Queensland researchers are growing strawberries with a NEW flavour!
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Whether it’s making fruits sweeter, a little more vibrant in colour, or larger in size, it’s no secret that researchers and farmers have long been tweaking certain characteristics of produce to match the preference of the general population.
But things have been taken to another level after researchers from Queensland’s Sunshine Coast announced that they have successfully developed strawberries with a new, epic flavour – pina colada! The even better news is that we’re a step closer to seeing them stocked on supermarket shelves.
The two new ‘novelty’ varieties of strawberry are ‘white’ and ‘pink’, both of which have distinct characteristics and an intense aroma.
Lead Strawberry Breeder at the Department of Agriculture and Fisheries (DAF), Jodi Neal shared that her team had spent eight years perfecting the fruit, with the varieties now ready for commercialisation.
The ‘pink’ strawberries have inner white flesh. Source: Reddit
‘Both of the varieties taste and smell really different. They are really beautiful,’ she said, describing the fruits.
‘They're sweet, have very low acidity, and very low tang. It's just this lovely, almost pina colada-like experience.’
Dr Neal added that the strawberries were crossbred from a white species growing wild in Chile, to give consumers a fresh change.
‘They have a lot of the flavour notes that come from their Chilean strawberry grandparents with lovely tropical overtones – almost like a pineapple flavour and smell,’ she said.
She also hopes that the achievement raises awareness as unlike apples and bananas, strawberry varieties don’t have flashy labels.
The ‘white’ strawberries are ripe when their seeds turn red. Source: ABC
‘We wanted to create something that consumers could visually see and go. They are different strawberries that we know have different flavours. That's what I want to put on my pavlova, or in my salad, or on my breakfast,’ Dr Neal continued.
‘In the last 10 years alone, we've developed 16 red strawberry varieties but unfortunately, because they're not sold under their names in the supermarkets, consumers don't know what they're getting.’
‘These two varieties do have names at the moment, but they are just basically weird codes. They're very unsexy,’ Dr Neal joked.
‘They'll be marketed as, hopefully, something slightly better than SB17-230, for example.’
The research team collaborated with the grower-owned research and development corporation Hort Innovation, using grower levies and federal and Queensland government funding.
Hort Innovation Chief Executive Brett Fifield said the new strawberries were a one-of-a-kind product.
‘Pink and white strawberries are like nothing else on Aussie retail shelves. They're exceptional, and so they should be,’ he said.
‘They are the culmination of years of research, field trials, consumer preference testing and industry engagement.’
Hort Innovation and DAF revealed that they were looking for a business partner to commercialise the pink and white varieties at BerryQuest International 2022, in the presence of industry leaders from across the globe.
Berries Australia Executive Director Rachel Mackenzie showed her support for the program and said it could potentially increase domestic and export demand for Australian strawberries.
What are your thoughts on strawberries that taste like pina colada? Better yet, will you be willing to give them a shot as soon as they land in Aussie supermarkets? We certainly will! Let us know in the comments!
Learn more about the new strawberry varieties by watching the video below:
Source:9News
But things have been taken to another level after researchers from Queensland’s Sunshine Coast announced that they have successfully developed strawberries with a new, epic flavour – pina colada! The even better news is that we’re a step closer to seeing them stocked on supermarket shelves.
The two new ‘novelty’ varieties of strawberry are ‘white’ and ‘pink’, both of which have distinct characteristics and an intense aroma.
Lead Strawberry Breeder at the Department of Agriculture and Fisheries (DAF), Jodi Neal shared that her team had spent eight years perfecting the fruit, with the varieties now ready for commercialisation.
The ‘pink’ strawberries have inner white flesh. Source: Reddit
‘Both of the varieties taste and smell really different. They are really beautiful,’ she said, describing the fruits.
‘They're sweet, have very low acidity, and very low tang. It's just this lovely, almost pina colada-like experience.’
Dr Neal added that the strawberries were crossbred from a white species growing wild in Chile, to give consumers a fresh change.
‘They have a lot of the flavour notes that come from their Chilean strawberry grandparents with lovely tropical overtones – almost like a pineapple flavour and smell,’ she said.
She also hopes that the achievement raises awareness as unlike apples and bananas, strawberry varieties don’t have flashy labels.
The ‘white’ strawberries are ripe when their seeds turn red. Source: ABC
‘We wanted to create something that consumers could visually see and go. They are different strawberries that we know have different flavours. That's what I want to put on my pavlova, or in my salad, or on my breakfast,’ Dr Neal continued.
‘In the last 10 years alone, we've developed 16 red strawberry varieties but unfortunately, because they're not sold under their names in the supermarkets, consumers don't know what they're getting.’
‘These two varieties do have names at the moment, but they are just basically weird codes. They're very unsexy,’ Dr Neal joked.
‘They'll be marketed as, hopefully, something slightly better than SB17-230, for example.’
The research team collaborated with the grower-owned research and development corporation Hort Innovation, using grower levies and federal and Queensland government funding.
Hort Innovation Chief Executive Brett Fifield said the new strawberries were a one-of-a-kind product.
‘Pink and white strawberries are like nothing else on Aussie retail shelves. They're exceptional, and so they should be,’ he said.
‘They are the culmination of years of research, field trials, consumer preference testing and industry engagement.’
Hort Innovation and DAF revealed that they were looking for a business partner to commercialise the pink and white varieties at BerryQuest International 2022, in the presence of industry leaders from across the globe.
Berries Australia Executive Director Rachel Mackenzie showed her support for the program and said it could potentially increase domestic and export demand for Australian strawberries.
What are your thoughts on strawberries that taste like pina colada? Better yet, will you be willing to give them a shot as soon as they land in Aussie supermarkets? We certainly will! Let us know in the comments!
Learn more about the new strawberry varieties by watching the video below:
Source:9News
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