See below for background information about us and our links to organic farming.
Select Why Rocks Is Different for information about what goes into our drinks and what you should avoid in all drinks.
Select All About Rocks for information on Rocks flavours (GINGER, ELDERFLOWER AND CRANBERRY) and the ingredients in our drinks. |
 Loddon Park Farm
Organic farming promotes sustainable relationships between the earth, plants, animals, people and the biosphere in order to produce healthy food and other products while enhancing the environment.
Here at Rocks we believe this to be of the utmost importance, so for anyone looking for a natural alternative to the 21st century, look no further, all this and it tastes delicious too.
Rocks Organic are a certified member of the Soil Association.
 | Rocks is a family firm producing only organic drinks, founded by Hugh Rock at Loddon Park Farm in 1983.
Everything is made on our own premises at Loddon Park Farm, Twyford, which is a Soil Association registered organic farm.
We have specialised machinery so that we can buy fruit direct from the organic growers.
From fresh oranges to orange whole fruit drink takes 24 hours.
With this direct processing we have complete control over what goes into our drinks.
 Rocks Organic Fruit Drinks |
Rocks Is Different
Rocks Organic Whole Fruit Drink is different from what you may be used to.
Here are some things you may notice.
Separation | The fruit pieces in our whole fruit drink separate naturally from the juice and float to the top or settle at the bottom. This does not happen with regular whole fruit drink because stabilisers and emulsions are added to prevent this. So please shake the bottle each time before serving. If you leave a glass standing for a while you will notice the fruit separating - just stir with a teaspoon to mix up the fruit. | Fruit and Fibre | You will notice that Rock's Organic Whole Fruit Drink is more pulpy than regular squash. We crush the fruit ourselves using all the juice and fibre. This is less processed than the more industrial product and not as finely milled. We also use twice as much fruit as normal !! | No Preservatives | There are NO preservatives in our whole fruit drink, so once opened please refrigerate and use within two to three weeks.
We do not use preservatives
Sodium Benzoate | Sulphur Dioxide | Potassium Sorbate | Dimethyl Dicarbonate |
Preservatives have no nutritional value but they are convenient to manufacturers to extend shelf life and make production easier.
They are known to be potentially harmful and there are legally set 'safe limits' to the amounts that can be added to food.
However individual sensitivities vary greatly so that a blanket average set by legislation is not necessarily right for a particular individual.
For instance some people are very sensitive to sulphur dioxide which is a choking gas and can provoke asthma. Benzoates and sorbates can provoke skin reactions in some individuals. Rock's Organic Whole Fruit Drink is preserved naturally by pasteurisation and contains none of these preservatives. | No Artificial Sweeteners | We do not use artificial sweetenersAspartame | Acesulfame | Sodium Saccharin |
Manufacturers like to use these chemicals because they are so cheap, about one-fifth of the price of farm-produced sugar.
They have no nutritional value whatsoever.
You will notice that drinks containing aspartame all carry the warning 'contains a source of phenylalanine'. This is because it can have a nervous and behavioural effect on some individuals.
Artificial sweeteners give drinks a thin feel with a lingering aftertaste, quite different from the full-bodied flavour of natural sugar.
They have been slipped into so many drinks that we have become used to this flavour defect - but try a taste test with Rock's Organic Whole Fruit Drink and experience the difference. | No Colours | We do not use colours
Beta-Caratene | 'carrot colouring' |
which are used to give orange drinks an artificially bright colour and disguise the low fruit content. | No Thickeners and Stabilisers | We do not use additivesGuar gum | Xanthan gum | Gelan gum | Carboxymethylcellulose |
that help to thicken a drink to disguise the 'thin feel' given by the artificial sweeteners and low level of fruit content. |
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All About Rocks
Full range of Rocks cordials
All our cordials and whole fruit drinks are made on our farm in Twyford near Reading from wholly organic ingredients.
The ginger, tangerine. lemon and lime flavours are made from fresh fruit which we crush and pasteurise.
Summer fruit, blackcurrant, cranberry and fruit punch are made from concentrated organic fruit juices and organic sugar, and they all taste delicious. Elderflower is made from the extract of fresh elderflowers
Our cordials should be diluted according to individual taste but on average each 36cl bottle of cordial will make about 3 litres of drink.
ALL ABOUT GINGER
'The properties of ginger are to warme a cold stomacke, and to helpe digestion' John Parkinson - Theatrum Botanicum 1640
Ginger (Zingiber officinale) originally came from the tropical forests of Southeast Asia.
It has been cultivated for over 3000 years and was widely used in ancient India and China.
It was one of the first spices to appear in the West as it was used in trade by the Phoenicians who brought it to the Mediterranean.
Its popularity grew, mainly because its warm, fresh, woody flavour has numerous culinary uses in sweet and savoury cooking.
By the ninth century ginger was as common as salt is today.
Ginger plants grow to about one metre tall with narrow green leaves and small yellow and purple flowers. The part of the plant used is the rhizome (root) which is harvested, then washed and dried and then can be stored for several months in a cool environment.
The fact that the rhizomes are so easy to transport and store led to ginger being the first oriental spice to be widely introduced elsewhere.
TRADITIONAL USES FOR GINGER
Rocks Organic Ginger Cordial
Since ancient times ginger has been used to aid digestion, the Greek physician Dioscorides favoured the use of ginger as an antidote for poison.
A hot ginger drink is believed to help with poor circulation and is a warming drink for any one with a cold.
It is also thought ginger helps relieve the symptoms of travel sickness.
THE POWER OF ELDERFLOWER
The Elder (Sambucus Nigra) has been used since the days of the Egyptians and has always been linked with folklore and magic.
In appearance, it is a small tree or shrub, which grows up to 10 metres tall with large flattop clusters of highly perfumed creamy coloured flowers that bloom from May to early July.
A hardy perennial the elder can be found throughout Britain, Europe, North Africa and Western Asia.
The botanical name for elder - sambucus - is Greek for stringed instrument and pipes and whistles are still made from the hollow stems today.
TRADITIONAL USES FOR ELDERFLOWER
Rocks Organic Elderflower Cordial
Elderflowers have long been believed to be helpful in treating colds and flu, particularly when combined with peppermint, yarrow and lime.
On its own it is reputed to aid throat infections when sipped or used as a gargle. A poultice of fresh elderflowers can be helpful when applied to acne or spots and is supposed to fade unwanted freckles!
CARING CRANBERRY
Cranberry is a low creeping evergreen bog plant of the genus Oxycoccus of the family Ericaceae.
The cultivated species is the native American or large cranberry.
The tart red berries are used for sauces, jellies, pies, and beverages.
TRADITIONAL USES FOR CRANBERRY Cystitis, also known as UTI (urinary tract infection), will affect up to 60% of the female population at some time in their lives.
Bacterial organisms cause cystitis; most are caused by Escherichia coli (E coli) that normally resides in the gut.
The bacterium makes its way in to the bladder through the tube (urethra) that passes urine to the outside.
UTI's occur when this bacteria sticks to the lining of the bladder using fimbriae, tentacle like projections which penetrate and hold on to the bladder lining preventing them being fully flushed away during urination and leaving them to cause an infection.
The use of cranberry juice for bladder infections is very popular and its effectiveness has been confirmed by several scientific trials.
Research shows that cranberries possess compounds that block infectious bacteria from clinging to the cells lining the urinary tract and bladder so that they get flushed away when you pass water.
Rocks Organic Cranberry, Ginger and Elderflower cordials
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