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/sweetango.
Source: Next Big Thing
