mais artigos 3 -- TRABALHOS ACAD�MIDOS DA UFMG 2

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Date Posted: 17:15:05 10/09/06 Mon
Author: d�bora
Subject: mais artigos 3

<a rel=nofollow target=_blank href="http://missourifamilies.org/features/nutritionarticles/harvesttohealth/honey.htm">http://missourifamilies.org/features/nutritionarticles/harvesttohealth/honey.htm</a>
Honey
Honey is a sweetener in liquid form. The honeybee produces it from the nectar of flowers and stores it in the small waxy cells of a honeycomb. The flavor of honey varies with the source of the nectar. Besides ornamental and wild flowers, Missouri honey comes from a wide variety of other plant sources including agricultural crops like clover, cotton and soybeans as well as the blooms of many trees
Selecting Honey:
The color of honey ranges from almost colorless to a dark brown. In general, the darker the honey the stronger the flavor. Use dark honeys in whole grain breads, muffins and pancakes. Use milder, sweeter, lighter-colored honeys as table-top sweeteners and in making cookies, cakes and pies.
Missouri honey is sold in several forms. Comb honey is sold just as it is stored by the bees. Sometimes it is cut into small chunks and wrapped in individual cartons. Liquid or strained honey is the most popular form. It is produced by forcing the honey from the comb and straining it free of crystals. Creamed or solid honey is strained honey that is partially or wholly solidified or granulated. Chunk honey is a combination of liquid and comb honey.
Do not give honey to infants younger than one year or to people on sugar-restricted diets. For more information about this, please refer to GH 1120, Using and Storing Honey, available free from your county extension center. <a rel=nofollow target=_blank href="http://muextension.missouri.edu/xplor/hesguide/foodnut/gh1120.htm">http://muextension.missouri.edu/xplor/hesguide/foodnut/gh1120.htm</a>
Storing Honey:
Liquid honey keeps best in air-tight containers in a dry place at room temperature (70�F to 80�F). The air-tight cover is necessary because honey loses aroma and flavor and absorbs moisture and odors readily when exposed to air.
Keep creamed honey in the refrigerator as it may partially liquefy if stored at too high a temperature.
Cover and store honey in the refrigerator if it has been diluted with water or other liquid. Like other thin syrups, it may ferment or mold quickly if not kept cold.
Honey kept for many months may darken slowly and become stronger in flavor but will still be usable. However, when honey absorbs extra moisture, yeasts that are naturally present in honey begin to grow and ferment the sugars, producing gas and off-flavors. Honey that foams and smells like alcohol is spoiled and should be discarded.
Honey may crystallize or granulate as it gets older, or if it is refrigerated or frozen. This is a natural process and does not harm the honey in any way. To return crystallized honey to liquid form, place the open container of honey in a pan of hot (not boiling) water until crystals disappear. You can also do this in a microwave oven--check owner's manual for directions. Be careful not to overheat because too much heat causes honey to change color and flavor.
Cooking and Preserving with Honey:
An advantage to using honey in place of granulated sugar in cooking and food preservation is that honey is sweeter than granulated sugar so you can use less honey for the same sweetening effect. For equal sweetening power, substitute 2/3 to 3/4 cup honey for each cup of sugar. An additional advantage is that baked products made with honey remain moist longer during storage. Use these tips when cooking with honey:
� You can replace all the sugar in puddings, custards, pie fillings, baked apples, candied sweet potatoes, sweet and sour vegetables, salad dressings, sauces and glazes with honey.
� Use honey to replace up to half the sugar in cakes. Reduce the liquid called for by one-fourth cup for every cup of honey used.
� The amount of honey that can replace sugar in cookies varies with the type of cookie: Replace no more than one-third the sugar with honey in crisp cookies like gingersnaps; honey can replace one-half the sugar in brownies and up to two-thirds the sugar in fruit bars.
� When making either cakes or cookies, first mix the honey with the fat or liquid, then mix it thoroughly with the other ingredients. This will help prevent a soggy layer from forming on top of the baked product.
� Neutralize the acid in honey by adding 1/2 teaspoon of baking soda for every cup of honey used, but if the recipe already calls for soda, don't add more.
� Products made with honey brown faster than foods made with other sweeteners, so lower the oven temperature 25�F when baking with honey.
� It's easier to measure honey if you lightly grease the measuring cup or spoon first. Or, if liquid or solid fat is called for, measure it first, then use the same cup for the honey. Every last drop will slip right out.
� One pound of honey equals about 1 1/3 cups. A three pound container holds about 4 cups of honey.
Honey can replace up to one-half the granulated sugar in syrups for canning fruit and up to one-fourth the granulated sugar in syrups for freezing fruit. You can also use honey in all types of sweet spreads. Guidesheets on all these procedures are available at your county extension center.
Recipes:
Quick and Fresh Ideas
� Tired of peanut butter and jelly sandwiches? Make a special sandwich filling by mixing honey with cream cheese, chopped dried fruit, nuts and grated orange peel. Stuff into whole wheat pita bread.
� Drizzle honey over whole grain griddle cakes, french toast or waffles. Top with fresh fruit and add a glass of milk--guaranteed to delight even non-breakfast eaters!
� As a late afternoon pick-me-up for tired kids and grown ups too, give them a Honey Hug: In a blender, combine one cup milk or plain yogurt, one banana, one peach, a half cup of strawberries, and sweeten to taste with honey. Whirl till frothy.
________________________________________
Honey Bran Muffins
This makes 24 muffins--freeze some for later!
