Blackcurrant Processing
It takes a precise combination of experience and expertise to grow, harvest and process the perfect blackcurrant.
That's why A.J & C.I SnellBlackcurrants benefits from the knowledge and techniques that have been developed over many generations of farming. This provides us with some great tasting blackcurrants, and also produces the best yields from our crop.
We also nurture our blackcurrants from field to store, making our blackcurrants fully traceable through each stage of their production. What's more, with our new Packhouse and chilling facilities, we're in great shape to provide the juiciest blackcurrants all year round.
Here's a little insight
into the growing process...
The Blackcurrant growing process timeline
How it all starts...
Spring Yr1
In Spring of each year we plant a new batch of certified Blackcurrant cuttings. With a bit of Herefordshire sun and rain, these will grow into healthy blackcurrant bushes.
After Yr 1
The bushes are cut back to promote further growth.
Yr 3
We begin to see the development of a healthy looking young blackcurrant crop, though they’re not quite ready for harvesting yet.
Yr 3 onwards
The bushes are now bursting with juicy blackcurrants and we’re ready to harvest! (And they look so good!)
Busy Harvesting
It takes just a few days to harvest the crop when it’s ready, so the blackcurrants are at their freshest when they reach our Packhouse.
Packing/Sorting the Fruit
The blackcurrants are taken across to the Packhouse, which facilitates chilling, testing, inspecting and packing processes.
In order to maintain maximum freshness, they are chilled within 2 hours of harvest, then blasted frozen (-40°C) to produce IQF (Individually Quick Frozen Fruit).
Ready for Storage/Dispatch
From the freezer the blackcurrants are strigged (stalks removed), thoroughly inspected, size graded, tested (Brix levels tested) and packed into 12kg poly-lined boxes or to customer requirements.