CIFSRF CARICOMFood Security Project

This factsheet is a product of the CIFSRF CARICOM Food Security Project. The Canadian International Food Security Research Fund (CIFSRF) is a program of Canada’s International Development Research Centre (IDRC) undertaken with the financial support of the Government of Canada provided through Foreign Affairs, Trade and Development Canada (DFATD).

Socioeconomics & Market Access. No. 7

September 2013

Cure your Produce,Earn more Money

Cut the pumpkin stem about 10cm from the fruit to ensure a good seal at the top of the fruit. Use care in handling fruits to avoid wounds. Cuts and bruises in the rind are openings to decay organisms, which can cause a great deal of loss in a short time. Under proper conditions, wound areas can heal over by producing cork tissue. The protective tissue seems to develop best at relatively high temperature and in a moist atmosphere. The aim is to retain a perfectly intact outer skin that remains impervious to outside molds and fungal spores.

Sweet potatoes are not very sweet or moist when first dug. Therefore to maximize profits, curing is recommended before selling. Curing minimizes damage by healing harvest wounds and it triggers the development of the sugar-creating enzymes that enhance the natural sweetness. A corky periderm layer is formed below the damaged areas of the sweet potato, which limits microbial invasion and water loss. It takes six to eight weeks of proper curing and storage before the tubers have the desired moist, sweet taste and texture.

What is curing?Curing simply involves the hardening of skins of produce to protect the flesh inside from deterioration. Do it properly and you can expect produce to stay in top form for at least three months and even as long as six; comfortably taking you to when there is a better market price and you can earn more money. You can cure produce such as pumpkin, sweet potato and other root crops.

How do you know when your produce is ready for harvesting and curing?For pumpkins, apart from acquiring their mature colour, ripe fruits offer several other clues that the time has come to remove them from the dying plant. The most obvious cue lies in the stem; if it has died off and turned hard you know that the fruits are ready. Other ways of telling that it is time to harvest is to slap the fruit (it should sound hollow), or to try to push your thumbnail into the skin, which should dent but not puncture. The initial sheen of the immature fruits will have also given way to a much duller tone.

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Care and handling of produce during curingCuring your produce is a simple enough process, but it does take more than a few days. The process should involve the following steps:

Step 1Wash the harvested produce with clean, chlorinated water using 4ml of chlorine in 20 litres of water.

Step 2Allow the produce to dry on a clean flat surface, on a table or floor covered with cardboard.

Step 3Ensure the room is maintained at a temperature of approximately 28-30oC and 80-85% Relative Humidity (R.H.) and it is free of all pest and disease vectors.

Step 4Rotate produce on their sides at 3-day intervals for 21 days.

Step 5After curing, store pumpkins at about 10-15oC and 70% R.H and sweet potatoes at 12-15ºC for 6 to 8 weeks. However, be careful not to surpass this low temperature range as it can cause the sweet potatoes to develop a hard center and reduce their eating quality. Temperatures below 40C for long periods cause chilling injury symptoms to develop resulting in secondary infection. Keep produce dry and provide good air circulation.

Place clean produce on a flat surface covered with cardboard or on wire table

Tastier, healthier produce with more market potentialProduce will keep for 2-6 months and during that time the sugars will develop further. As the skins harden up during the curing process, they create a longer-lasting seal, while the colour of the flesh enriches, sweetens up and takes on a more intense flavour.

Cured pumpkins can be given one final treatment before they are taken to the storage shed: a polish of olive oil applied with a cloth to create a moisture-tight finish completes the job. Curing pumpkin, sweet potato and other root crops can significantly increase the shelf life of your produce. You can then provide these commodities when the supply is low and the price is high.

Produce placed on sides and rotated at 3-day intervals