2 1/4 cups flour (For a nutty, whole grain flavor use half whole wheat and half all purpose)
2 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt, if desired
3 cups crushed bran cereal
1/3 cup honey
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1 cup raisins
1 cup boiling water
2 eggs lightly beaten
2 cups buttermilk
In a large bowl, combine cereal, oil and raisins and pour boiling water over them. Set aside to cool slightly. In a smaller bowl, mix eggs, buttermilk and honey. Add to partially cooled cereal mixture. In another bowl, mix together flour, baking soda and salt. Add to the cereal mixture, stirring to moisten. Cover and let stand for at least 15 minutes (an hour at most). Grease 24 muffin cups, or use paper muffin tin liners, and fill them three-fourths full with batter. Bake muffins in a preheated oven at 400�F for 20 to 25 minutes. Makes: 24 muffins.
________________________________________
Honey and Spice Bread
A great dessert or breakfast bread!
1 cup whole wheat flour
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
2 teaspoons cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon each: cloves, nutmeg, salt
1 cup buttermilk
1 egg, well beaten
1/2 cup honey
Mix all dry ingredients and set aside. Mix all liquid ingredients and add to dry mixture. Blend well. Pour into greased 9x5 inch loaf pan. Bake at 350F for 45 to 60 minutes, until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Makes: one 9x5 inch loaf.
<a rel=nofollow target=_blank href="http://www.wmconnolley.org.uk/bees/">http://www.wmconnolley.org.uk/bees/</a>
Bees!
Bees are cute furry little creatures and generally quite safe. But you probably didn't want to know that. You wanted to know:
1. How do I make solid honey liquid? or liquid, solid
2. Who keeps bees in Coton? Where can I buy local honey?
3. How do I tell a honeybee from a bumblebee? from a wasp?
4. What is a swarm of bees? what do I do if I have a swarm?
You might also want to look at the Cambridgeshire Bee Keepers Association website.
Honey. Liquid < - > Solid
You make solid (granulated) honey liquid by heating it, gently. As gently as possible. Honey will "turn" - gradually lose volatile components - the more and the longer its heated. Something like 50 - 60 oC is about right (as low as possible), you can probably go somewhat higher but go too high and you'll end up with caramel or toffee. Safest is to stand the honey jar in a pan of water. More convenient is to put it in a microwave for "a while" - a min or two or more, depending in jar size. In hot weather, a good tip is to leave a jar on the back window of a closed car.
To granulate liquid honey just leave it. If its mine, it will re-granulate quite quickly - days or months. Commercial liquid honey will be much slower, as they prepare it carefully.
Bees and Honey in Coton
I know of three beekeepers. And they are:
� Me (William Connolley). There's a surprise. Silverdale Avenue.
� Nikola Baumgarten. The Footpath.
� Jo Clegg. Also The Footpath. Also newsletter editor for the CBKA.
Nikola and I both sell honey - I'm not sure about Jo. £2.50 / lb (OK, OK per 454 g - trading standards insist its per g, and in those funny units. But 454g *is* 1 lb. Nearly). Orders may be placed by email or phone... see here for my contact details. Delivery has to be by hand, which I'm happy to do within the village, but outsiders would have to collect... Honey sold is in new jars, guaranteed to be clean, safe and wholesome to eat... but not necessarily 100% free of "bits"... you may find the odd small flake of wax in there, perfectly safe to eat. I'm happy to take orders for quantities from individual jars upwards. Bulk orders get a discount!
Honeybees, Bumblebees, Wasps. Etc.
This is a honeybee. Somewhat uncharacteristically, its alone. Note the predominant dark colour and blunt end of the body. This is a (female) worker bee, like all the honey bees you will ever see. This is a bumblebee (in a hollyhock). The bumblebee is covered in pollen.
Its hard to see, because I provided no scale, but the bumblebee is bigger. Also its fatter, hairier, and tends to have one (or two) bands of brightish yellow, orange or red. Bumblebees are either solitary, or come in nests of 10-50 ish bees.
Wasps, as we all know, are wasp-waisted; bright yellow-and-black banded; sharply pointed at the tail; and not at all beloved of beekeepers. They tend to be somewhat more aggressive than bees. Wasps too have their good side: they eat various bugs. But if you have a wasps nest you need to remove, contact the District Council, they have special people to do this.
Swarms of bees
A swarm of bees is a *lot* of bees. Not 1, not 10, not even 100. Once you've got to about 1000 (ie, more than you could count) then you have a swarm.
A swarm likes to go into an analogue of its natural habitat - a hollowed-out tree. Ie, a dark enclosed box. My picture shows the most bizarre place I've seen, a swarm in a gas meter enclosure.
Typically, swarms occur in May. The swarm is the hive reproducing itself; about half the bees and the old queen leave to swarm. So a good swarm will be 5,000-20,000 bees. If the air is black with bees, its a swarm. A swarm will usually settle on a tree branch or bush, lost bees will join it, and it coalesces to a rugby-ball shaped and sized object, depending on bee number and surrounding geometry. It is waiting, sending out bees to spy out a good permanent home.
If you have a swarm, don't worry. Bees are at their most docile when swarming (or so everyone says). Simply contact one of your local village beekeepers, or the CBKA, or the District Council (who keep a list of beekeepers, and will give you the name of someone willing to collect a swarm if you phone them). But its best to contact one of us first, if you can.
You *can* just wait and see if the swarm goes away. But its best not to, because it will just go annoy someone else. Or, it may decide to go live in your brickwork, if you have nice old brickwork with lots of gaps. This happened at the crematorium.
The CBKA also provides some swarm info: <a rel=nofollow target=_blank href="http://www.cwucb.org/CBKA/lotsofbits.htm">http://www.cwucb.org/CBKA/lotsofbits.htm</a>

