From Farm to Fork

Asparagus
Cherries
Pears
Origin

Asparagus

In 1934, asparagus farmer Mart Aarts started canning asparagus. Since then, the 'white gold' has been a constant in our assortment. We process asparagus in April, May and June, sourcing from the sandy soils of Limburg, Brabant, and partly from Germany.

1. Harvesting Asparagus grows in so-called beds. Just as the head peeps out of the ground they are harvested. This way the asparagus keeps its characteristic while colour.
2. Sorting Workers sort the asparagus by size and quality. They are packed into crates from 5-10Kg for Aarts.
3. Cooling To keep the quality at its highest level the asparagus are cooled to 2-4 degrees Celsius quickly. The asparagus are then transported to Aarts in refrigerator trucks.
4. Peeling Asparagus have tough skins and therefore need peeling. Peeling is done by machines.
5. Bottling Bottles are filled with the peeled asparagus by hand. By hand to avoid damaging the delicate tips and making sure the bottle has the correct amount.
6. Sterilising The bottled asparagus are sterilised by heating them to 120 degrees Celsius for a short time. This gives them a longer shelf life.
7. Packing Finally the bottles can proudly wear their Aarts Conserven labels and be packed into trays. They are now ready to be transported to our customers. From earth to plate within a few days.

Cherries

Cherries are an important product in our assortment. We process morello cherries, a sour cherry variety, in our factory during July. Did you know we are one of the few companies in the Netherlands using cherries from our own country?

1. Harvesting Our cherries are harvested by ‘vibrating’ the tree. The cherries are caught and crated under the tree.
2. Cooling Cooling quickly is crucial for good quality. Most important as harvesting take place in the warm summer month of July.
3. Sorting As soon as the cherries arrive at Aarts they are sorted. Damaged or bad cherries are removed.
4. Stoning Next the cherries have their stones removed. The stones are stamped out of the cherries using star shaped punches.
5. Filling The bottles are washed and part filled with a bit of syrup. Then they are filled with cherries.
6. Pasteurising The bottled cherries are pasteurised in the following way; the bottles are heated to around 90 degrees Celsius for a short time. All the vitamins and natural flavours are kept in the bottle.
7. Packing Finally the bottles have earned their Aarts Conserven labels and are set in a tray. They are now ready to be transported to our customers. From earth to plate within a few days.

Pears

Pears are an essential part of our assortment. Aarts Conserven is particularly known for delicious stewed pears. With over 50 years of experience, we process pears from September to February, mainly using Gieser Wildeman pears from the Netherlands and Williams pears from Italy and Belgium.

1. Plucking The pears are plucked by hand. They are harvested in September and October, depending upon weather and sunshine.
2. Sorting After harvesting the pears are sorted on diameter and quality. The pears are boxed and cooled, then transported to Aarts.
3. Peeling We peel our pears before we cook them. We first use a machine and then finish with peeling by hand.
4. Cooking Cooking gives our pears their characteristic taste and texture. How do we cook them exactly? That’s the cook’s secret!
5. Filling The stewed pears are carefully filled into glass jars.
6. Pasteurising The potted pears are pasteurised in the following way; the pots are heated to around 90 degrees Celsius for a short time. All the vitamins and natural flavours stay in the pot.
7. Packaging Finally, the jars receive a beautiful Aarts label. Now they are ready to be served!

The origin of our products

We closely collaborate with growers and grower cooperatives, often maintaining long-standing relationships. We aim to grow our products locally. We appreciate seeing an increasing importance attached to this by our customers and consumers. It results in a more sustainable product due to fewer transport kilometres and provides more connection and transparency to the vegetables and fruits we eat at home.