Clemmie has been part of the team here at Mannings for a little over three months. She runs Balham and Marylebone Farmers Markets and also manages our different events across London.
We asked Clemmie for an insight in how life has been as part of the Mannings Team ( also because she is the Juice Guru)
Working at Manning’s Juice
It’s autumn, the new crop’s coming in from the orchards and I can’t believe I’ve been working for Manning’s for 3 months. It’s flown by in a flurry of bushel boxes and early morning set ups at the London Farmer’s markets. I’ve been having the most amazing time learning all about this fun and flavour fuelled business, and was rewarded for my hard work last weekend with a visit to the apple epicentre: Herefordshire!
We looked in on Uncle Rich at the farm and he kindly took me to see the cold stores, the whole process is fascinating from when the apples and pears are picked to how they are kept before being made into lovely juices just for you. I knew that every batch was different because of the taste and the colour, as nature intended but I had no idea the taste could vary quite so much just depending on when the fruit is picked. Pick one early in the season and it could be a completely different juice from that of later, sweeter or sharper.
Hence why the latest batch of Cox’s Orange Pippin has been flying of the stalls and you guys can’t seem to get enough of it. Right now these apples are as orange as they’re going to get making the juice sweeter, fuller and bursting with flavour – apples at their peak.
To be continued..
The apple of my eye
Part of the growing process is the storage of the fruit. They need looking after once they come off the trees and this is done in cold stores. When we visited Uncle Rich’s farm he allowed us a peep into these cold stores, and what did we find? Happy little apples, safe as houses in their own purpose built crates, stacked to the rafters. Before they can be made into juice they have to wait their turn in controlled conditions with low levels of oxygen to prevent any fermenting. That way when each individual fruit’s day comes it will still be crunchy, crisp and perfectly ripe. You can’t hurry them; I hear the Russets are particularly temperamental!
People often ask me which juice is my favourite. There is so much choice at Manning’s that it’s unsurprising that customers need help deciding. What I’ll often ask is what kind of apple they usually like, so I can determine what sort of palate they have. You’ve got your sweeter red apples with the Gala or Jonagold.. or maybe something with a bit of tang, the Cox’s could be for you.. me, I like something sharper but every week I have a new favourite.