<a rel=nofollow target=_blank href="http://www.honey.com/foodindustry/processing/solidhoney.asp">http://www.honey.com/foodindustry/processing/solidhoney.asp</a>
Solid Honey
We made this all-natural product by simply removing most of the water from honey. (Liquid honey is about 17% water.) The honey is processed in a vacuum evaporator until it reaches 99� Brix. It is then poured into a mold while still hot and hardens as it cools.
The original flavor is perfect as a hot beverage sweetener (no mess!) or as a candy.
Add a bit of menthol to create an all-natural throat soother. The honey soothes your throat while the menthol aids your breathing.
Contact us for FREE formulations, cost estimates, focus group results or samples.
<a rel=nofollow target=_blank href="http://www.abuzzaboutbees.com/IHPA/TheBuzz/June06/Page5.htm">http://www.abuzzaboutbees.com/IHPA/TheBuzz/June06/Page5.htm</a>
Solid Honey Wafer Offers Hands Off Solution for Beverages
Honey Board Promotes No Mess or Fuss Benefits; It�s �Simply Honey�
Longmont, Colo. (May 16, 2006) � Next time you�re considering adding a little honey to your tea, picture yourself reaching for a solid honey wafer. Amazingly, thanks to research sponsored by the National Honey Board (NHB), the ease and convenience of solid honey is now more than wishful thinking, it�s reality.
Prompted by growing interest from food manufacturers in dried honey, the Honey Board initiated a product concept program on behalf of the U.S. honey industry to optimize the utility of the various forms and styles of honey. Early in the project, due to honey�s hygroscopic properties, the Honey Board realized honey�s sticky constraints. By removing a portion of the water content of honey &honey contains roughly 17% water), technologists solved the stickiness problem and created a new concept/product � solid honey. Launched with the tentative name �Simply Honey�, the honey wafer has a single ingredient: pure honey (no additives or stabilizers). With dimensions approximating the size and thickness of a quarter, it dissolves quickly in hot liquid.
To monitor public response, the Honey Board introduced �Simply Honey� as a hot beverage sweetener at food trade shows during 2006, beginning with the World Tea Expo in Las Vegas (March), the Specialty Coffee Association of America conference in Charlotte, NC (April) and at the annual Food Marketing Institute show in Chicago (May). At these events, the board prospected for food manufacturers willing to implement the Honey Board�s primary objective: moving the concept from ideation to the store shelves. The concept comes at no cost to the manufacturer; however, additional product development, product identity, packaging and distribution would be the manufacturer�s responsibility.
While commodity boards primarily focus on generic promotion programs, the National Honey Board proactively assists the industry by identifying opportunistic honey applications and consumer-friendly honey concepts. Since joining the NHB as Marketing Director, Bruce Wolk has spearheaded industry efforts to make honey more accessible to 21st century consumers. �Our goal is to keep honey top of mind when consumers reach for a sweetener. Market research and focus group feedback shows us the honey�s natural appeal and unique flavor are no longer strong enough to influence that decision, whereas a form of honey that is easy to handle and store adds considerably to its attractiveness.�
For more information on current and concept forms and styles of honey contact Charlotte Jordan at (303) 776-2337 or charlotte@nhb.org. For more information about the National Honey Board and its marketing and promotion programs, visit www.honey.com.
The honey Board, through its staff in Longmont, Colo., conducts research, advertising and promotion programs to help maintain and expand domestic and foreign markets for honey. The Board�s work, funded by an assessment of one cent per pound on domestic and imported honey, is designed to expand the awareness and use of honey by consumers, the foodservice industry and food manufacturers.
www.nhb.org
www.honey.com
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com os tr�s termos

