Hello Foodie Friends,
This week, I had the distinct honour of serving as a judge at the National Organic Food Awards, held at the Organic Food Fair in Dublin. It was an inspiring experience to be part of the effort to identify Ireland's top organic foods, with the winners set to be announced at an Awards Ceremony this October. Its top secret until then, and even though I judged, I'm not privy to that very important info!
But as I reflect on the innovation showcased, it’s clear that Ireland's organic sector is making significant strides.
Organic farming in Ireland is seeing remarkable growth, which is fantastic news for our environment. More Irish land is now being farmed without chemicals, with a focus on boosting wildlife, increasing biodiversity, and regenerating the soil. And my fellow judges advised me that thanks to the New Agri Organic schemes, organic farmland in Ireland has expanded from just 2% in 2020 to 5% today—a wonderful increase, though still small compared to other European countries.
In this week's newsletter, I’m excited to highlight some of the innovative developments happening in the organic sector. These innovations not only reflect a growing commitment to sustainable practices but also promise a bright future for organic food in Ireland.
Is your business in the organic space or considering it?
Hopefully, this week's read will inspire you,
Annie x
DAINTY GREENS ORGANIC IRISH MICROGREENS
Family owned farm, Culinary Microherbs, are located in Dublin. