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pulled by her truck, which also carries a generator that powers the unit. It requires a connection to potable water in the orchard and a spot to park the truck and trailer.


Wurtele was in landscaping prior to starting her juicing operation, called simply, mobilejuicing.com. “I wanted to start my own business and I heard of this and it seemed like a perfect fit.”


The operation has the approval of Interior Health, and has been approved by the Canadian Food Inspection Agency. Wurtele also holds an inter-municipal business license for the valley.


Although just 31 years of age, the Vernon woman says she saved up the money to purchase the equipment (made in Germany and assembled in Vernon on the trailer), and has the backing of several family investors. She charges by the box of juice produced: $5.75 to $6.50 per five-litre box and she can process eight bins, or 700 pounds of apples, a day, which would produce 45 or 50 boxes of juice. If one grower doesn’t have enough cull apples, she encourages


them to get together with neighbours who are also interested in juicing them.


A five-litre box of juice contains about 16 pounds of apples. She emphasizes that soft, mushy apples are inefficient and do not product a nice juice. Culls are fine, but not windfalls.


It’s an ideal way to make money


from hail-damaged fruit, she notes. A combination of different varieties make the best juice: say Spartan, Grannies, and Jonagold. “It’s good to combine some sweets and some sour apples. It’s an amazing juice,” she says.


Beets or carrots can be incorporated into the juice for an added earthy flavour and more nutrition, but you need apples as the base to provide the needed acidity to keep the fresh flavour and for the keeping qualities. Wurtele figures growers can make 20 to 40 cents a pound by juicing cull fruit.


Apples are loaded into a metal bin directly from the orchard or bin by shovel, but no leaves should be included. They are then pulled up by a


conveyor, washed and then ground up by a cheese-type grater into a mash, which is pumped to the pressing forms where seven layers of of mash can be pressed. It is swung over a hydraulic press to do the pressing and the juice is drained by hose into a big basin.


The boiler heats water in a pasteurizer where the juice is brought up to 78 C for 15 seconds to kill any bacteria with the least damage to the juice.


“It doesn’t taste over-cooked or lose its flavour,” notes Wurtele.


The pasteurizer automatically raises the temperature of the juice in coils surrounded by hot water.


It then goes into the holding tank which is connected to the filler for the bag that goes into a box, both of which are included in the price, she explains.


Wurtele says she is also willing to help facilitate sales for growers, but that part of her business model is still in development.


She can be reached at 250-550- 8885 or through the website at: www.mobilejuicing.com


C O L U M B I A B A S I N N U R S E R Y


Columbia Basin Nursery is a grower owned business who has been providing quality fruit trees to growers across the US and Canada for over 50 years. Our experience and knowledge in helping to grow productive and profitable orchards is behind every tree we sell.


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800/333-8589 Tel : 509/787-4411 Fax: 509/787-3944 www.cbnllc.com P.O. Box 458 Quincy, WA 98848


British Columbia FRUIT GROWER • Fall 2012 17


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