Food Scientists are Coming Up With Fun Foods.
The future of food is looking pretty yummy. Check out some of the new ideas in food concocted by food scientists to make what we eat more functional � and more fun. We read about these new trends in Newsweek magazine:
� For example, within the next year you�ll be seeing solid honey on supermarket shelves and in coffee shops. Basically � it�s the same old honey you and Winnie the Pooh love � but the water�s been removed, creating a solid honey wafer. It�s the size and weight of a quarter, a lot less messy, and dissolves in hot liquid in 90 seconds.
� Another new and improved food � round salt. Scientists have created nearly spherical crystals of salt that flow more freely out of the salt shaker and won�t clump. The new salt will be available within one to two years.
� And there�s a new kind of apple that will definitely keep the doctor away. It�s a red fleshed apple. The color inside the apple is red, just like the outside. Because it�s been infused with anthocyanin, the same anti-oxidant found in the peel � which improves memory, vision, and circulation. The new red fleshed apples won�t hit stores for another decade.
� But sour apple string cheese may be in stores in 4 years. Researchers at the University of Wisconsin are working on fun flavored string cheese to get kids to eat more dairy. So far, they�ve experimented with sour apple, watermelon, and cotton candy flavored cheese.
<a rel=nofollow target=_blank href="http://www.honeyshop.co.uk/effect.html">http://www.honeyshop.co.uk/effect.html</a>

The Effects of Temperature and Time on Beeswax and Honey.

