Apple story. Where to send tons of harvested fruits, how they are stored and what products they produce

The apple tree is one of the main trees in the Belarusian garden. From its fruits prepare different goodies, squeeze juice, roll mashed, jam, dried and wet. This year, the gardens are a bountiful harvest. Therefore, processing enterprises work in a tense mode, because it is important to have time to save and process the harvested fruits.

In the farm "Bugagroinvest" Kamenetsky district, apple harvesting begins in August and lasts until mid-November. There's a lot of work this season. After an almost poor harvest last year, apple trees are again fruiting well.

The garden covers 110 hectares. Varieties are selected to keep up with each other: in August, they begin with the early “pyros” and “delcorf”, later the turn of “hani crisp”, “Golden delishes”, “ligol”, “red chief”, “gloster”, “aidared” and “alva” comes. Therefore, cleaning stretches for several months - some apples have already been removed, others are still ripening. At the height of the season, about 60-70 people work in the garden.

- Early varieties began to be removed from about August 3, late ones - from September 14. We expect to finish by mid-November. We work from platforms: four are used to pick apples at the top, four are used at the bottom. Each tractor has seven containers, says garden manager Yuri Shchegelsky.

The first trees were planted here in 2012. Then eight hectares were allocated for Belarusian seedlings. The garden was cared for, waited for it to start producing a good harvest, but five years later they received about five tons of apples per hectare. Later they tried the Polish seedlings. In the third year, they produced about 30 tons per hectare. After such a comparison, the head of the economy Yuri Fedkovich decided to replace the first landings:

- It is not easy to uproot a garden in which you have invested money and energy for five years. But eight hectares of land should yield results. We have planted new trees, we do not regret this decision.

However, even a good garden is not immune to bad weather. Last autumn, the farm collected a thousand tons of apples, and last year - only 60. During flowering two nights in a row, the temperature dropped to minus ten degrees. Frost damaged the flowers and there was almost no harvest.

This spring, the forecast made gardeners worried again. We prepared tractors and trailers, drove between rows, fumigated the landings with smoke. This time the temperature dropped to minus four degrees.

110 hectares will not warm like a greenhouse. At minus ten, there is almost nothing to help the trees. This time it was colder and we did our best. Better to try than just wait for the morning, explains the director.

Now the farm assesses the result on harvested varieties. At the moment, the yield is about 60 tons per hectare. This is the same amount as after last year's frosts collected from all over the garden. The total harvest may exceed a thousand tons, although the final figures will be known only after the harvest is completed.

After harvesting, apples are sent for storage and in retail chains. Bugagroinvest sells the harvest mainly on the Belarusian market. In autumn, there are a lot of apples not only in this farm, so part of the harvest is in no hurry to send to retail chains. The fruit is stored for sale in winter and spring, when local apples become less.

While Bugagroinvest uses the fruit storage of the neighboring OAO Ostromechevo. Next to its garden, the farm builds its own - with a regulated gas environment. In such conditions, according to the head, apples can be stored until May-June.

- When you plant your first hectare, you first think about how to grow apples. And then it turns out that harvesting is not the end of the job. If you want to sell it in the fall, you need storage. We went to our own for almost 15 years, explains Yuri Fedkovich.

But not all fruits will be stored. Already during harvesting, apples are divided in size using a simple calibrator. Those that are smaller, the farm supplies the Maloritsky canning and drying plant for processing.

"Apple is the basis" The gemstone enterprise "Gamma Taste" from processed vegetables, fruits and berries produces juices, purees, fruit desserts and various preservation. Apple is a key ingredient for children's range.

- Our position as a manufacturer is that children should eat what grows in the area where they were born, says Irina Krivko, Deputy Director for Production. The apple is the first fruit to be introduced into the food. I repeat, it is the fruit, because it is introduced and ovs. So, of course, the apple is the basis of our production. We produce both monopure and various combinations: apple with raspberries, blueberries, cranberries, kiwi, pear, banana and other fruits and berries. The line is large, now we are preparing a novelty with mangoes. Plus, we blend an apple with vegetables, for example, pumpkin - banana - apple, zucchini - apple. Not always children willingly eat vegetables in their pure form, and the apple allows you to make the taste more pleasant.

Irina Krivko. Children’s products in our country, as you know, very serious requirements. In order for the raw materials base to meet all standards, in 2011 the company decided to lay its own garden.

- We are the only processing plant that independently grows raw materials for itself, says Irina Krivko. For baby food, the acidity of apples is important - it should not be higher than 0.8%. This indicator depends on the variety, so the main part of apple trees in the garden is “Belarusian sweet”. This is a domestic variety, the fruits of which have a low acidity and a high content of soluble dry substances. Apples with such parameters are ideal for baby food. Now we have reached a level where the acidity of monopure from apples is only 0.3-0.4%. The plant covers about 30% of the total demand with its apples. The rest is purchased from farmers, agricultural organizations and the population. However, before sending these batches for processing, they are checked in their own accredited laboratory.

The main indicator we are interested in is dry matter and acidity. It depends on the production of what products the fruits will go, — said Irina Krivko.

