Cameo Apple

The Cameo grower begins harvest when the fruit is at its peak flavor. The apples are then carefully removed from the tree to make sure that no bruising takes place.

During the year, the orchards are never without activity. Throughout the growing season, close attention is paid to such things as proper irrigation and frost control. Pruning goes on throughout the winter and early spring, as workers thin out branches to allow maximum sunlight into the trees. Then comes the bloom season, where buzzing with activity takes on a whole new meaning, as beekeepers with thousands of “rent-a-bees” are brought into the orchards to pollinate the crop!

When harvest rolls around, for about six weeks, growers literally see the fruits of their labors come to pass. Then comes winter and the whole process starts all over again.

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The Cameo apple, which is grown almost exclusively in Washington apple country, starts life in the spring as a fragrant apple blossom. Around the first part of May, Cameo trees sprout pink flower-like blossoms that are cared for and nurtured by growers.

During the growing season, Cameo growers must constantly be on the lookout for weather that might affect the quality of the fruit. Apples can be affected by wind, rain or even too much direct sunlight.

In case of early frost, which can wipe out a new crop, giant fans on 30 foot masts literally move the air, mixing the warm layers above the trees with the cold air near the ground, raising temperatures just enough to keep frost from settling on, and killing, the fragile blossoms.

On frigid spring nights, the growers turn on sprinklers over and under the trees, which can form glass-like ice casings around the blossoms. Ironic as it may seem, the process of freezing water gives off enough heat to protect the blossoms from frost damage.

As the maturing apple grows, the blossom falls off the tree and makes way for continued growth until harvest time.

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The Cameo grower begins harvest when the fruit is at its peak flavor and color has developed. Since apples don’t all ripen at once, this can involve three or four hand pickings. And since no Cameo apple is picked before it has reached its peak flavor, harvesting is a labor-intensive activity.

After harvest, Cameo apples are stored in a controlled atmosphere warehouse, or CA, at temperatures that halt ripening--literally putting them to sleep--until they are shipped to grocery stores around the country. The CA warehouses just are one step in the Cameo quality control program, which combines growing, harvest, storage and shipping standards.

All this to ensure only gourmet Cameo apples with premium taste and crunch are sold, regardless of the time of year.

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If you’ve ever wondered why Cameo consistently produces premium quality apples, look no further than the extraordinary advances made by Cameo growers. These new growing and harvesting practices, together with modern storage techniques, guarantee optimal eating quality year-round.

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With the exception of weather, Cameo growers have all but eliminated the unknowns by introducing progressive new horticultural practices to establish premium quality sooner in the apple’s life cycle. One critical example is the reduction of “tree vigor.”

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Tree vigor is a condition that causes young trees to produce poor quality fruit in the years prior to “settling down” into maturity. It is caused by nitrogen released by plant food in the soil. The early “settling down” of the trees by new Cameo horticultural techniques enables the fruit to reach its peak of flavor and crunch much sooner.

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Tree vigor affects apples in many ways — from how they look, to how they eat, to how well consumers take to them and come back for more. When nitrogen levels are reduced, vigor is reduced and a finer red stripe is produced — which profoundly affects how the apple looks on the shelf.

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It’s not easy for any new variety to get the trees settled down early in production. But Cameo growers, taking a progressive approach, have advanced their horticultural practices to fast track the settling down process.

• Summer pruning maximizes exposure to sunlight and develops Cameo’s characteristic red stripe.
• Multiple picking, because Cameos are individually harvested at optimum maturity, each tree must be picked more than once.

Labor intensive, to be sure.
But the results in shelf appearance and consumer appeal are well worth the effort.

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Leading the way on quality

The Cameo Apple Marketing Association (CAMA) has been working closely with research scientists on specific storage practices for Cameo apples. At the grower level, greater and greater emphasis has been placed on practices that maximize flavor and eating quality.

This two-pronged approach to quality assurance is one reason why Cameo has become such a hit with apple lovers everywhere.