Stick with our news this week and by the end of it, you’ll know how to make tuna marmalade, find space cheese and see through frosted glass. Useful as ever then.

Tuna marmalade

Tuna marmalade, tuna juice, sirop de tuna - over Ecuador way, you can gorge yourself silly on the stuff without ever having to go near a fishmongers. Along with cactus fig and Indian fig, tuna is the name for the prickly pear fruit that comes from the opuntia plant (a.k.a the paddle cactus). As well as eating it straight off the plant (carefully removing all the spiky bits first) you can also make it into other stuff to eat. With support from the innocent foundation, the good folk at CARE International are helping to make the prickly pear profitable in Ecuador. Project Fortuna helps farmers to plant and cultivate crops, teaches them how to turn the fruit into stuff like jam, and provides training in basic business and marketing skills. Whilst cactus condiments may be covered, we're sure there’s still an opening in the market somewhere for fish-based preserves. Just in case you were tentatively waiting for that Anchovy Jam patent to come through.

The truth about vanilla

Vanilla. The speckly stuff that goes into our thickies and denotes extremely posh ice cream, this fragrant pod often gets dubbed as plain, dull and a bit ‘safe’ in the spice and flavour department. But vanilla is anything but boring. For starters, all flowers have to be hand pollinated. There is a little bee called the melipone bee that does an excellent job too but since they can’t survive outside their native regions, vanilla pollinators often do the job by hand instead. Seeing as each flower only opens once and for one day only, they have to be quick. In the world of vanilla pollination, you snooze, you lose. Once pollinated, it then takes 9 months for the pod to ripen, another 5 months to cure it and that’s before it even gets within sniffing distance of a mixing bowl. After saffron, vanilla is the most expensive spice in the world due to the intensive labour involved. Something to think about next time you’re wolfing down your Arctic Roll.

The tale of misplaced luggage

Travelling light doesn’t always pay. On their latest fruit sourcing trip to Central and Southern America, Atha took a tiny holdall whilst Simon rocked up with a trunk-on-wheels containing 8 pairs of trousers, 5 pairs of shoes (slip on and Italian hand made), a dinner jacket, tennis balls for his bad back, a chess set, 5 plugs and a hair dryer. Yet despite containing only a few pairs of pants and t-shirts, it was Atha’s bag that decided to go on it's jollies. First it decided it liked El Salvador so much, it stayed on for a few more days. Then it headed over to Costa Rica for a bit more sun. Then, after being temporarily reunited with Atha, it took another little sojourn whilst Simon and Atha separated to go to Ecuador and Peru. On his return to Heathrow, having not seen Atha or said holdall for over a week, the first bag to greet Simon on the baggage carousel was of course, none other than Atha’s skinny holdall (despite Atha still being in Peru). Moral of the story? Laugh at your friend’s massive suitcase and spend the rest of your trip having to borrow his pants.

And finally...

Sugar and spice and all things nice - that’s what biscuits are made of. This week’s news is the equivalent of 3 sponge fingers, 12 pink wafers and half a wagon wheel. A proper party on a plate.

Water water everywhere

As well as being National Lumberjack, Baby Food and Fishing Week this week, it’s also National Water Saving Week. Sustainability Lou has been working very hard since March to figure out our water footprint as a business, using all sorts of intricate spreadsheets and sums. Since water scarcity is a major issue that could really start to bite in Britain in the near future here are some top water saving tips to make sure we have plenty of the wet stuff for years to come:

• Always fill your washing machine and dishwasher right up before running them (3 pairs of pants and a tea towel is not a full load).
• Don’t like cold showers? While you’re waiting for the water to warm up, save the tepid stuff for watering your plants.
• Get some aerator taps to reduce water use by up to 50% (you can get a free thingy for your shower right here).
• Keep a jug of water in the fridge instead of waiting for the tap to run cold.
• As the old hippy badge says, save water - shower with a friend.

Save money, save the planet, save on soap. More water/ money saving tips right here.

