¡yo hice este jugo!
Today marked our first day of work at Zamorano. My day began bright and early at 5:30 AM, though the outside world was already bright and alive by this time, while it would have still been dark and slumbering back home in Alabama. We made our way to the cafeteria for a delicious breakfast, all the more sweetened by the fact that it was all grown, harvested, and processed on this campus. The students here have grown tired of the cafeteria- a universal reaction to cafeteria food, I’m fairly certain- but the novelty of food that is both created by students and free for their consumption is not lost on me.
Later today, I learned that not only does the food produced here feed the students, but is sold to outside retailers. These profits are used to fund scholarships for the students, perpetuating a cycle that helps the university, the students, and the community. This system is one I would love to see at Auburn or really any of the land-grant institutions, and seeing it in action is nothing short of wonderful. As they say in the Auburn creed: “I believe in education, which gives me the knowledge to work wisely and trains my mind and my hands to work skillfully.” Yet, far from Auburn in a river valley of Central America, I can’t help but think that we’ve strayed from that goal in comparison.
As such, we left our breakfast and headed to the food plant of the day- Planta Hortofruiticola. This was quite a journey in and of itself as we made a 20 minute trek by bicycle through winding dirt paths. For me, this was quite reminiscent of my high school years on a horse farm, and the many mornings spent riding a half mile to and from work.
A few times today, we discussed possible translations of hortofruticola with bilingual students. It translates literally to horticulture, but I think that “cannery” may be the best description for this particular plant. Juices, jellies, and sauces are produced here. Our first task of the day was to prepare juices from concentrate, specifically, guava and starfruit. This was quite simple and involved mixing juice concentrate and water until the desired Brix value was achieved when tested with a refractometer.
We completed our work and headed back for a break and lunch. As I stepped to fill my cup with juice, I was delighted to find that not only was there a new juice available, but it was the same guava juice we had made only hours before. I have to wonder if the students once were this excited to see their work in action. Either way, they probably grew tired of hearing me talk about it. Still, I'm proud to say that "yo hice este jugo".