Since the plant does not have storage, the apples try to process as quickly as possible into a mashed-semi-finished product. To begin with, the fruits are sent to the washing machine to take water procedures. Then heated, crushed, removed the skin, seeds. After that, the finished puree is poured into special aseptic bags, each of which contains 205 kilograms of the product. Subsequently, it makes baby food, juices or sell to other enterprises, such as confectionery.

While the plant is actively processing apples of a new harvest, the harvest continues in the garden. Apple trees here occupy 137 hectares, the remaining 20 are divided among themselves currants, gooseberry, raspberries. There is also a nursery, where young trees are grown to replace old ones.

- In addition to the “Belarusian sweet”, we have another 15 varieties growing. Among them are both domestic and foreign. “Darunok”, “Alesya”, “Antonovka”, “champion”, “ligol”, “Khani Crisp”, “gloster”, “naidared” and others, lists Igor Krupsky, agronomist-gardener of the gardening site. This year, the harvest is rich, on average, we collect 300 kilograms from four apple trees. In the best years of the season it was 950 tons, now we are going to a record - at the moment we have almost 1,200 tons, and that's not all. According to my forecasts, we will reach one and a half thousand tons.

And since the local apple is the basis for baby food, the treatment of trees is carried out sparingly and only with biological preparations. Emphasis is placed on the introduction of trace elements and vitamins necessary for the full growth and development of apple trees.

MIRACLE FRUIT

In recent years, the range of food products with apples has significantly expanded. Scientists of the Scientific and Practical Center of the National Academy of Sciences of Belarus for Food have developed more than 500 recipes.

- These are direct pressed and reconstituted juices, nectars, drinks, mashed canned goods, povelo, jams, jams and desserts. Apple puree is also used in the production of sauces, marshmallows and pastilles, — lists the head of the Department of technology of food preservation Lyudmila Pavlovskaya.

Among the latest developments of scientists are pectin-containing nectars and desserts based on apples. Pectin, contained in fruits, is able to bind some heavy metals, in particular lead, and contribute to their elimination from the body.

- Therefore, products enriched with pectin can be useful for people working in harmful production conditions, as well as residents of large cities with a high level of atmospheric pollution, explains Lyudmila Mikhailovna.

Apples occupy a special place in the production of baby food. In addition to the acidity of the apples themselves (no more than 0.8%), the consistency of the finished puree is also important. The flesh in foods for the smallest should be homogenized or very finely ground. This helps the child’s digestive system to absorb food more easily.

- Industrial processing allows not only to ensure the safety of baby food, but also to preserve nutrients as much as possible. This is achieved through strict adherence to technological regimes. So, deaeration - the removal of air and oxygen from the product - can reduce their content to 80%, which contributes to the preservation of biologically active substances, including vitamins. The temperature treatment during sterilization is also trying to make as gentle as possible. To do this, modern technologies are used, including sterilization in flowing tubular plants with subsequent aseptic bottling. Such processes require special equipment and precise control of parameters, so it is impossible to reproduce them at home, concludes Lyudmila Pavlovskaya.

APPLES IN FO LCLORE

The apple tree was considered a sacred tree, and its fruits symbolized fertility and prosperity. In Belarusian folklore, apples are found everywhere: in folk tales, ritual songs and traditions associated with the Apple Savior.

- Especially often the apple tree is mentioned in wedding ritual songs, says Alena Tsaturava, researcher at the department of folkloristics and culture of the Slavic peoples of the Center for Research of Belarusian Culture, Language and Literature of the NAS of Belarus. Its fruits symbolize fertility, creation of a new family and procreation. The image of an apple tree is associated with a young bride entering a new life and ready to become a mother.

In Slavic fairy tales, many stories are associated with apples and apples. The tree can act as an assistant to the main character, and its fruits - restore health and youth, give immortality. Youthful, liquid, gold - such epithets are most often endowed with fabulous apples.

- A special place in the life of our ancestors is occupied by the Apple Savior. According to tradition, the faithful bring apples to the temple, where they are consecrated. It was believed that after this, the fruits acquire special strength, and the one who tastes them will be healthy and strong, the expert notes. Consecrated apples were also taken to the graves of relatives. This tradition was preserved on memorial days, including on Radonitsa.

With the first consecrated apples could make wishes. There is a connection with folk divinations and beliefs: it was believed that the promised will necessarily be fulfilled. The girls also guessed on the apple peel, trying to find out their fate and the name of the betrothed.

Apples are both a treat and a cure. They have almost all the vitamins and minerals necessary for the body, as well as iodine, folic acid, sugars and pectins. A lot of vitamin P, which makes the vessels elastic, which allows you to avoid hypertension. Vitamin B2 literally prolongs our lives, and phosphorus, which is also abundant in apples, improves brain function. This year in Belarus received a record harvest of apples. The enterprises of Belgospischeprom have already produced more than 47 thousand tons - 1.6 times more than last year. They are mainly processed on purees and juices, which are well stored in the off-season. infong@sb.by