Beeswax is produced by bees in the form of tiny scales which are "sweated" from the segments on the underside of the abdomen. To stimulate production the bees gorge themselves with honey or sugar syrup and huddle together to raise the temperature of the cluster. To produce one pound of wax requires the bees to consume about ten pounds of honey however, bees are thought to produce more wax when feeding on sugar than on honey.
At normal hive temperature of 37C (100F), wax can support a considerable weight and yet can be moulded by the bee's jaws. Beeswax becomes friable at about 49C (120F) and melts at 64C (147F). A high propolis content will lower the melting point but older wax and wax bleached by the sun will have a slightly higher melting point of about 65C (150F).
Beeswax has a high resistance to the passage of heat but if cooled quickly will become pale in colour, more brittle and liable to develop cracks due to rapid contraction. For this reason wax for exhibition is cooled as slowly as possible to preserve the texture and colour. To preserve the aroma of fresh wax it should never be raised more than a few degrees above melting point and then only for a short period. Whilst stories abound of last years exhibit being left to soak in honey over the winter to retain the honey aroma, fresh wax and low temperatures are an unbeatable combination.
IMPORTANT: When melting beeswax always use a water bath and never place a pan of wax directly on a hot plate or gas ring. Beeswax can easily become damaged by localised overheating and if it ignites can burn more ferociously then any chip pan fire.
Beeswax loses its nature at 120C (250F) and although it will not boil as such it will decompose giving off smoke. Any apparent boiling is due to water being present. Wax should only be melted in stainless steel, plastic, tin plated or aluminium containers. Iron rust and containers of galvanised iron, brass or copper all impart a colour to wax. The next time you see a very orange wax in may have been melted in a copper pan.
Honey should only be heated in a warming box, water bath or oven where the temperature can be controlled and localised overheating avoided. This applies particularly to solid honey which cannot circulate properly until melted. Microwaves are considered taboo for heating honey even on the defrost setting because of the lack of control and after heating effect i.e. the honey continues to heat up after the oven has switched off and you will find that honey in jars will caramelise around the top.
Honey absorbs water readily and care must be taken when using a water bath to avoid excessive steam or drops of water entering the honey. Excessive stirring promotes the absorption of water vapour. If the water content of honey rises above about 22% the honey may ferment.
Any heating of honey will reduce its aroma and flavour and in time darken the honey. Heating honey above 50C (120F) will damage its food value. This is because the diastase or enzymes put into the honey by the gathering and storing bees is destroyed within a few hours at 50C. Whether this is the "goodness" of honey I won't go into.
Temperature is only part of the story because honey is affected not just by the temperature but also by the time the honey is held at that temperature. The chart below shows the limits of time and temperature if damage is to be avoided or minimised. As an example honey can be held at 54C (130F) for seven or eight hours but more than two hours at 65C (150F) would result in damage. A compromise can be achieved by holding the temperature at 54C for a few hours and then raising it quickly to 65C and then cooling it quickly. You may do this where you want to filter it fast

Besides heating honey to clear it, the risk of fermentation can be reduced by heating the honey to 63C (145F) for half an hour. This would also effectively stop any fermentation that had already stared but would only make it fit for feeding back to the bees. Far better to avoid fermentation by storing the honey at 10C (50F) or less and ensuring the water content is kept below 22%. The water content is important as the fermenting yeast must have moisture and if the honey has a low water content it effectively robs the yeast of this moisture.

If you have any questions you could e-mail me David Bates at enquire@honeyshop.co.uk and I'll try to reply promptly.

