The Processing Journey of Cranberries

Cranberries, those vibrant and tangy fruits synonymous with autumn, undergo a meticulous journey from harvest to packaging, ensuring their quality and freshness are preserved for consumers worldwide.

The process begins at specialized processing plants where cranberries are meticulously cleaned and sorted. Fanning mills are employed to separate the berries; those that bounce are deemed fit for consumption, while softer or defective ones are discarded. This selection process ensures only the best cranberries proceed further.

After sorting, the cranberries undergo a thorough washing procedure. Initially, they are washed in acid or alkaline solutions to remove any residual pesticides or contaminants from the field. Subsequently, they are rinsed with water to ensure cleanliness.

For cranberries destined for fresh consumption, packaging is a critical step. The berries are carefully packed into paper-lined wooden crates and gradually cooled to a precise temperature between 36 to 40 degrees Fahrenheit. Maintaining this controlled environment is essential for extending the cranberries' shelf life to several months.

Alternatively, cranberries can be frozen for future processing into jellies or sauces. They are swiftly frozen in large metal containers within cold-air rooms. This freezing process effectively preserves the cranberries until they are needed for cooking applications.

Throughout this journey, temperature control is paramount. Whether stored fresh or frozen, cranberries must remain consistently chilled to maintain their quality and prolong their viability.

In conclusion, the processing of cranberries involves a series of meticulous steps aimed at delivering the finest quality fruit to consumers. From rigorous cleaning to precise storage, each phase of this journey contributes to ensuring the cranberries reach our tables fresh and full of flavor.
The Processing Journey of Cranberries

Canning process of blueberries

Fresh berries can be preserved for long-term storage by canning, freezing, and dehydrating. Canning is the general term applied to the process of packaging a food in a container and subjecting it to a thermal process for the purpose of extending its useful life.

The blueberries may either be packed in water or sugar syrup. The water packed product can be used as pie fillings and toppings. The sugar syrup packed berries can be used as dessert fruit.

Water or heavy sugar syrup (50 - 55 °Bx) is added as a packaging medium. Each 444 ml can contain 65.8% blueberries, 8.4% sugar and 25.8% water by weight. The syrup was added at 71˚C.

The cans were heated for eight minutes in a rotary cooker to a final temperature of 93˚C and were cooled to 38˚C in a rotary water bath within 10 minutes.

The cans must be water-cooled as soon as commercial sterility of the product has been reached to prevent over-cooking of the product. This could spoil the appearance, flavor and texture of the product.

Cans of blueberries from the same pallet were randomly sampled as they came off the canning line.
Canning process of blueberries

Processing of blueberry wine

The antioxidant activity of this fruit is based on high content of phenolic compounds like anthocyanin, phenolic acids and tannins. These compounds are a current interest due to their important biological and pharmacological properties including antioxidant, antimutagenic, anticarcinogenic, anti-inflamatory, and antiproliferative activities. The ranges of total anthocyanin and total flavonol contents (expressed in mg/kg) varied in blueberries from 1435.2 to 8227.3 and from 172.5 to 327.5, respectively.

Fruit wine is a kind of low alcohol drink with 7% - 18% alcohol concentration, which is made from fresh fruit or fruit juice and fermented in whole or in part. Blueberry wine is a berry fruit wine that has dark red color, pleasant blueberry aroma, and may have a multitude of health benefits.

The later the blueberry is harvested, the higher the sugar concentration mainly in the form of fructose and glucose, which could reach up to about 13%.

Blueberry fruit wine, made from blueberry, mainly goes through fruit selection, crushing (sugar added), fermentation, pressing, post fermentation, filtration, bottling and other processes.

During wine processing, the fruits are pressed to release the sweet juice used for fermentation along with their skins and seeds.

Like red grapes, anthocyanins of blueberries are present mainly in the skins, while tannins and phenolic acids predominate in the seeds. During fermentation process, these compounds are transferred to wine and contribute to the color, mouthfeel, and antioxidant properties of the wine.

Blueberry wine is a unique product. Blueberries are sweet and tart at the same time, yielding a range of taste components that lend themselves to the production of a complex wine.
Processing of blueberry wine

Blueberry juice processing

Blueberry juice is generally marketed as a blend with other juices. Blueberry juice preparation can be more difficult than other berry juices due to their high level of mucilaginous material.

Blueberry juice can be made from both fresh and frozen berries. The washed blueberries are heated in a jacketed stainless steel kettle with agitation. When the berries reach 82 ° C, they are put through a screw juice expresser with appropriate screens to separate the juice from other parts of the fruit can be used.

Cold express extracted juice has a light blue color and delicate flavor, although hot press enzyme treated juice has a deep purple-blue color and stronger flavor.

The juice can be further clarified with bentonite and gelatin, filtered and pasteurized at 85 ° C for 90 seconds.

Single strength blueberry juice is about 8-12 ° Brix.
Blueberry juice processing

Cranberry jelly and cranberry sauce

About 80% of the cranberry crop is processed. Some of the processed berries are made directly into cranberry juice drinks and traditional types of cranberries sauces.

