Ponthier

Who's behind it

Ponthier started in 1946 in Objat, in the Corrèze. André Ponthier traded in fresh seasonal fruits. Meanwhile the family business has been running for over seventy years and supplies to about 65 countries. In 1980 Ponthier brought the first vacuum-cooked chestnuts to market; today the core lies with fruit purees and coulis.

The purchasing network runs through growers in twenty countries and thirty terroirs, often with single origin on the label. Think strawberry of the Gariguette variety from France, blackcurrant from Burgundy and pomegranate from Turkey and Sicily. Every batch is traceable to the orchard or plantation the fruit comes from.

What really makes the difference

Minimum 90 percent fruit in every flavour, at most 10 percent cane sugar, and a good part of the range is 100 percent fruit. No food colouring, no preservatives. Every batch gets a brix value on the label, so you know exactly how much sugar you're bringing in before you add anything yourself. Ponthier has it independently tested for pesticide residues and works under IFS Higher Level and BRC Grade A.

For you that means consistency. A litre of passion fruit tastes in January the way it does in July, without you needing to adjust your marinade or sorbet base. Choose frozen, the puree keeps thirty months; choose the fresh chilled version, you're working with fruit closer to the season. Both deliver the same taste on the plate.

How to set yourself apart

Over sixty flavours give you room to go further than raspberry and mango. Put yuzu or kalamansi against fatty fish, build a dessert around bergamot from Calabria, or use blood orange for a vinaigrette that stands out. Because the base is pure and standardised, you can repeat a recipe exactly for a year and still play with the edges each season.

The result: less correction work on the ingredient, more time for the taste you bring to it. The puree is the soil, your hand stays the signature.