Tasting Event for Apples

Objectives

• Offer an eating experience and the opportunity to try something new from a local farm.



• Test the process of offering farm fresh food samples that support the Farm to School initiative. (See “Farm to School” handout)



• Increase awareness of the “5 to 9 fruits and vegetables a day” message.



• Increase participation in the food service program.



• Create a positive food service experience.

Process

Day Before: Morning Lyceum

Apple farmer available to speak with the children about “RESPONSIBILITY” or any other of the character promotion pieces.

Day Before: Lunch period

• Children will go through the lunch line as usual and be seated in the cafeteria. Teachers will be invited but not required to stay.



• Local Food Team members will bring cut apples purchased from local source to the tables. The apple quantity will be counted as the fruit serving for the day.



• Children will be encouraged to try two different apples from the local source. Team members will show them the whole form and talk with them about nutrition, etc.



• Team members will return to the tables and ask the children to let us and the farmer know which apple they preferred. The children will be shown the whole form again and will simply raise their hand to vote. A simple tally will be made of the raised hands.



• Apples will be offered to teachers in their break room if desired.

Apple Day: Lunch period

• Apples purchased from local source will be offered to students on the lunch line. They will be the same apples they tasted the day before.



• Apples will be cut or whole depending upon size.



• Team members will note popularity of the apples.

Second Apple Day, 1 week later: Lunch period

• Food service staff will offer apples from the local source on the lunch line and will take note of the popularity.

Questions for Farmers

Farmers know their farms and their production systems very well. It can be difficult for them to realize just how little students may know about farming in general, life on the farm, or a particular crop or livestock. Here are sample questions that students may have, to help farmers prepare themselves for speaking to a class or at a school cafeteria.

• What varieties do you grow and why?


• What’s your favorite apple variety?


• What’s your favorite way to eat an apple?


• How old are your apple trees?


• Why do you prune apple trees?


• How many years do apple trees produce apples?

Take Home Message

A home link will be made through the Newsletter and Monthly Menu.

Other apple tasting ideas and comments from other food service providers:

• Put apple slices on the salad bar



• Use really small apples if serving whole apples



• To prevent (or disguise!) browning of sliced apples: Some suggested sprinkling cinnamon on the apples, though some felt this hid the flavor too much. Can sprinkle with lemon juice, but also affects taste. Someone suggested using “Fruit Fresh” (ascorbic acid and dextrose-flavorless-sold where freezing ad canning supplies are sold) which prevents browning—mix dry powder in water to mix with cut fruit.



• Purchase heavy duty manual apple slicers.



• Have the apple separate from the meal to make it easier for the staff, and have it tended by parent volunteers. This will ensure that the tasting will be accepted by the school and also expose the parents to the idea of what farm to school is all about.



• Salad bar: Have parent volunteers and fifth grade leadership volunteers help with the features, including apple slicing. To avoid long lines, we put the 5th grade leaders in pairs handing out the feature as an appetizer while the kids were waiting in line. One 5th grader had a tray of the feature (apple varieties) while the other had a clipboard recording information.

Trivia Questions

Use "fun facts" in a game-show format in conjunction with tasting

• A contest was just held in Minnesota to name to a variety originally released in 1921 as “MN447”. What was the winning name for this tart-tasting apple? -- Answer: Frostbite



• A Minnesota Apple Variety is the Minnesota State Fruit, true or false? -- Answer: True



• What is the Minnesota State Apple? -- Answer: Honeycrisp



• Which Minnesota apple variety is known for being slow to turn brown once it’s cut?



• Name the Minnesota apple variety known for being “explosively crisp”! -- Answer: HoneyCrisp



• Why do apples slices turn brown? What enzyme is responsible? How can this be prevented and why does that work (lemon juice, fruit fresh, etc.)



• Unscramble the names of the 10 Minnesota-bred cold hardy apple varieties: