The Beetroot (Beta vulgaris), commonly processed as beet NFC juice or beet juice concentrate, finds its ancestral roots in the wild sea beet that grows along the coastlines of the Mediterranean and Western Europe. While ancient civilizations like the Romans and Greeks initially cultivated the plant for its medicinal leaves, it wasn’t until the 16th century that the bulbous, earthy taproot we recognize today was selectively bred for culinary use in Central and Eastern Europe. By the 19th century, beets gained massive industrial importance following the discovery that they could be used to produce sucrose, leading to the rise of the sugar beet industry.

The red beet (Beta vulgaris subsp. vulgaris Conditiva Group), a member of the amaranth (Amaranthaceae) family (formerly classified under Chenopodiaceae), is a biennial herbaceous root vegetable cultivated worldwide for its swollen, nutrient-dense taproot. Prized in commercial food processing as both an active functional nutrition driver and the primary clean-label natural alternative to synthetic red dyes, the red beetroot contains high concentrations of water-soluble betalains—principally betanin (betacyanin red-violet pigment) and vulgaxanthin (betaxanthin yellow pigment)—alongside naturally high levels of endogenous inorganic nitrates, potassium, and betaine (trimethylglycine).

In commercial ingredient processing, variety selection, peeling efficiency, and temperature management dictate color preservation, nitrate density, and sensory profile:

• Detroit Dark Red & Red Ace (Processing Benchmarks): The premier commercial cultivars for industrial beet processing. Characterized by uniform globe geometry, smooth exterior skin, minimal internal zoning (white rings), deep blood-red interior flesh, and elevated soluble solids (9.0° to 12.0° Brix raw root). They yield purees and juices with rich betanin concentrations, excellent thermal stability, and clean, balanced sweetness.

• Boro & Pablo Cultivars: Modern high-density processing hybrids selected for high dry-matter content, intense anthocyanin-mimicking pigmentation, low surface scarring, and high yields per acre. Widely utilized for high-clarity 65° Brix concentrates and IQF dice lines.

• Geosmin & Earthy Aroma Management: Fresh beets naturally synthesize geosmin, a bicyclic terpene alcohol produced by soil microbes and native beet root cells that imparts an intense, earthy, “loamy-soil” aroma. For applications where earthy notes must be minimized (such as fruit juice blends, yogurts, or confectionery), processors utilize specialized steam flash-vacuum stripping, gentle micro-filtration, or enzymatic conditioning to volatilize and reduce geosmin thresholds while concentrating pure red betanin color.

Clean root handling is vital. Harvested beets undergo multi-stage high-pressure destoning, abrasive or high-pressure steam peeling to strip outer skin layers, and continuous water-flume washing. Our beets are then expressed as Cold-pressed and flash-pasteurized for single-strength NFC Beet Juice; De-pectinized, de-starched, ultra-filtered, and evaporated under low-temperature vacuum for Clarified Beet Juice Concentrate; Steam-cooked, micro-milled through dual-stage finisher screens, and vacuum deaerated for smooth, non-gritty Beet Puree; Or precision-diced, continuous-steam blanched, and cryogenically blast-frozen for free-flowing Beet IQF Diced.

Brothers International partners with origin processors equipped with custom continuous extraction lines and vacuum flash-deaeration systems, locking in natural nitrates and protecting heat-sensitive betalains from thermal degradation.

Tomatoes are round or slightly oval fruits that grow on flowering plants in the nightshade family (Solanaceae), native to western South America. For tomato puree and tomato paste, ingredients come in a variety of sizes, shapes, and colors, including red, yellow, orange, and even purple. Botanically classified as fruits, tomatoes have a juicy interior filled with seeds and a thin skin. The plants grow as vines or bushes and thrive in warm climates with plenty of sunlight. Tomatoes were domesticated in the Americas and later spread worldwide, becoming one of the most widely cultivated and consumed crops.