<a rel=nofollow target=_blank href="http://www.hortresearch.co.nz/index/news/467">http://www.hortresearch.co.nz/index/news/467</a>
New apple packs health punch
Rich red flesh provides visual delight and antioxidant benefits.
Auckland, New Zealand, 20 March 2006 �A stunning new red-fleshed apple, packed with health-promoting antioxidants, could soon redefine the way consumers and industry perceive the perfect fruit.
New Zealand-based fruit science company HortResearch today unveiled a new apple which carries the fruit�s traditional rosy colouring right to the core.
From the outside the apple looks like almost any other, but bite into or slice it and the fruit�s rich red flesh is revealed � given its unique colour by a high concentration of anthocyanin � an antioxidant known to offer human health benefits.
HortResearch�s work on new apple colours is well known in the science community, and while photographs of the fruit have appeared in scientific literature, little public information has been made available about how the fruit was created, or how close it may be to market.
HortResearch Chief Scientist Dr Ian Ferguson said the apple represents �the next level of achievement� for the company�s established breeding programme, which has already produced numerous successful new apples including the latest blockbuster variety Jazz�.
�Our breeders have built an enviable reputation for innovation and quality and this exciting new fruit is testimony to their skills and imagination,� he said.
Dr Ferguson explained that HortResearch began work in 1998, using apples that have naturally red flesh, but do not possess the external appearance, eating qualities or storage capability required to meet commercial standards.
Breeders crossed these apples with high quality white-fleshed apples, creating breeding lines with fruit that range from white/pink to full purple.
The red-fleshed breeding line has been singled out for immediate fast-track development mainly because the colour is so appealing and HortResearch reports excellent progress.
In the past, taking a new fruit trait from this early stage to full commercialisation has often taken decades of breeding effort, but HortResearch says that by applying the latest genomic science techniques, it could be offering growers the new trees in as little as 5-6 years.
Scientists at the company�s Auckland research campus are now endeavouring to speed up the breeding effort by unlocking the apple�s genetic code. Researchers there have already identified over 150,000 apple ESTs � Expressed Sequence Tags � portions of an entire gene that can be used to help locate and identify unknown genes.
Using this database, they�re well on the way to identifying the genes responsible for turning the apple red � information which will accelerate the efforts of the breeding team.
�We call it Smart Breeding,� said Dr Ferguson.
�We identify �marker genes� that reveal desirable characteristics in fruit � in this case red-flesh � and can then develop tests that enable us to efficiently select elite seedlings from breeding populations that frequently number in the tens of thousands.�
Dr Ferguson was clear that the process did not involve genetic engineering.
�The genes are not modified by us in any way. We simply use our understanding of the genes to identify which of the natural crosses stand the most chance of successfully producing red-fleshed fruit with the right balance of flavour and appearance.�
Getting that balance right can generate huge commercial revenues.
Dr Ferguson said extensive studies, conducted by HortResearch�s own Sensory and Consumer Science team, clearly showed that consumers were willing to pay significant price premiums for fruit with novel colours and tastes, or added health benefits.
The red-fleshed apple is not HortResearch�s first foray into the novel fruit colours. In 1996 the company released to growers a vibrant yellow-fleshed kiwifruit called HORT16A, which has gone on to become a multi-million dollar global success under the brand name ZESPRI� GOLD.
�I believe the red apple has the same level of commercial promise and am proud of the work of our genomics and breeding teams which will secure the potential of this great new apple,� said Dr Ferguson.
******************************
<a rel=nofollow target=_blank href="http://www.greenmantlenursery.com/fruit/rosetta-apples.htm">http://www.greenmantlenursery.com/fruit/rosetta-apples.htm</a>
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<a rel=nofollow target=_blank href="http://www.edwardwillett.com/Columns/apples.htm">http://www.edwardwillett.com/Columns/apples.htm</a>

Advances in Apples
Copyright 2006 by Edward Willett
If �an apple a day keeps the doctor away,� it�s rather surprising there�s still a need for doctors, considering Canadians consume around 11 kg of apples per person per year.

They can choose from a bewildering array of apple cultivars, too (more than 7,500 are known), from the crisp and tart (Macintosh) to the soft and sweet (Red Delicious).

But the quest for a better apple, it seems, is never-ending.

The domestic apple, Malus domestica, is a member of the family Rosaceae�the same family as roses, which may explain why apple blossoms are so appealing. Malus domestica�s wild ancestor, Malus sieversii, still grows wild in the mountains of Central Asia.

The legend of Johnny Appleseed to the contrary, commercially apples are propagated by grafting, a form of cloning practiced for a couple of millennia now. Breeders graft the shoots and branches of a tree whose fruit they like (the scion) onto a new trunk and root system (the root stock), creating a hybrid. If not for this, there would be no consistent apple varietals: if you plant a Golden Delicious seed, you won�t get Golden Delicious apples from the resulting tree, because, the seed contains too much genetic variability. In fact, you�ll likely get something more like a crab apple.

