Take a trip to the local market this summer and you’ll find an abundance of colourful fruits and vegetables. With June being National Fresh Fruit and Vegetable Month, we thought it would be fitting to explore fruit preferences with our sensory product testing team when it comes to berries, tropical fruits, citrus fruits and of course, the most popular, summer fruits through a survey of our Contract Testing community.
Red & Blue Berries
Berries tend to be most in season between May and October – depending on where you live. They are packed with nutrition and disease-fighting antioxidants. They are also colorful, sweet and delicious. Respondents in our survey preferred strawberries (54 per cent) over blueberries (20 per cent), raspberries (19 per cent) and blackberries (5 per cent).
Citrus
Citrus fruits are richer in vitamin C than any other fruit or vegetables. The peels of most citrus are thick and bitter tasting but the fruit inside is pulpy, tangy and delicious. Oranges, lemons and limes are incredibly popular and used in desserts, beverages and a variety of meals from breakfasts to a main course. Some of the most notable recipes use lemons – Lemon Meringue Pie, Lemon Chicken and Lemon Poppy Seed Cake. And orange juice is one of the most popular beverages around – a favourite at breakfast time. Respondents in this survey preferred oranges over other citrus (33 per cent) such as lemon (19 per cent), tangerine (12 per cent), mandarin orange (11 per cent) – most popular around the holidays and grapefruit (10 per cent).
Tropical
Some of the most popular fruits in the world are considered to be “tropical fruits” because they grow in warm tropical climates. The most popular tropical fruits in our survey include pineapple (28 per cent) and mango (27 per cent). They were closely followed by watermelon (18 per cent), banana (10 per cent) and avocado (8 per cent). Yes! Avocado is a fruit although it is often paired in more savoury dishes such as salads and sandwiches.
Summer
In many regions across North America, the summer is one of the best times to buy local fruits. Summer fruits also make the most delicious desserts such as pies and crisps and can be frozen to be used all year round in items like jam and jelly. Respondents in our survey expressed their love of cherries in terms of summer fruits with 30 per cent saying this tart and delicious fruit that falls from a tree as their preference. This was followed by strawberries (26 per cent) and cantaloupe (15 per cent).
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This article is free information from Contract Testing Inc., an established leader in sensory product research and consumer product research for the food, beverage, and (QSR) quick service restaurant industries throughout the United States and Canada. To learn more about the complete scope of product research services, please call 1-905-456-0783 or visit us onlineContractTesting.com.