Celery is a leafy green vegetable that belongs to the Apiaceae family, commonly processed into celery NFC juice or celery juice concentrate. It has long, fibrous stalks that are typically light green in color and grow in tightly packed bunches. Celery is believed to have originated in the Mediterranean region and has been used in food and traditional practices for thousands of years. It has a crisp texture and a mild, slightly earthy flavor. The entire plant is edible, including the stalks, leaves, and seeds, though the stalks are the most commonly consumed part. Celery is typically grown in cool climates and harvested when the stalks are firm and fully developed.

Celery (Apium graveolens var. dulce) is a biennial marshland plant belonging to the Apiaceae (carrot/parsley) family, cultivated for its thick, succulent, ribbed petioles (stalks). Renowned throughout the food, beverage, flavor, and meat processing industries, celery delivers an unmistakable savory, herbal, and slightly salty-mineral flavor profile. Its characteristic aroma and taste are driven by natural phthalides (primarily 3-n-butylphthalide and sedanolide) which contribute a delicate celery note while functioning as powerful natural flavor enhancers that boost savory umami perception in culinary formulations.

Beyond its sensory profile, celery taproots and stalks naturally extract and accumulate high concentrations of inorganic nitrates from agricultural soils. This characteristic has established celery juice concentrate and cultured celery powder as the global processing benchmark for clean-label, natural curing agents in meat manufacturing. In commercial processing, variety selection and cut geometry dictate flavor concentration, color retention, and cellular crunch:

• Pascal / Tall Utah (The Commercial Benchmark): The dominant green-stalk processing cultivar across the Western Hemisphere. Characterized by long, thick, solid, string-resistant petioles with deep green pigmentation, high natural water content, and balanced solids (3.5° to 5.0° Brix). Tall Utah cultivars yield vibrant emerald-green single-strength NFC juices and firm, crisp dices that maintain structural integrity through IQF blast-freezing.

Celery NFC juice retains the raw, crisp, refreshing aroma and natural sodium/potassium mineral balance demanded by clean-label wellness beverages. Single-strength juice can then be de-pectinized, de-starched, and passed through multi-stage ultra-filtration to create celery juice concentrate. Evaporated under low-temperature vacuum, clarified concentrate provides a translucent golden-green liquid with high solubility, neutral blending capacity, and concentrated nitrate levels for food formulation.

Brothers International partners with origin processors equipped with dedicated root-washing flumes, precision slicing lines, and continuous vacuum evaporation systems to preserve natural color, clean flavor, and active nitrate concentrations.

Turmeric is a flowering plant in the ginger family (Zingiberaceae), native to South Asia. The part commonly used is the rhizome, or underground stem, which has a bright orange-yellow interior and a rough brown outer skin and is commonly processed into turmeric NFC juice or turmeric puree. Turmeric has been cultivated for thousands of years and holds cultural significance in many regions, particularly in India. The plant grows best in warm, humid climates and requires several months to mature before harvest. Once harvested, the rhizomes are typically boiled, dried, and ground into a fine powder.

Turmeric (Curcuma longa) is a perennial herbaceous plant belonging to the ginger (Zingiberaceae) family, native to the tropical monsoon forests of the Indian subcontinent and Southeast Asia. Highly revered across the global functional beverage, nutraceutical, dairy, and prepared food sectors, turmeric is cultivated for its underground rhizome network, consisting of a central bulbous “mother” rhizome and multiple radiating cylindrical lateral branches (“fingers”). In industrial ingredient processing, cultivar genetics and rhizome grading dictate pigment concentration and sensory balance:

• Alleppey & Lakadong Cultivars (High-Potency Benchmarks): The gold standards for functional extraction and intense natural pigmentation. Alleppey (Kerala, India) typically yields raw curcuminoid levels between 4.0% and 6.0%, while Lakadong (Meghalaya, India) yields up to 7.0% to 9.0% natural curcuminoids. They deliver a dark, fiery-orange turmeric NFC juice and turmeric puree highly favored for functional immunity shots, wellness tonics, and natural coloring.

• Madras & Salem Cultivars: Yield a brighter, lighter yellow hue with moderate curcuminoid levels (2.0% to 3.5%) and a softer, less astringent earthy profile. Widely selected for culinary curry pastes, prepared sauces, golden milk dairy preps, and clean-label bakery formulations.

