Clementine
Our customers use clementines because of their natural sweetness, easy-to-use format, and strong consumer appeal as a fresh and processed ingredient. Clementines have a mild, sweet citrus flavor with low acidity, making them ideal for juices, snacks, desserts, and flavoring applications. Their bright orange color enhances visual appeal, while their juice and zest are often used to add natural citrus flavor without overpowering other ingredients. Clementines are also rich in vitamin C, supporting immune health claims and better-for-you positioning. Additionally, they can be processed into juices, concentrates, and extracts, which extend shelf life and make them convenient for large-scale manufacturing and consistent product formulation.
Clementine can be supplied as organic upon request
Botanical: Citrus × Clementina
A Popular Tangor
Clementines are a small variety of citrus fruit belonging to the mandarin orange family, popularly processed into clementine NFC juice and clementine juice concentrate. They are typically seedless, easy to peel, and have a smooth, glossy orange skin. Clementines are believed to have originated in North Africa and are now widely grown in Mediterranean climates and other warm regions. They have a naturally sweet and mild flavor with low acidity compared to other citrus fruits. Clementines are usually in season during the winter months and are often sold in clusters due to the way they grow on trees.
The clementine (Citrus clementina) is a spontaneous citrus hybrid between the Mediterranean willowleaf mandarin (Citrus deliciosa) and the sweet orange (Citrus sinensis). Highly prized across the global beverage, brewing, bakery, and prepared food industries, clementines are celebrated for their naturally seedless anatomy, deep reddish-orange peel, tender juice vesicles, exceptionally low titratable acidity, and honeyed, floral-citrus sweetness. Unlike standard sweet oranges or tart tangerines, the clementine delivers a milder, sweeter flavor profile free from harsh peel-oil bitterness or lingering citric astringency.
In commercial fruit ingredient processing, cultivar selection and gentle mechanical separation define flavor release, juice clarity, and segment integrity:
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Clemenules (Nules – The Processing Benchmark): Originating in Nules (Castellón, Spain), Clemenules is the undisputed global benchmark for processing clementines. Characterized by large, easy-to-peel fruit, tender flesh membranes, exceptionally high juice yield, and elevated natural Brix (11.5° to 13.5° Brix). It is the premier variety for high-yield clementine NFC juices, clarified clementine juice concentrate, and intact, plump Individually Quick Frozen (IQF) segments.
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Fina & Marisol Cultivars: Early-to-mid season Spanish varieties prized for their intense reddish-orange pigmentation and high concentration of volatile aromatic esters (specifically linalool, ethyl butyrate, and limonene). They yield aromatic single-strength clementine NFC juice and specialty concentrate blends.
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Extraction & Segmenting Engineering: Commercial clementine processing requires gentle mechanical handling. Juice lines utilize low-pressure inline citrus extractors calibrated specifically for thin-peeled, loose-skin fruit to avoid rupturing the bitter inner albedo or tearing carpellary membranes. For clementine IQF segments, whole clementines undergo gentle steam-or-knife scoring, automated pneumatic peeling, mechanical wedge separation, and brief enzymatic membrane polishing to remove white pith (rag) before cryogenic blast-freezing.
Brothers International partners with origin processors equipped with custom citrus handling and optical sorting equipment, ensuring total seedlessness, brilliant natural color, and pristine flavor retention across all product forms.
Global Sourcing Through the Brothers International Network:
Clementine trees thrive in subtropical Mediterranean microclimates characterized by mild, wet winters, hot, sunny summers, and moderate diurnal temperature shifts that stimulate deep carotenoid pigment synthesis (principally beta-cryptoxanthin). Because fresh clementines have thin skins that are sensitive to early autumn freezes, hail, and excessive harvest rain, securing a continuous, year-round industrial supply requires geographic diversification across Northern and Southern Hemispheres. Brothers International connects North American manufacturers to premier global growing basins through our established network of audited suppliers.
