Blackcurrant Harvest Season at British Frozen Fruits
If you didn't know already, July marked the beginning of blackcurrant season in the UK and we have been really busy in recent weeks at British Frozen Fruits harvesting our tasty organic blackcurrants on our South Herefordshire farm. Blackcurrant season is short and sweet so our strong, fruity, and slightly tart berries are best picked throughout July when they are at their peak sweetness and optimum ripeness.
The Harvesting Process
Due to the volume of organic blackcurrants that we grow on our farm, we pick them using a blackcurrant harvesting machine, this enables us to pick our blackcurrants efficiently on mass. Head over to our Instagram page where you will find a video of the machine in action! In an average season, we will harvest 700 tonnes of blackcurrants, ensuring that we have plenty of blackcurrants to freeze for you to enjoy all year round. We also supply blackcurrants to companies such as Ribena and Rocks Drinks to make their tasty products with!
Towards the end of winter, we will prune and weed our young organic blackcurrant bushes when the plant is dormant. Pruning and weeding at this time of year will help to avoid any damage to the fruit and plant itself ahead of the picking season. During the spring months, blackcurrant bushes produce small reddish green flowers which are pretty to look at and also a great sign for us on the farm that lots of blackcurrants are on their way!
Why are British blackcurrants so great?
Our British organic blackcurrants are bursting full of flavour and make the perfect berry in a whole host of tasty recipes. Their tangy, slightly tart flavour makes them a particularly good berry to use in pies, tarts, jams and sauces as well as other favourite desserts, including ice creams and cakes - the list really is endless! If you’re looking for your next blackcurrant recipe, The Blackcurrant Foundation have plenty of sweet and savoury options on their website.
Not only are they tasty and smell incredible, blackcurrants have a long list of health benefits too! Our frozen blackcurrants contain 3.6g of fibre per 100g serving*. This is around 12% of your recommended daily fibre intake. They also contain 200mg of vitamin C per 100g serving*, making them a great choice for anyone aiming to incorporate these important nutrients into their daily diet. If you’d like to find out more facts about our frozen organic blackcurrants, why not take a look at our Blackcurrant FAQ page? Blackcurrants are also low in calories, making them a delicious, yet nutritious snack.
*McCance and Widdowson’s - The Composition of Food Integrated Dataset (CoFID)
Thinking about growing your own blackcurrants?
Have you been thinking about growing your own blackcurrants? If your answer is yes, you’ll want to get started in the Autumn months. Blackcurrant bushes are incredibly versatile as they can be grown in pots, making them an ideal fruit plant for even the smallest of gardens! It's important to ensure that your blackcurrant plants have a sunny sheltered spot with well drained acid soil. Take a look at this handy article by RHS which tells you all you need to know about growing your own blackcurrants at home!
We hope you love our British Organic Frozen Blackcurrants as much as we do. The best bit about buying frozen blackcurrants from us is that you can enjoy them all year round. If you have bought any frozen fruit from us recently, we’d love to see what you make with them - don’t forget to tag us in any of your photos on Facebook and Instagram!