These Apples Taste Like Grapes

These Apples Taste Like Grapes AG WORLD 28-6-22 When Gary Snyder conducted a taste test of his new grape-flavored apple - called a "Grapple" - he didn't know what to expect. "The response was overwhelming. About 85 percent of the people who have tried a Grapple say they're fantastic," he says. "A high percentage tell us it's the best apple they've ever eaten. Some who say they don't like apples love the Grapple." Response was so amazing Snyder went right into production, selling 1.3 million lbs. the first year. This year the makers of the Grapple expect to sell 10 times that amount. Snyder's patented process turns a Fuji or Gala apple into a Grapple. It takes about a week to infuse the apples with grape flavoring. One of the keys to the Grapple's success is the quality control the Snyder family puts into their product. Apples are pre-sorted and pre-sized to find ones that have just the right sugar and pressure levels and fit the company's clear plastic clamshell 4-pack. After the pre-selected apples go through their bath, they are graded again. At this stage, anywhere from 10 to 30 percent of the now flavored apples will be removed and sent to food shelves. The rest are packed, shipped and sold. Retail price on the apple packs run from $5 to $7. Whole Grapples are just the start for Snyder. He is already testing sliced flavored apples and thinks flavored pears could be around the corner. Right now the Snyders are busy securing a supply of premium apples. Other orchards are reaping the benefit of the new demand, which is much greater than the Snyder family's orchard can handle. Contact: FARM SHOW Followup, Gary Snyder, C & O Nursery, P.O. Box 116, Wenatchee, Wash. 98807 (ph 509 662-7164 or 800 232-2636; website:www.conursery. com).

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