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New Subacid Peaches, Nectarines have Sweet Marketing Possibility

By Lisa Lieberman California Correspondent
Compared to traditional yellow-flesh peaches and nectarines, which have a sweet/tart flavor, subacid varieties, which are also yellow-fleshed, have a sweet flavor without the tartness. While the sweet tasting white-flesh peach and nectarine varieties have been making a name for themselves both domestically and abroad, the sweet subacid yellow-flesh varieties could be said to encompass the best of both worlds. They have the traditional yellow color of peaches and nectarines to which American consumers are accustomed, yet they have the sweet taste similar to the newer white-flesh varieties without having the sweet/tart taste of the old yellow-flesh varieties. said Gary Van Sickle, director of grower relations for the California Tree Fruit Agreement, Reedley, Calif. “The subacids could be good for both growers and consumers who prefer yellow flesh fruit (of traditional yellow-flesh varieties), but want the sweeter tasting aspect of the subacids,” Van Sickle said. The subacid varieties don’t necessarily have higher sugar level than traditional yellow-flesh varieties, it’s just that their lack of tartness due to low acidity makes them seem sweeter, Van Sickle said. So far, there are only limited commercial plantings of the subacid varieties, Van Sickle said. The two main varieties of California subacid peaches in production are Sweet Scarlet and Sweet September. California only produces about half a million boxes of subacid peaches and nectarines annually. In the next few years, Van Sickle said he expected this number to climb up to three million to five million boxes annually. One reason that subacid varieties may become popular among consumers and retailers is that they taste good even before they’re fully mature, Van Sickle said. When growers harvest traditional acidic yellow-flesh peaches before full maturity, the fruit is still high in acid. It generally takes a few days for the acid to dissipate and for the fruit to lose some of its tartness and to become more palatable to the average consumer, Van Sickle said. Normally, consumers who buy acidic yellow-flesh fruit need to take it home and let it ripen for a few days before consuming it. But since, subacids have so little acid, the fruit tastes sweeter even before it’s fully ripe, Van Sickle said. “By having that low acid in the fruit, it allows the sugar sensation to come through quickly. With regular fruit that has high acid, it takes two or three days for the acid level to dissipate and come through to your pallet,” Van Sickle said. So when consumers buy a subacid peach that’s not fully ripe, they can still bring it home and enjoy the sweetness of it, Van Sickle said. This could be a disadvantage, too, Van Sickle said. Since it’s difficult to distinguish subacids from traditional yellow-flesh varieties, a consumer could buy a subacid peach and take it home and eat it the same day and enjoy it. The next day, he could go back to the same supermarket, and without knowing it buy a peach with higher acidity, and expect it to taste the same way, and then be disappointed, Van Sickle said. “The problem is that the subacid peaches and the higher acid peaches look exactly alike. There’s no way yet to denote to the consumer that this is something different, and that it’s got a sweeter taste to it. This could be a short term problem until we can educate the consumer on the difference between them,” Van Sickle said. J ohn Warmerdam of Warmerdam Packing, Hanford, Calif. said he’s been planting more subacid varieties because once consumers become more familiar with what they are, there will be more demand for them. Low acid peaches are not new, though, Warmerdam said. Many of the older peach varieties, such as the Sun Crests have low acidity. The problem with the older subacid varieties was that they didn’t have the same shelf life and color as some of the higher acidic peaches, Warmerdam said. The newer subacid varieties have better shelf life and higher color, which should appeal more to retailers and consumers, Warmerdam said. It’s unlikely that the newer subacid varieties will command a higher premium in the market place in the same way that the white-flesh has done, Warmerdam said. However, since the subacids are so sweet, they should help build the overall tree fruit category, especially among consumers who like the sweetness of a peach without the tartness, Warmerdam said. “Very few people would miss the acid of a peach when they eat a white-flesh peach or a subacid peach,” Warmerdam said. Right now, subacid peaches are mostly a California phenomenon. Jerry Frecon, agricultural agent specializing in tree fruit with Rutgers Cooperative Extension, Clayton, N.J. said that he’s been testing subacid peach varieties, but so far he hasn’t found any that will grow well on the East Coast. “They’re not adapted to this area. We’re testing the varieties from California, but most of them don’t crop or they get bacterial spots, which makes it difficult to grow,” Frecon said. Some of the Californian subacid varieties are also very susceptible to other diseases, Frecon said. “We keep testing the low acid varieties hoping to find something that will have a tolerance to disease,” Frecon said. It’s possible that the cold winters in the East may injure the buds on the subacid varieties, Frecon said. Even if researchers can develop a subacid variety that will work in the East, some growers may be reluctant to plant them, since it’s still unknown how well consumers will accept them in the mainstream market place, Frecon said. “We don’t know whether consumers will accept them or even like the flavor. With the white-flesh (also low in acid), some people rave about them, but some people don’t like them and say their flavor is flat,” Frecon said.