• Turmeric NFC Juice: Freshly dug rhizomes undergo high-pressure rotary drum soaking and abrasive brush washing to strip all exterior soil from the creviced skin. The cleaned rhizomes are shredded and cold-pressed through continuous hydraulic or twin-screw de-watering presses. The expressed juice is flash-pasteurized and passed through centrifugal decanters to standardize suspended insoluble solids, yielding a bright, pourable liquid with fresh spicy top notes.

• Turmeric Puree: Whole blanched rhizomes are milled through multi-stage colloid mills and micro-cutters equipped with fine screens (0.020″ to 0.033″ mesh). The resulting puree retains the entire structural matrix of the rhizome (including soluble fibers, natural starches, and essential oils) yielding a rich, velvety, spoonable paste with uniform particle suspension.

Brothers International partners with origin processors equipped with stainless-steel enclosed milling lines and vacuum deaeration systems, preventing the rapid enzymatic browning and oxidative terpene loss that occurs when raw rhizomes are exposed to atmospheric oxygen.

Sweet potatoes are root vegetables that grow underground and belong to the species Ipomoea batatas, they are commonly processed into sweet potato juice concentrate and sweet potato puree. They are native to Central and South America and have been cultivated for thousands of years. Sweet potatoes have a thin skin that can range in color from brown to reddish-purple, and their flesh may be orange, white, or purple depending on the variety. They grow on trailing vines and thrive in warm climates with well-drained soil. The roots develop beneath the soil as the plant matures and are typically harvested several months after planting. Sweet potatoes are distinct from regular potatoes and are not closely related botanically.

The sweet potato (Ipomoea batatas) is a dicotyledonous, tuberous root crop belonging to the morning glory (Convolvulaceae) family, distinct from both the nightshade potato (Solanum tuberosum) and the true botanical yam (Dioscorea). Celebrated across the commercial food manufacturing, infant nutrition, bakery, and pet health industries, the sweet potato is prized for its high culinary versatility, mild glycemic profile, dense concentration of beta-carotene (pro-vitamin A), potassium, dietary fiber, and natural sweetness driven by the thermal conversion of complex starches into maltose.

In commercial processing, cultivar selection and post-harvest curing dictate starch-to-sugar ratios, color intensity, and viscosity:

• Covington & Beauregard (Processing Benchmarks): The premier commercial processing cultivars of North America. Developed by North Carolina State University and Louisiana State University respectively, Covington and Beauregard feature smooth rose-to-copper skin, deep uniform orange flesh, and high yields. They yield exceptionally smooth purees with minimal stringy fibers and firm dices that withstand IQF blast-freezing.

• Specialty Cultivars (Stokes Purple & Murasaki): Purple-fleshed cultivars (Stokes Purple) offer dense concentrations of water-soluble anthocyanins (cyanidin and peonidin glycosides), providing an intense violet hue and earthy sweetness for specialty natural colorants and chips. White-fleshed cultivars (Murasaki / Japanese Sweet Potato) feature nutty sweetness and high starch solids for savory puree bases.

• Sweet Potato Puree: Cured roots are washed in high-pressure soak tanks, steam-peeled, inspected, and cooked in continuous steam cookers to fully gelatinize starches and activate native amylase enzymes. The cooked flesh is passed through multi-stage mechanical finishers (0.020″ to 0.033″ screens) and vacuum-deaerated, yielding an ultra-smooth, velvety puree with consistent Bostwick viscosity.

• Clarified Sweet Potato Juice Concentrate (65° Brix): Cooked root mash undergoes enzymatic de-starching (amyloglucosidase treatment), de-pectinization, and multi-stage ultra-filtration to remove all insolubles, cloud, and starches. The clear amber liquid is concentrated under low-temperature vacuum into a shelf-stable syrup, serving as a 100% vegetable-derived natural sweetener and soluble carbohydrate source.

• IQF Sweet Potato (Dices & Cuts): Fresh roots are peeled, precision-diced (1/4″, 3/8″, 1/2″), continuous steam-blanched to permanently deactivate polyphenol oxidase (PPO) and peroxidase enzymes, and passed through fluidized-bed cryogenic freezers. This locks in firm cellular structure and radiant orange color without turning mushy upon reconstitution.

