Stone fruit grower wants consumers to understand flavour profiles of fruit
/ By Emma BrownTake a bite in to a Fuji, Pink Lady or Red Delicious apple and most consumers expect different flavour profiles for each individual variety.
Loading...But a South Australian grower has concerns the same cannot be said about consumer knowledge of the flavour profiles of stone fruits.
Nuffield Scholar Jason Size has been conducting research into stone fruit flavour profiles and how where they are grown and their variety can affect taste.
He has been trialling over a thousand stone fruit varieties on his Riverland property and has been visiting orchards overseas.
Mr Size said consumers were not being informed about the taste variations they should expect in stone fruits.
"Generally most consumers just look at a yellow nectarine and think it's all the same variety," he said.
"In reality, there are multiple varieties and they all have very different flavours and they all have different acid profiles.
"They can taste quite different and, depending on the consumer's preference, what they pick up one day might not be what they pick up on the next day
"It's about getting that understanding about the different types to make the consumers and retailers more savvy in the long term."
Food wastage could be reduced by increased consumer knowledge
Mr Size said the world's food wastage problem could also be helped by more flavour profile knowledge.
He said currently fruit was graded on visible quality, but if consumers understood good looks did not necessarily mean great taste, less fruit may be wasted.
"As a grower, I know that sometimes the best eating piece of fruit is the ugliest piece of fruit, so to try and get that ideal back down to the consumer is what we need to look at," he said.
"I see so many documentaries on food waste around the world and it's purely because of the aesthetic appeal of the fruit or whatever it is.
"If we can get that message out, that just because it's got a small mark doesn't mean it's not going to eat nice."