A lot of time and thought goes into the food that we eat. All blackcurrants need to ripen and be ready for harvest at the same time. This means that they all need to be uniform in colour. The blackcurrant harvester moves through the rows of bushes and shakes the berries off.
These are caught in saucers on the harvester and transferred to the conveyor belt and into the trailer. The berries are then placed into the chiller to cool, and by the next morning they have been transported to the factory ready to be made into squash.
Did you know?
- Over 90% of blackcurrants go into making the nation’s favourite squash, Ribena.
- Ribena growers maintain over 2000 bird boxes around the UK. That's 1 for every hectare of blackcurrants grown. Last year on average 55% of these were occupied, providing safety and shelter for thousands of birds.
- 10 varieties of blackcurrant are used to make Ribena.
- A blackcurrant holds more vitamin C than an orange.
- Blackcurrants provide a high amount of calcium that help strengthen bones and teeth.
- The blackcurrant season is very short; it starts in July and ends in August.
- All the varieties of blackcurrant are named after Scottish mountains.