Brothers International partners with origin processors equipped with dedicated root-washing flumes, continuous-cooking lines, and ultra-filtration systems, preserving natural beta-carotene and delivering consistent flow characteristics.

Spinach is a leafy green vegetable that belongs to the Amaranthaceae family and is native to Central and Western Asia, commonly processed into spinach puree. It has soft, dark green leaves that grow in a rosette pattern close to the ground. Spinach is a cool-season crop that grows best in mild temperatures and can be harvested multiple times as the leaves regrow. It has been cultivated for centuries and spread to Europe and other parts of the world through trade. Spinach can be eaten raw or cooked and is commonly grown in both home gardens and large-scale agriculture.

Spinach (Spinacia oleracea) is an edible flowering annual plant in the amaranth (Amaranthaceae) family (subfamily Chenopodioideae), native to central and southwestern Asia. Celebrated across the global beverage, functional nutrition, infant food, pasta, and culinary sectors, spinach is the quintessential leafy green ingredient. It delivers an earthy, fresh-vegetable flavor profile, dense micro-nutrient loading, and an exceptional concentration of natural chlorophylls, lutein, zeaxanthin, dietary inorganic nitrates, iron, and Vitamin K. In industrial ingredient processing, cultivar morphology and harvest handling dictate leaf-to-stem ratios, washing efficiency, and pigment stability:

• Chlorophyll & Color Preservation: The brilliant emerald-green hue of spinach is driven by chlorophyll (blue-green) and chlorophyll (yellow-green). Chlorophyll is heat- and acid-sensitive; prolonged thermal abuse or low pH causes the central magnesium ion in the porphyrin ring to be displaced by hydrogen, irreversibly converting vibrant green chlorophyll into pheophytin, an undesirable, dull olive-brown pigment. Processors utilize rapid steam-blanching and vacuum deaeration to lock in radiant green hues and denature native chlorophyllase enzymes.

• Single-Strength Spinach Puree: Whole blanched leaves are passed through high-shear micro-cutters and dual-stage finisher screens. The puree retains the leaf’s complete soluble and insoluble dietary fibers, creating a smooth, velvety, pumpable dispersion with uniform suspension.

Brothers International partners with origin processors equipped with multi-stage air-injection wash flumes, continuous-blanching systems, and automated finisher screens, locking in natural chlorophyll and delivering consistent rheological performance.

Kale is a leafy green vegetable that belongs to the cabbage family (Brassica oleracea), which also includes broccoli, cauliflower, and Brussels sprouts – and is often processed into kale puree. It has dark green or sometimes purple leaves that can be curly or flat, depending on the variety. Kale is believed to have originated in the eastern Mediterranean and has been cultivated for thousands of years. It grows best in cooler climates and is often harvested in the fall or early winter, when its flavor can become milder. The plant is hardy and can tolerate frost, and its leaves are typically harvested individually while the plant continues to grow.

Kale (Brassica oleracea var. acephala) is a hardy, non-heading leafy green vegetable belonging to the cruciferous (Brassicaceae) family, sharing botanical lineage with wild cabbage, collard greens, and broccoli. Revered across the global functional beverage, cold-pressed juice, infant nutrition, extruded snack, and culinary sectors, kale is widely recognized as a benchmark superfood. It provides a robust, earthy, and slightly peppery flavor profile, along with dense concentrations of chlorophylls, carotenoids (specifically lutein and beta-carotene), Vitamin K1 (phylloquinone), Vitamin C, calcium, and bioactive glucosinolates (such as glucoraphanin and sinigrin). In industrial ingredient processing, botanical cultivar selection and post-harvest thermal management govern the balance between leafy green flavor, color retention, and sulfurous volatile generation:

• Lacinato / Tuscan Kale (Brassica oleracea var. palmifolia): Highly prized for its long, lanceolate, dark blue-green to near-black embossed leaves. Tuscan kale features lower fibrous stem volume, a milder, nuttier, less bitter sensory profile, and reduced sulfur volatility. Lacinato kale puree are favored by formulators developing premium cold-pressed green beverages, baby food pouches, and upscale culinary sauces.

