Pegasus Research Consortium

General Category => Food and Drink => Topic started by: zorgon on September 02, 2017, 04:27:55 am

Title: Fruit breeder hits the sweet spot with Sweet Sapphire grapes
Post by: zorgon on September 02, 2017, 04:27:55 am
Fruit breeder hits the sweet spot with Sweet Sapphire grapes
David Cain's latest invention is part of a designer-fruit craze in which farmers try to create the next Cuties Clementine orange or Honeycrisp apple.
July 31, 2013|By David Pierson

(http://www.trbimg.com/img-51fa8cf4/turbine/la-fi-cotton-candy-grape-20130801-002/600/600x400)
Sweet Sapphire grape. (Anne Cusack / Los Angeles…)

Quote
It's not easy peddling fresh fruit to a nation of junk-food addicts. But in rural Kern County, David Cain is working to win the stomachs and wallets of U.S. grocery shoppers.

Cain is a fruit breeder. His latest invention is called the Cotton Candy grape. Bite into one of these green globes and the taste triggers the unmistakable sensation of eating a puffy, pink ball of spun sugar.

By marrying select traits across thousands of nameless trial grapes, Cain and other breeders have developed patented varieties that pack enough sugar they may as well be Skittles on the vine. That's no accident.

"We're competing against candy bars and cookies," said Cain, 62, a former scientist at the U.S. Department of Agriculture who now heads research at privately owned International Fruit Genetics in Bakersfield.

http://articles.latimes.com/2013/jul/31/business/la-fi-cotton-candy-grape-20130801

A Variety of Fruits

(https://avarietyoffruits.files.wordpress.com/2016/07/sweet-sapphire-avarietyoffruits-com.jpg?w=1400&h=400&crop=1)

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[size=10pt]How was the shape of this grape achieved?

Sweet Sapphire is 100% Vitis Vinifera species, no other species were combined to produce this variety. The shape was achieved by selective breeding, which in laymen’s terms mean that two grape varieties which showed tendencies to naturally grow longer berries were crossed.  The longest berries that grew from that cross selection were crossed again and so forth. This process of selecting and crossing was done over many years until a berry that was long enough to catch the attention of the crowd was produced.[/size]

https://avarietyoffruits.com/2016/07/11/sweet-sapphire/

(https://avarietyoffruits.files.wordpress.com/2016/07/ready-for-harvest-www-avarietoffruits-com.jpg)

(https://avarietyoffruits.files.wordpress.com/2016/07/the-beauty-of-sapphire-as-the-temperatures-rise-the-berries-grow-darker-avarietyoffruits-com.jpg)

(https://avarietyoffruits.files.wordpress.com/2016/07/sweet-sapphire-on-the-vine-www-avarietoffruits-com.jpg)

(https://avarietyoffruits.files.wordpress.com/2016/07/sweet-sapphire-shades-getting-ready-to-impress-www-avarietyoffruits-com.jpg?w=500&h=667)
Title: Re: Fruit breeder hits the sweet spot with Sweet Sapphire grapes
Post by: zorgon on September 02, 2017, 04:30:44 am
These are NOT GMO  just selective breeding.

Albertson's has them this week for 88 cents a pound here in Las Vegas
Title: Re: Fruit breeder hits the sweet spot with Sweet Sapphire grapes
Post by: Somamech on September 02, 2017, 10:50:10 am
Freaking Fruit!

I recall a time age's ago having a chat with someone about how cool it would be if you could eat gemstones :D

I know thats weird but heck imagine eating into amethyst geode!
Title: Re: Fruit breeder hits the sweet spot with Sweet Sapphire grapes
Post by: Somamech on September 02, 2017, 10:56:03 am
I'm switching to Hybrid Tomatoes for this coming summer.  Apparently, modern Hybrids are quite good taste wise compared to some old heirloom faves.

And they are not GMO either,  just hard work and selective breeding.    :)

Let us know how those grapes taste as they look fantastic!   ;D