The choice of rootstock matters: different rootstocks bring out different qualities in the scion. Nobody really understands the process very well, though. Researchers in Pennsylvania are trying to learn more. Tim McNellis, assistant professor of plant pathology at Penn State University, says it�s not a case of genes migrating from the rootstock to the scion; rather, the rootstock somehow turns on genes that are already present.

McNellis is concentrating on the Gala apple (an important cultivar in Pennsylvania), and one trait: disease resistance. He grafted Gala scions onto two different rootstocks, then scanned the genetic makeup of each to see which genes were active. He found that one kind of rootstock turned on twice as many stress tolerance genes in the scion as the other�and that that scion was more resistant to a bacterial disease called fire blight. This year a team of researchers will be examining 20 different rootstock varieties. If the research bears fruit (sorry) then growers will have new information about the best rootstock to use�and plant breeders will understand more about how rootstocks affect scions.

Meanwhile, in New Zealand, researchers at the fruit science company HortResearch have come up with an apple that�s red�not just on the outside, but all the way through. And they�re working on green, gold and purple ones.

The company began work on a naturally occurring red-fleshed apple in 1998. Its external appearance, eating qualities and storage capability didn�t meet commercial needs, but by crossing it with high-quality white-fleshed apples, HortResearch created apples with flesh ranging in colour from white to pink to purple. They�re focusing on the red-fleshed apple because the colour is so appealing.

HortResearch is home to the world�s largest database of fruit genes and compounds and is in the process of making public 50,000 apple DNA sequences, called Expressed Sequence Tags (ESTs), that identify active genes�genes that actually do something. Using their EST database, the HortResearch scientists practice smart breeding, using genetic screening to pick out the best breeding prospects from among tens of thousands of seedlings. Being able to hone in on the best candidates for producing desirable fruit should greatly reduce the time necessary to create a viable new cultivar, from a couple of decades to as little as five or six years.

HortResearch emphasizes it is not genetically engineering its apples: it�s using standard breeding techniques. Researcher Abhaya Dandekar at the University of California, Davis, however, has been genetically engineering apples, and he�s come up with fruit with more sorbitol and less sucrose and fructose, three sweet compounds all naturally found in apples. Since sorbitol has only 2.6 calories per gram, 45 percent less than sucrose and fructose, what he�s really developed is a low-calorie apple. And although he used direct genetic modification, he says plant breeders could achieve the same results with regular breeding techniques. Not only that, he believes related fruits such as pears, peaches, plums and cherries could also be produced in low-calorie varieties.

Pomologists (apple scientists), it seems, are not resting on their, um, blossoms. Though apples may keep doctors away from people, apparently they actually attract people with doctorates.

SPECIAL ONLINE-ONLY ALTERNATE COLUMN ENDING!

Though engaged in a kind of science some might find seedy and ripe for graft, pomologists cling to their roots, attempting to stem the doubts that worm their way into the public's heart, polishing pomology's reputation, in the hope that someday its core value may be better recognized, and its appeal may yet blossom and grow.

<a rel=nofollow target=_blank href="http://www.foodmall.org/entry/first-red-fleshed-apple-juice-rich-in-antioxidants/">http://www.foodmall.org/entry/first-red-fleshed-apple-juice-rich-in-antioxidants/</a>

First Red-fleshed Apple Juice, Rich in Antioxidants
Thursday Jun 1 2006, 6:10am PDT - Esther

An earlier research showed that packed fruits lose their antioxidants, but a product release reveals that packed fruit is now going to deliver the necessary antioxidants. HortResearch from New Zealand reports about the all-new red-fleshed apple juice beverage that is developed to carry the antioxidant present in the skin of the apple to its core.
Available resources point towards the high concentration of anthocyanin, an antioxidant, present in various citrus fruits and berries. To quote HortResearch Chief Scientist Dr Ian Ferguson:
This apple represents �the next level of achievement� for our established breeding programme, which has already produced numerous successful new apples including the latest blockbuster variety Jazz(tm). Extensive studies, conducted by HortResearch�s own Sensory and Consumer Science team, clearly showed that consumers were willing to pay significant price premiums for fruit with novel colours and tastes, or added health benefits.
HortResearch will definitely make a difference if it quantitatively increases antioxidants in beverages, by breeding antioxidant-rich fruits.

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