In manufacturing cranberries jelly, the clear juice from the boiled fruit that has been passed through a pulper, is nixed with sugar, about 0.35% of dispersed pectin is added and no water used.

The mixture is heated briefly to bring the soluble solid content to 65% and citric solution is added to regulate the pH 3.0 to 3.2.

Cranberry sauce production starts with frozen fruit. After the frozen fruit is dumped into warm water for defrosting the slurry passes through scavenger and rock trap prior dewatering and cooking.

For whole cranberry sauce carefully hand-sorted berries are added to the puree after the first cooking. No additional pectin is needed to set the jellied sauce because the berries have an abundance of natural pectin.

Both cranberry sauce and cranberry jelly are preserved by heat processing. If the products are heated to about 190 F (87.8 C) prior to filling into containers further heating is not necessary to attain commercial after sealing the containers.

If packed at lower temperatures, the containers should be sealed and heated in a water bath or with spray of water at 185 – 200 F (85-93.3 C) prior to cooling.
Cranberries jelly and cranberry sauce

Blueberry puree

Purees are fruits that have gone through a straining or pulping process to break down the fruit structure, and if desired, separate any seeds, skins or other o0cmpoients of the original fruit from the desired finished puree.

Most of the wild blueberries and about 30% of cultivated blueberries are processed into various products.

Good berries are led into successive pan that contains water to separate heavy solids, such as stones etc. Subsequently the berries are sanitized with chlorine water spray.

Single-strength blueberry puree and puree concentrates can be made by cutting/crushing berries passed through a pulper/finisher, pasteurizing or concentrated, freezing and filled into containers.

These products are suitable for use in sauce and fillings.
Blueberry puree

Blueberry: Highbush and Rabbiteye

Blueberry: Highbush and Rabbiteye
The blueberry belongs to the Ericaceae family, subfamily Vacciniaceae. Blueberries are found in many areas of the world but have gained greatest acceptance in the US and Canada.

The true blueberries belong to the ancient genus Vaccinium, subgenus Cyanococcus.

The blueberry has specific requirements regarding climate and soil.

The blueberry is a many seeded berry with small, soft seeds that allows it to be accepted by consumers who do not find the seeds objectionable.

Blueberries are a fast growing fruit crop with the fruit maturing 2 to 3 months after flowering.

After reaching its permanent color, the blueberry changes little in size and continues it improve in flavor and sweetness.

There are both wild and cultivated blueberry species. Blueberry varieties originate form the hybridization and breeding of native wild species.

Blueberry varieties are classified as early, early midseason, midseason, late season and late season according to time of maturity.

The cultivated blueberries are highbush and rabbiteye. The blueberry harvested commercially but not cultivated is the lowbush.

The highbush blueberry (Vaccinium corymbosum and Vaccinium australe) range in height from 1.5 to 7 m (5 to 23 ft) and like sunny, acidic areas with a pH between 4 and 5.

These blueberries are shallow-rooted plants and are characterized by the lack of root hairs.

These fine, fibrous roots require an open, porous soil for ease of growth. Blueberry roots are associated with mycorrhizal fungi in the soil that aid the plant in nutrient in nutrient absorption.

These blueberries usually require 6 to 8 years to reach full production. Fruit for use in the fresh market is hand-harvested while machine harvested fruit goes mainly to the processing market.

Major production areas are Michigan, New Jersey, North Carolina, Arkansas, Washington, Oregon, British Columbia, Canada, Europe, New Zealand and Australia.

The rabbiteye blueberry (Vaccinium ashei) can attain heights of approximately 10 m (33 ft) and re extremely vigorous, productive types with fruit similar to that of the highbush cultivars.

Rabbiteye are not winter hardy, but are drought tolerant. In the US, they are grown primarily in the southeastern areas.

It has a short chilling requirement, tolerant to a relative wide soil pH range and high temperatures.

Result suggest fertilization and fruit set of pollinated rabbiteye blueberries can be greatly impaired by even mild freezes (-1 to -2 degree C), whereas, appropriately timed applications of gibberallic acid can result in little reduction in fruit set even after moderate freezes ( -3 to -4 degree C) of blueberries during bloom.

This fruit can be hand or machine harvested.
Blueberry: Highbush and Rabbiteye

Processing of Cranberries

Processing of Cranberries
At the processing plant, cranberries are cleaned in fanning mills, then dropped some distance to eliminate soft or rotten specimens (the defective berries do not bounce, those suitable for food bounce up over a barrier), then washed, first in acid or alkaline solutions to remove spray residues, then in water. Determining is carried out in a rotating vegetable peeler fitted with a smooth bottom plate.

Cranberries handled as fresh are packed in paper fined wooden boxes, and the product is slowly cooled to 36 – 40 degree F. Cranberries should be held at 36 - 40 degree F until sold to the consumer. At this temperature, cranberries have a storage life of several months. Cranberries may be held frozen prior to the manufacture of jelly or sauce. They are placed in large metal containers, frozen, in bulk in cold-air rooms, and held in this condition until defrosted for purposes of preparing cooked products.
Processing of Cranberries