Read it swap it

Congratulations to Karen who came closest to guessing which page of Christine Gav was reading last week (for the record, it was p.695). He’s since finished it and having sworn never to drive in a car that gives him a funny look again, his copy is now winging it’s way over. If you fancy getting free books in the post (and clearing your bookshelves of unwanted paperbacks) then book swapping will be right up your street. It’s proper de rigeur in the current economic climate and rife in Fruit Towers (Emma H and Ceri have swapped most of their excess English Literature degree tomes in this fashion). All you need to do is sign up to a book swapping website (readitswapit or bookmooch are both good) then swap all the books you don’t want with ones you do. All you have to do is pay the postage. Cheap, sustainable and like running your very own library (sort of).

innocent drinker 179879

A new addition to the innocent family, innocent drinker 179879 (also known as Barnabas) arrived in Copenhagen last week. Soon as he’s had time to set up an email account, learnt to read, type and sit up by himself, he’ll be receiving our weekly news too. Meantime, his dad, Nicholai, will be reading it aloud in lieu of bedtime stories/slugs of rum in the milk. Welcome to the family, Barnabas.

Hot out the park

Tuesday morning, damp park, somewhere in West London, kneepads, mini vacuums, nutty balls on tap* - it’s all glam in the world of ad making. Here’s a sneak preview of our new ad (when we say ‘preview’ we mean in its most primitive form. As in a cryptic shot of a rather soggy storyboard. Fully formed version to be unveiled very soon...).

And finally...

*the coated peanut variety. Not the ambassador’s favourites.

Hello. It’s that time again. Time for news that is. Not time for a nap, a Tom Collins or a glimpse of the Speedos. Unless you happen to be reading this on the beach. In which case, glimpse away.

The people’s label

Thanks to everyone who voted last week for your favourite finalist in The People’s Label competition. All 6 finalists were strong contenders but in the end, you voted in your hundreds for the label written by Chloe from Enniskillen. Big well done to Chloe. Her words will be joining our brand new set of labels that are just about to go to the printers and will be winging their way to a shelf near you from September. However, for a sneak preview of Chloe’s winning label and a few tidbits from our shiny new packaging collection, just click here*.

Summer reads (make me feel fine)

Rather than chancing it in the airport bookshop or leafing through dog eared copies of Riders in your holiday cottage, here are a few summer reading recommendations from the folk of Fruit Towers to keep you occupied:

Jo G is reading: The Book Thief by Markus Zusak

‘Death tells the story all about a girl growing up in Nazi Germany. It’s a poignant tragedy that makes you think about death in a totally different way. An utterly gripping read.’

Dan G is reading: What I talk about when I talk about running by Haruki Murakami

‘I loved this book about running. It made me think a bit about why I run, and why we do things in general. The result? I will run a little more.’

Tansy is reading: You can be as young as you think by Tim Drake and Chris Middleton

‘I don't delve too much into books that make me prod 'myself'- far too scary - but this is a nudging gem. All about taking a youthful outlook on life and making it much more fun in the process. My brain age is apparently nearing middle age (it starts going down hill from 23), so found it just in time. Hopefully by the end of the summer, I’ll be all teenager-like again.’

Gav is reading: Christine by Stephen King

‘Possessed 1958 Plymouth Fury. Drives itself. Kills people. Doesn’t like owner’s girlfriend. Only one chapter to go. Hecking loving it.’

And if after that rave review, you’re keen to read more about maniacal motors, then just guess here which page Gav is currently on and we’ll send you the book once he’s finished reading it.

Guardian angels

Not the type who grant wishes, wear white suits or tell you to go back to high school, but the people in Fruit Towers who help look after the innocent foundation. There are 16 of them in total and on top of their day jobs, they also spend time looking after the various projects that the foundation supports. They’re going to be posting regular updates about the different charities they each work with on our blog, so keep your eyes peeled for all their news, coming to a space like this very soon.

And finally...

*And for those who were wondering, the beef pipped the duck to the post for the main course choice for Kate B’s wedding. Thanks for helping clear that one up.

George Orwell reckoned that by age 50, everyone has the face he deserves. How you doing?

Pick your own

You might remember back in May we ran a competition where you could write your very own label to go on our bottles and be read by millions. Over 300 were penned and we’ve whittled them down to a final 6. In the spirit of democracy, and seeing as it’s the people’s label, we thought it only fair to ask you to vote for your favourites right here. And while you’re voting, we thought you might be able to help on another front. Our Kate B is getting married in November and can’t decide on whether to have duck or beef for the main course at her wedding reception (the veggies will be getting a roast veg roulade of some description). So if you can vote on your preference for that too, it’d be most helpful.

