The Complete Handbook of Fresh & Frozen Fruits
A practical reference for buyers, specifiers, and handlers of fresh and frozen fruit, from sourcing to end use
by Alumigogo Books
non-fiction
The definitive practical guide to selecting, handling, and profiting from fresh and frozen fruits.
About this book
Fresh and frozen fruits are not interchangeable commodities. Each form has its own supply chain, quality indicators, cost structure, and appropriate end uses. This handbook provides the working knowledge that buyers, handlers, and sellers need: what grading scales actually measure, how cold chains and freezing processes affect texture and nutrition, and how to write a specification that gets you the product you paid for.
Covering everything from receiving inspections and cold storage troubleshooting to the economics of private label packing and cold-chain consulting, this is a reference for decision-making, not a marketing pamphlet. It includes practical explanations of common defects, storage life tables, and guidance on evaluating suppliers by their certifications and audit history rather than their brochures.
Written for produce professionals, foodservice managers, and serious enthusiasts who buy in volume, the book is organized so you can find the answer fast: types and specifications, selection criteria, handling and maintenance, and the business landscape. It ends with a glossary of trade terms and a chapter on where the industry is heading, so your knowledge stays current.
Reader Reviews
Stephanie Smith
★★★★★I bought this looking for a solid reference on frozen fruit specs for a small processing business. The chapter on types and specifications is genuinely useful, especially the breakdown of IQF vs. block frozen and what the grade terms really mean. But it gets dry in places, and I felt the chapter on choosing the right fruit could have spent more time on actual cost-per-yield numbers for common applications. It's a good desk reference, just not something you'd read cover to cover for fun.
Eric Anderson
★★★★★Decent practical handbook, but it assumes you're buying in fairly large commercial volumes. As a serious home preserver who buys cases from a local wholesaler, a lot of the supplier and business opportunities content wasn't really aimed at me. The first few chapters on freezing science and defect identification were great and exactly what I was after. I just wish it had a bit more on the 'serious hobbyist' side of the scale, since that's who the back cover says it's for.
Jennifer Davis
★★★★★It does what it says on the cover, which is rarer than you'd think. The explanation of why frozen fruit loses texture and what freeze-thaw cycles do to cell structure finally made the storage guidelines make sense, instead of just being numbers to memorize. The troubleshooting section on freezer burn and off-flavors saved me from arguing with a supplier over a shipment of peaches. I've already flagged several pages to photocopy for my receiving staff.