January 21, 1999
Students give cherry sausage two thumbs up
Ray Pleva's latest concoction:
Battered bratwurst on a stick
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Photo by R-E staff
Above, Ray Pleva talks Wednesday with Leland High School students about the development of his bratwurst. bELOW, Leland High School students Luke Rokos, left, Mike Burda, middle, and Eric Aschim taste the brats Wednesday, grading them for moisture and texture. |
By CARI NOGA
Record-Eagle staff writer
LELAND - Butcher and tireless cherry promoter Ray Pleva may have hit on the perfect food, according to some students at Leland High School.
Pleva, the creator of Plevalean, the low-fat hamburger meat made with cherries, was at the school Wednesday pitching his new product to Kathy Lau's food science class.
Still unnamed, it's a Polish bratwurst - pork sausage - made with cherries, of course, and coated with a breading-like batter and served on a stick.
It looks a lot like a corn dog, but Pleva believes his product could dethrone the concession staple, particularly at events like the National Cherry Festival.
"A corn dog is not even in the same league," he told the students.
After tasting them, the students agreed.
"If they were on the lunch line, I'd buy it," said senior Eric Aschim.
"Even if I wasn't hungry, I'd want to eat one of these," said junior Mike Burda. "Some food just doesn't look like you want to eat it, but this does."
Burda and his classmates also approved of the brats' "mouth feel" - moistness and flavor. Spicy enough so mustard wasn't necessary.
Besides the taste and appearance, the stick handle also drew praise.
"You just hang onto the end of it. You don't get your hands greasy," Burda said.
It also makes for convenient eating, important in a rush-around society.
"It could be a breakfast," Burda said.
Pleva, who began experimenting with the product a year ago, foresees it being sold at the retail level, in school food programs and in restaurants.
Gordon's Food Service picked up samples to test on their sales staff Wednesday, he said.
"This item could fit in from schools to bars," he said.
And, of course, at the National Cherry Festival, whose officials have also been among the first samplers. Between 20,000 and 25,000 of the brats could be gobbled up during the annual event, Pleva predicted.
Leland High School students have taste-tested for Pleva before. In fact, the brat that was inside the corn dog-like concoction sampled Wednesday was the meat they had picked out in a trial last year.
Pleva's experiments with cherries date back to his daughter's stint as National Cherry Festival Queen. She urged him to find a way to use the fruit in the meat products he makes at his Cedar meat shop.
He discovered that adding cherries makes meat leaner, juicier and easier to digest, and now makes nine different meat products with cherries. Researchers are now discovering cherries contain health benefits. They have anti-inflammatory properties, for instance, and also act as antioxidants, which are believed to fight cancer. Cherry burgers are now on school lunch menus in 16 states.
"There's a little gold in each cherry," Pleva said.
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