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With Easter around the corner and the smell of hot cross buns in the air we wanted to share with you some interesting facts about vine fruits and focus on one of our four 2025 mega trends – Taste Sensation.
Consumers are seeking sensorial experiences – joyful moments delivered through unique flavours, formats and product experiences. These experiences fall into four areas:
Comfort and nostalgia: fuss-free, familiar dishes slightly elevated to serve as a little treat.
Sensory adventure: taking a journey through global cuisine, with fusion mash-ups and over-the-top novelty products.
Premium elevation: trading up to aspirational brands and restaurant quality dishes with a back story in sustainability.
Shared events: getting together with friends and family to enjoy unique seasonal products.
So, when you are looking to create a delicious treat, draw inspiration from our dried fruit and nut ingredients.
Vine fruits such as raisins and sultanas have popular and universal appeal due their tasty, nutritious and versatile appeal.
Full of flavour, plump and juicy, our vine fruits are sourced from the warm climates of Turkey and South Africa.
A range of grape varieties are used to create our raisins which are picked and dried for three weeks, this natural process creating the luxurious sweet taste and rich dark colour as they dry. They tend to have a darker colour to sultanas, which are dipped to reduce drying time, giving a softer texture and lighter colour.
Vine fruits are delicious and nutritious, being a rich source of antioxidants to help protect the body against chronic inflammation and improve cardiovascular health. They are also full of potassium, which contributes to maintaining healthy blood pressure, and fibre to support gut health.
They are versatile too – eaten on their own as a sweet snack, served as a salad topper, combined with savoury dishes or added to baked goods, as well as being a popular choice for cakes, granola bars and cookies due to the natural sweetness they bring. In addition to standard sultanas and raisins, we also supply a range of fancy vine fruits that come in various colours.
These fruits are available as whole fruit but we can also support your manufacturing processes by blending vine fruit with other fruits and nuts, producing a fruit paste and soaking to increase the moisture content.
1. Preheat oven to 180℃ (160℃ fan), gas mark 4. Grease & line a 20cm x 20cm tray.
2. In a large bowl, beat together butter & sugar, until light and fluffy, approx. 5 minutes. Add the beaten eggs, one at a time, ensuring egg is fully incorporated after each addition. Gently fold in the flour, baking powder and spice. Fold in the remaining ingredients, except the marzipan.
3. Spoon half of the mixture into the prepared cake tin. Sprinkle half of the marzipan across the surface, then top with the remaining cake mixture. Spread mixture across evenly, then dot the top with the last of the marzipan.
4. Bake in the oven for 40 – 45 minutes until a skewer inserted into the middle comes out clean. Leave to cool in the tin for 5 minutes, then turn out onto a wire rack to cool completely. Cut into 16 pieces.
J.O. Sims development manager Michelle says: “Simnel cake is one of my family favourites. I take the flavours of a traditional Simnel cake, using a selection of vine fruits, and turn it into a simpler recipe which is perfect for an everyday treat. This unique recipe involves sprinkling marzipan cubes into the mix before baking to deliver the distinctive taste in a novel way.”
15 minutes (cook time 45 minutes)
175g butter
150g soft brown sugar
3 large eggs
175g plain flour
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp mixed spice
75g currants
75g glace cherries, roughly chopped
75g raisins
75g sultanas
50g mixed peel
Finely grated zest of lemon
150g golden marzipan, cubed
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