• Kale Puree: Destemmed leaves undergo continuous steam blanching to gelatinize cell walls, permanently deactivate myrosinase, and stabilize chlorophyll. The softened leaves are micro-milled through multi-stage colloid mills and precision finisher screens (0.020″ to 0.033″ mesh) under vacuum deaeration, producing an ultra-smooth, non-stringy, velvety puree with uniform particle suspension.

Brothers International partners with origin processors equipped with dedicated leaf-washing flumes, mechanical destemmers, continuous steam blanchers, and centrifugal clarifiers to lock in brilliant chlorophyll color and deliver consistent rheological properties.

Ginger is a flowering plant whose edible part is the rhizome, or underground stem, commonly referred to as ginger root; it is commonly processed into ginger NFC juice or ginger puree. It is believed to have originated in Southeast Asia and has been used for thousands of years in both culinary and traditional practices. Ginger has a firm, knobby appearance with a light brown skin and a pale yellow interior. It has a strong, spicy aroma and a warm, pungent taste. The plant grows in tropical and subtropical climates and is typically harvested once the rhizome has matured underground.

• Peruvian Ecotypes (The Organic Functional Benchmark): Cultivated in the high-altitude Amazonian cloud-forest valleys of Peru (Junín region). Peruvian ginger is characterized by smaller, denser rhizomes with blue-ringed or yellow flesh, thin skin, low free water and high essential oil content. It is the global premier choice for organic functional wellness shots, immunity beverages, and craft brewing.

• Chinese Yellow Ginger (The High-Yield Commercial Workhorse): Grown extensively in Shandong province. Features large, plump, pale-yellow “hands” with thick, juicy lobes, higher natural water content, low fibrous stringiness, and a rounded, less abrasive pungency. Chinese ginger provides maximum liquid extraction yield, making it ideal for high-volume commercial ginger NFC juices, ginger beers, and culinary purees.

• Indian Cochin & Calicut Cultivars: Renowned for their intensely aromatic essential oil profile, deep golden interior, and pronounced lemon-camphoric top notes, widely utilized for specialty brewing and spice pastes.

• Ginger NFC Juice: Cleaned, unpeeled whole rhizomes are shredded and cold-pressed via continuous twin-screw or hydraulic belt presses. The expressed cloudy juice is flash-pasteurized (HTST) and passed through high-speed centrifugal decanters to remove excess heavy native starches (which would otherwise gel upon heating) while standardizing suspended micro-pulp, yielding a vibrant, fluid, golden-amber liquid.

• Ginger Puree: Cured, blanched rhizomes are micro-milled through dual-stage colloid mills and precision finisher screens under vacuum deaeration. The puree retains the rhizome’s insoluble structural cellulose and soluble fiber, yielding a silky, non-stringy, viscous paste designed for automated dosing lines and culinary matrices.

Brothers International partners with origin processors equipped with high-pressure rotary spray washers, automated starch-decanting separators, and vacuum deaerators to lock in clean pungency and prevent oxidative browning.

Carrots are root vegetables that grow underground and are typically orange in color, although they can also be found in purple, yellow, red, and white varieties – they are also commonly processed into carrot NFC juice, carrot juice concentrate or purees. They originated in Central Asia and have been cultivated for thousands of years. Carrots have a firm, crunchy texture when raw and become soft when cooked. They grow best in cool climates and are usually harvested in the spring or fall. The edible portion is the taproot, which develops as the plant matures in the soil. Carrots are widely consumed around the world and can be eaten raw or cooked in a variety of dishes.

The cultivated carrot (Daucus carota subsp. sativus) is a biennial herbaceous root vegetable belonging to the Apiaceae (parsley/celery) family. Celebrated across commercial beverage manufacturing, infant nutrition, prepared foods, and natural color compounding, the carrot is prized for its crisp cellular matrix, high soluble sugars (primarily sucrose, glucose, and fructose), low titratable acidity, and dense nutritional loading. It is one of nature’s most concentrated botanical sources of carotenoids, which provide vivid orange pigmentation and serve as essential lipid-soluble precursors to Vitamin A.