With less than three weeks to go until Christmas the sight of these majestic sprout stalks from Lyncroft Farm down the road in Ormskirk is filling us with festive cheer. The tops are incredibly versatile and delicious – throw then into stir fries and miso soups, chop finely and serve raw with loads of lemon juice or simply sauté with garlic.
Our veg team were out on the road last week visiting the Wasses in North Yorkshire. Farming on the edge of the moors, our UK buyers helped out with the carrot harvest under thick snow. Due to the weather they were unable to use any of the harvesting machinery and were picking the roots by hand; a welcome reminder of the lengths our farmers are willing to go to bring us our veg. Speaking of carrots, our supply heads North this week to Skea in Scotland. Light and sweet tasting, with an excellent crunch to juice ratio – a carrot lover’s perfect snack.
Storm damage in the Dominican Republic is causing problems with our banana supply. With fewer plantations in operation the market is becoming tighter and Fairtrade in particular are harder to get hold of. We apologise that a few recent batches are not certified Fairtrade and offer our reassurances that selling Fairtrade bananas is of the utmost importance to us. In the meantime, we’re doing our best to get the supply back to normal.
In better news, European ratatouille is offering great value and quality at the moment and Spanish sweet potatoes are also cheap, plentiful and tasty. European oranges are getting sweeter and juicier by the week and the kiwifruits from Agricoop are to die for.
