Aronia Berries
Grown in America's Heartland
Coldbrook Farm is the largest aronia grower
in the state of Illinois. We grow and market premium fruit, irrigated
for milder flavor, processed in food safety audited facilities, and
tested and documented. Call us with your applications questions and
ingredient needs.
WHAT'S NEW
COLDBROOK FARM’S WIND MACHINE
COUNTERS LATE SPRING FROSTS
John Pilcher, president of
Coldbrook Farm Inc., researched different methods of combating
late spring frosts. He then acquired an
Orchard-Rite Wind Machine from Superior Wind Machine Service Inc.,
of Caledonia, Michigan, for his Momence Township aronia field in
Kankakee County.
Pilcher observed, “This wind machine is excellent insurance for the
life of the crop. It will protect the aronia when it’s most at risk.”
Horticulturist Matt Kallemeyn, who has used wind machines successfully, familiarized Pilcher with the operation at
Fair Oaks Farms in Fair Oaks, Indiana. The farm’s orchard manager,
Kallemeyn commented that Superior offers a turnkey solution, which
provides security even for the non-mechanical.
Superior’s Lee DeLeeuw explained to Pilcher how to maximize coverage
where the berries are hit the most by cold winds from the west and
northwest. He thinks that Pilcher is the first aronia grower to
install a wind machine.
For additional information, contact John Pilcher at
aronia.us@att.net or
708-227-2807, Matt Kallemeyn at 708-921-0803 or Lee DeLeeuw at
616-893-4507.
(Dr. Mildred Culp is communications director at Coldbrook Farm Inc. ©
2018 Passage Media.)
U.S. ARONIA GROWER TO SPEAK IN CANADA
Crete, Illinois (February 1, 2017) – Canada’s premier horticultural event, the 2017 Ontario Fruit and Vegetable Convention, is hosting John Pilcher, President of Coldbrook Farm Inc, Crete, to speak at its specialty berry session on February 23, 2017. Organizers expect overall Convention attendance by approximately 2,000 growers, would-be growers, and technical and industry representatives at Scotiabank Convention Centre in Niagara Falls, Ontario.
The berry session will include Pilcher’s journey, “Aronia – Finding Higher Value,” in this emerging industry. Aronia (aronia melanocarpa), a high antioxidant pome fruit, is native to Canada and the United States.
Pilcher will discuss what he experienced and observed among other growers during the establishment of his farm, as commercial aronia growing began to take hold in the American Midwest.
In an unstructured industry, aronia offered a challenge for growers: how could they create higher value? He developed products for different market channels before uncovering higher value in surprising simplicity.
For further information, contact Pilcher at
708-227-2807 or aronia.us@att.net.
COLDBROOK FARM IN WINE AND
AGRICULTURAL PUBLICATIONS
 Photo by James M. Theuri |
He identified points about
irrigation (to assure a mild flavor), soil type and isolation
from harmful spray drift. He also recommended mechanical
harvesting for volume and food safety, and processing and
frozen storage in an established food safety-audited facility.
Midwest Wine Press is the region’s sole outlet dedicated
to news about winemaking and marketing in the heartland. |
26 FRUITS COMPATIBLE WITH FROZEN ARONIA
Crete, Ill. (March 12, 2015) - The high antioxidant aronia
berry comes with a bonus – versatility. Combinations for the wide
range of dishes are almost endless with frozen aronia from
Coldbrook Farm Inc. in Crete.
“We've uncovered an array,” says John E.
Pilcher, President, “and we're continuing beyond the 26. Many of the fruits are also compatible with our dried
sweetened product.”
LEADING FOOD MANUFACTURER USES ARONIA AS INGREDIENT
While demonstrating dried sweetened aronia
berries in a store, Coldbrook Farm Inc.
president John Pilcher watched a young father stop at the table with
samples. “His toddler, a three-year-old sitting in the kiddie seat in
the shopping cart,” Pilcher says, “reached for the sample in her
chubby little hands and tossed it down the hatch.” Three girls under
the age of 11 sampled with gusto at another demonstration. Their
father bought a tub of berries without even tasting them.
Midwestern grown aronia berries aren’t just for babies, little girls and fathers. For additional information about trends in dried sweetened and frozen aronia, contact Pilcher at 708-227-2807 or aronia.us@att.net.
CHEESE
AND ARONIA? YOU BET!
Crete, Ill. (September 9, 2014) - “How America
Eats: Snacking Our Way through the Day,” a Hartman Group report
published July 30, based on a survey of 1,790 adults finds that the
heaviest snacking in the United States – 65 percent – occurs after
lunch. FMI’s U.S. Grocery Shopper Trends 2014, indicates that 43
percent of 1,059 shoppers believe their main store will contribute to
their health and wellness.
Dried
sweetened aronia berries, when paired with mozzarella cheese,
create tasty, healthy snacks and appetizers, such as the easy
CheezAronia™
Bites. Popcorn may be the next innovative pairing with aronia.
FMI DEBUTS ARONIA, AMERICA’S ANTIOXIDANT BERRY
Crete, Ill. (May 19, 2014) - The Food Marketing
Institute will be debuting aronia, America’s antioxidant berry, on
Wednesday and Thursday June 11 and 12, 2014, at Chicago’s McCormick
Place from 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Event planners expect 6,100
attendees (4,000 buyers and brokers, domestic and international).
Among the exhibitors, Coldbrook Farm Inc. of Crete, Illinois, will
introduce dried sweetened aronia
berries in newly designed packaging and speak with interested
parties about frozen aronia berries,
as well. Both are offered for export. Samples of dried sweetened
aronia berries, a healthy snack food, await visitors.
Irrigation makes Coldbrook Farm berries some of the mildest on the
planet. In addition, irrigation assures a more uniform size than the
non-irrigated counterparts. These healthy berries are North American
grown and new to many buyers.
“They scored extremely high in antioxidants in the 2009 USDA ORAC
Survey,” reports John Pilcher, president of Coldbrook Farm, “second
only to black raspberries and way above blueberries and cranberries."
HIGHLY VERSATILE INGREDIENTS: FROZEN AND DRIED ARONIA BERRIES
Crete, Ill. (May 5, 2014) - The versatility of
high-antioxidant aronia berries, frozen or dried, is
demonstrated by food manufacturers and chefs as they incorporate this dark
purple fruit in baked goods, such as energy bars, breads and pies, and
gourmet chocolates.
“The RazzyJazzy-Aronia Pie™ we’ve developed is a
perfect example.” reports John Pilcher, president of Coldbrook Farm
Inc. in Crete, Illinois. “Its blend of red raspberries with aronia
berries creates an ambrosial, attractive way to end a meal.
We've also developed recipes for
dried
sweetened aronia.”
Aronia berries take on new flavors with apples, strawberries, peaches,
oranges, cherries, red raspberries and pears. Irrigation imparts
Coldbrook Farm aronia berries with a milder flavor than unirrigated
berries.
ANNUAL MEETING OF MIDWEST ARONIA ASSOCIATION TO HOST AGRIBUSINESS ENTREPRENEUR
Crete, Ill. (March 12, 2013) - Members of the Midwest Aronia Association will be convening for its annual conference April 4-6 in Des Moines, Iowa. The organization is national, with membership throughout North America. On Friday, April 5, agribusiness entrepreneur John E. Pilcher will be a featured speaker. He is president of Coldbrook Farm Inc.
Approximately 140 aronia growers and marketers are expected to hear "Our Natural Advantage," in which Pilcher will discuss how he backed into marketing, the role of entrepreneurs and innovators in the industry and the future of aronia.
For recipes both frozen and dried, click here
