A Mobile Kitchen for Fruit and Vegetable Processing Training and Extension Initiatives for Pawpaw and Sorghum Syrup

Commercial processing of fruits and vegetables by growers can increase profit margins and yield value-added products that can be marketed in restaurants, grocery stores, and gift shops. In this proposal, a mobile kitchen will be purchased for fruit and vegetable commercial processing, training, and use by farmers, to build institutional extension capacity. Two crops, pawpaw (frozen fruit pulp puree) and sweet sorghum (syrup) will be used as value-added demonstration crops. Food safety issues with processing unripe and bacterial contaminated pawpaw fruit, and seed alkaloid contaminated puree, also need to be addressed. Pawpaw and sorghum syrup production, processing, and marketing guides are needed to help farmers improve crop productivity and marketing strategies. Therefore the objectives of this proposal are to: 1) Purchase a Mobile Kitchen for processing fruits and vegetables, including pawpaw fruit puree and sorghum syrup, for commercial processing safety workshops and use by farmers; 2) Create videos and presentations concerning pawpaw puree and sorghum syrup commercial processing that will be available via podcasting, DVDs, and the KSU Pawpaw and Organic websites; 3) Develop a Pawpaw and Sweet Sorghum Production, Processing, and Marketing Guide for electronic and print distribution to small farmers; 4) Hold pawpaw and sorghum product preference and organic attitudes surveys at farmers’ markets in Kentucky, Ohio, and North Carolina, and a pawpaw wine-workshop and baked goods testing by chefs; and 5) Conduct product awareness, interest and willingness-to-pay surveys within University of Kentucky-Food Consumer Panel, surveying over 1000 households across Kentucky, for pawpaw and sorghum value-added products.