The wonderful world of vending: continued

Pizza and fresh eggs were only scratching the surface of the thrilling world of vending machines. After telling you about Charlie and Helen’s lucky find in France, lots of you sent us photos and stories of your encounters with unusual vending machines. Tom spotted a chip machine in Southampton, Lucy came across the ultimate in instant fry ups and Maggie found gold. Solid gold. Angie even wrote a little lament about the demise of the hamburger and chips vending machine in her local hospital canteen in Birmingham. The award for best vending machine however must go to Vicki for the state of the art potato vending machine near her hometown of Leuven in Belgium. Thanks to everyone who sent us their photos and links. Check out the full vending glory splendour here.

Meet the agronomist

Over the last few years, we’ve acquired a small team of people called agronomists. Rather than rattle on about what they are, we thought it’d be politer (and less blagworthy) to introduce you to one of them and let them do the talking instead. So please say hello to Rozanne.

innocent: Tell us a little bit about what an agronomist does.

Rozanne: Well, in a nutshell, an agronomist is someone who knows a lot about food crops and says what tastes best. We make sure the fruit we use in our drinks is the best quality in terms of taste and grown in the most sustainable way.

i: So what do you do day-to-day?

R: I’m responsible for sourcing pomegranates, berries and apples for our smoothies. That means I’m often out and about, visiting the fields and farmers where we get our fruit from.

i: Describe a typical day:

R: Breakfast (strong coffee, fruit, pickles if we’re in Poland) then it’s out all day, visiting farms, getting to know the farmers, looking at the crops and trying to break the world record for most questions asked in a field. It’s essential we understand as much as we can about the fruit to make sure we get the best stuff.

i: Best/worst memory of a trip?

R: Best: hiking in the mountains of Northern Turkey and sipping a wee dram by a waterfall. Worst: Brazil. Geraldo. 2am drive. No lights. Hairpin bends. Lots of overtaking. Only 1 seatbelt (for Geraldo).

i: The agronomist motto?

R: If your boots aren’t dirty by the end of the day, you’re not a true agronomist.

And finally...

Imagine a fiery salamander at a wedding who accidentally helps himself to the buffet before the DJ's announcement. Now imagine the heat coming off his embarrassed little cheeks. This week’s web news is twice as hot as that. Oh yes.

Feeling hot hot hot

Glastonbury was baking, the new roof on Centre Court has barely had an outing and yesterday my tomatoes demanded hourly feeding. No doubt about it, it’s hot hot hot out there. Thankfully our office superman, Eddie, has some top tips for staying cool.

• Go and stand in a massive walk in fridge. Or, if unlike Eddie, you don't have one at your disposal, simply hang out by the frozen peas in your local supermarket instead.
• Can't get to the beach? Then bring the beach to you and have a little paddle at your desk. Best of all you won't be finding sand in your belly button for weeks to come.
• Fill a water bottle, pop it in the freezer et voila - an anti hot water bottle for bed time. Better yet, leave it till the morning and you’ll have your very own PPCS* ready to roll.

Freezy Squeezie

Never let it be said that Eleanor is not a genius. After many careful hours and much tinkering in the products kitchen, she has come up with a hands down winner in this summer's easiest and best recipe competition - the frozen squeezie. Here comes the science part. Concentrate now:

• Step one: Take squeezie.
• Step two: Put in freezer.
• Step three: (this is the difficult bit) Wait a while.
• Step four: Enjoy.

We heartily recommend you give them a whirl. What’s more, they’re on a special £1 offer at Tesco this week. Chilly good times indeed.

Can I squash it? Yes you can.

It's National Recycling Week this week and the best part is it's really easy to get involved. Take our big cartons for example. All you need to do is squash them up when they’re empty and pop them in your recycling bin (90% of all councils now recycle tetra cartons, check yours here). There’s other stuff you can do too so have a look here and make your pledge – after all every little counts. The competitive amongst you may want to take things a step further and bag yourself a prize. So get squashing and do your bit for the planet at the same time.

Blingtastic.

There's a new Mayor in town and his name is Councillor Karmel (if you happen to live in Hammersmith and Fulham that is). Last week he popped into Fruit Towers to chat local business, give the place a once over and show off his highly impressive Mayoral chains. Not to be out done, Rich donned his jazziest t-shirt for the occasion, showed him round the office and discussed the merits of working on astroturf. We’re just waiting for the invite to City Hall. Apparently it’s in the post. Any day now...

And finally...

*PPCS Portable Personal Cooling System