We source high-grade clementine ingredients from leading agricultural hubs:
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The Mediterranean Basin (Spain, Morocco & Italy): Spain’s Comunidad Valenciana (Castellón, Valencia, and Alicante) is the global epicenter for commercial clementine production, processing, and cold-chain infrastructure. Morocco’s Berkane and Souss valleys and Southern Italy (Calabria) provide extensive processing capacity for clarified 65° Brix clementine juice concentrate, clementine NFC juice, and clementine IQF fruit.
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South America (Chile, Peru & Argentina): The Central Valley of Chile and coastal valleys of Peru serve as critical Southern Hemisphere powerhouses, supplying fresh counter-seasonal clementine NFC juice, concentrates, and IQF segments during North America’s late spring and summer months.
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Southern Africa (South Africa): Supplies high-solids clementine juice concentrate and IQF segments with short ocean transit routes, providing vital counter-seasonal depth.
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North America (United States – California): California’s Central Valley supplies premium domestic clementine NFC juice and specialty IQF formats with rapid overland freight access.
By coordinating inventory across Spain, Morocco, Chile, Peru, and California, Brothers International insulates your manufacturing facility against localized weather anomalies, regional crop shortages, and ocean shipping bottlenecks.
Harvest Cycles & Continuous Supply Management:
In the Northern Hemisphere (Spain, Morocco, Italy, California), the clementine harvest runs from late October through February, with early cultivars (Marisol, Oronules) harvested first, followed by mid-season Clemenules and late-season hybrids. In the Southern Hemisphere (Chile, Peru, South Africa), harvesting occurs counter-seasonally from May through August.
Managing these counter-seasonal harvest calendars and coordinating international cold-chain logistics is a core competency of Brothers International. Our operations and logistics teams oversee multi-quarter inventory allocations, deep-frozen ocean transport (-18°C), USDA/FDA import clearances, C-TPAT supply chain security, and strategic warehousing across North America. Whether your facility requires frozen 5-gallon pails of single-strength NFC juice, 55-gallon drums of 65° Brix concentrate, or 30 lb master cartons of IQF seedless segments, our network guarantees ready inventory year-round.
Rigorous Quality Control, Traceability & Compliance:
Processing high-grade clementine ingredients demands strict technical oversight—specifically regarding USDA citrus color scores, Brix-to-acid ratio balance, limonin and naringin bitterness thresholds, volatile oil percentages, and segment integrity. Every supplier within the Brothers International network undergoes a comprehensive auditing process to guarantee complete supply chain traceability, sustainable farming practices, fair labor standards, and strict compliance with USDA, FDA, and international food safety standards.
Through our network, we deliver clementine ingredients backed by complete technical documentation and top-tier industry certifications, including GFSI benchmarks (BRC, SQF, FSSC 22000), USDA Organic (NOP), Kosher, Non-GMO, and Halal standards. Our quality assurance protocols include testing for pesticide residues, heavy metals, microbial validation, titratable acidity, Bostwick flow rates, and Brix adherence under FDA 21 CFR § 101.30.
The Brothers International
Quality Promise
Brothers International and its 4 divisions, Brothers Ingredients, Dennick Fruit Source, Hosh International and Food Partners, are trusted global importers of premium ingredients to major food and beverage manufacturers in North America. We deliver consistent quality and supply across every format the industry demands. Our Clementine is sourced from the earth’s prime growing regions where farming expertise, climate and soil composition come together to produce Clementine of exceptional caliber. All of our suppliers undergo a rigorous vetting process to ensure we work with only the highest-quality processors and can fully guarantee traceability, sustainability, and compliance with all international regulations.
Each of our divisions has a specialized operations team to manage shipments and coordinate with customers and suppliers. They work closely with our in-house customs team to ensure efficient clearance, and collaborate with the USDA and FDA to maintain full regulatory compliance. This ensures your ingredients move seamlessly through every stage of import, arriving on time and ready for production with complete confidence. With decades of sourcing expertise and a strong commitment to customer success, you can count on Brothers International to deliver the premium ingredients your products require.
Industry Glossary
A Reference Guide for Fruit Ingredient Terminology
Check out our glossary for a consolidated reference of commonly used terminology across the global fruit ingredient industry. It provides straightforward definitions and context for the language and concepts referenced throughout the industry.
