GAINESVILLE, Fla. — Faculty, administrators and friends of the University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences now know even more about the fine foods and beverages produces by UF/IFAS faculty after the annual May 9 Flavors of Florida event.

Jack Payne, UF senior vice president for agriculture and natural resources, commended faculty and thanked friends for attending.

“Flavors of Florida is a chance for UF/IFAS to showcase the many fine foods and beverages developed by our world-renowned scientists to not only make food tastier and more nutritious but to help growers sell more food at the grocery store,” Payne said. “And with the help of our many friends around Florida, we can continue the laboratory and field research necessary to continue producing these incredible foods.”

People gathered at the University House – the former UF President’s House — to sample fruit, seafood, meat and more. UF/IFAS faculty develop those foods through top-notch science.

Featured flavors included bacon from the UF/IFAS Meat Lab, blueberries developed by UF/IFAS faculty and grown by Straughn Farms and Spring Valley Farms, citrus direct from UF/IFAS researchers at the Citrus Research and Education Center in Lake Alfred, Florida.

The event also showcased the Garden Gem tomato, produced by Professor Harry Klee, Gator Grind Grits & Meal, developed and grown at the UF/IFAS West Florida Research and Education Center in Jay, Florida; honey from the UF/IFAS Honey Bee Lab and oysters from the waters of Cedar Key Seafarms.

It didn’t stop there. Guests enjoyed strawberries produced by UF/IFAS faculty at the Gulf Coast Research and Education Center in Balm, Florida.

Before Flavors of Florida, friends of UF/IFAS gathered at Emerson Alumni Hall to sample a Miracle Fruit that, when consumed properly, enhances the sweetness of tomatoes and strawberries when you eat them. Food science professor Linda Bartoshuk showed the attendees how to consume the Miracle Fruit.

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Caption: Food science professor Linda Bartoshuk, center, explains how to consume Miracle Fruit in order to enhance the flavors of tomatoes and strawberries at a reception at Emerson Alumni Hall in Gainesville, Florida on May 9 as part of the 2016 Flavors of Florida. The annual event lets UF/IFAS faculty show how their top-notch science produces the tastiest, most nutritious foods.

Credit: Tyler L. Jones, UF/IFAS photography

By: Brad Buck, 352-294-3303, bradbuck@ufl.edu

Source: Jack Payne, 352-392-1971, jackpayne@ufl.edu

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