Year-round taste and crunch
The Cameo Quality Control program is the only varietal-specific quality control program in the apple industry. It’s a complex four-part regime for harvesting and storing Cameos to insure top quality year-round.
The Cameo Quality Control program is the only varietal-specific quality control program in the apple industry. It’s a complex four-part regime for harvesting and storing Cameos to insure top quality year-round.
Pressure: It’s all about crunch
Firmness, or crunch, is the number one factor apple lovers consider when buying. If it doesn’t have crunch, it won’t go into Tommy’s lunch! And there is none crunchier than Cameo. It’s the only apple with variety-specific pressure standards of 13 lbs. Whatever the time of year, you can be sure that Cameo apples will have maximum crunch.
Starch: Sweetness done just right
Starch levels determine the unique sweet-tart Cameo taste that consumers love. The secret to this perfect flavor blend is the “starch chart” used exclusively by American Cameo™ growers and shippers. Without this Cameo-specific chart, the special blend of sweet-tart flavor that Cameo is famous for, could not be achieved consistently.
Color: Timing is everything
Why is color important? It’s actually moderate color that Cameo growers are going for. Too much red means thick, tough skin, not the thin, tender skin Cameo is prized for.
Emphasizing less red while retaining Cameo’s signature red stripe is tricky. That’s because the red stripe develops just before harvest. This requires the grower to pick the orchard as many as four times, each time selecting only the apples that have developed just the right red over cream coloring to look beautiful on the shelf.
A strict set of standards are followed during the complex growing season, so that Cameo apples are always picked at the peak of perfection — no matter how many trips through the orchard it takes.
Storage: The year-round supply
Getting that "just off the tree" flavor and crunch, which can be as long as a year after apple harvest, is a study in precision. And nobody does it better than Cameo growers. With a little help from a marvel called “Controlled Atmosphere” (CA) storage.
What is CA storage? Simply put, once the apples are picked at the peak of perfection, 20 percent of them are shipped fresh to retailers for fall consumption. The rest are set aside in sealed "Controlled Atmosphere" (CA) storage rooms, where the oxygen and CO2 are reduced, and the temperature is held at about 32 degrees. This slows down the apple's respiration — basically puts them to sleep, until they're needed.
Thanks to CA storage, Cameo apples are crisp and flavorful in June or July, just like the day they were picked.
