ITHACA, N.Y. – Every year, more than four million tons of apple byproducts are hauled off as animal feed, compost or landfill waste. But a new Cornell University study offers apple skins, seeds, cores and pulp a different ending.
Freeze-dried and milled into a fine powder, the byproduct, known as pomace, can be blended into commercial beef meatballs at levels up to 20% without turning off consumers, according to a new study published in the Journal of Food Science and Nutrition. In sensory panels of more than 100 untrained tasters, the meatballs with apple pomace were indistinguishable in aroma, taste, texture and overall preference from all meat formulations.
"It's a great source of fiber and bioactives," said corresponding author Elad Tako , associate professor of food science. "But as an ingredient, it also has an antioxidant effect and contributes to a longer shelf life for food products."
The finding points toward a potential new revenue stream for apple and cider producers and a practical way to close a circular loop in food manufacturing. Rather than paying to dispose of pomace, processors could freeze-dry and sell it as a value-added ingredient to meat packers, food manufacturers and specialty producers.
That shift could trim disposal costs, reduce methane emissions from landfills and capture additional dollars from a resource now treated as waste. At the same time, it could increase dietary fiber content in popular processed foods and modestly reduce the share of animal protein without changing the eating experience.
Researchers tested a realistic commercial scenario. They bought Cortland, Empire and Red Delicious apples at wholesale, pressed them at a commercial juice press, then freeze-dried the leftover pomace for 48 hours. After milling the dried material to a consistent particle size, they rehydrated it and blended it into 80% lean ground beef at 10% and 20% inclusion rates.
Beyond the tasting panels, they measured texture, color, composition and cooking yields. The 20% formulations did show a drop in cooking yield and a shift in internal color that might matter to manufacturers who need to meet specification standards. But the sensory panel did not penalize the higher inclusion levels, suggesting consumers may accept small changes if the product is otherwise familiar.
For cider makers and juice processors, pomace accounts for an estimated 25-30% of the total fruit mass. Handling that volume is expensive. Transportation and disposal costs can eat into already tight margins, especially for small and mid-sized processors. Turning pomace into a dry, shelf-stable ingredient means less waste-hauling and a marketable product that could be packaged, sold and distributed. For regional processors seeking new revenue streams, the approach could be appealing.
If adopted, Tako said, "it's a win-win-win. It could mean more natural, better-for-you products for meat companies and the people who care about getting enough protein and other nutrients but also provide a new income stream for apple and cider producers."
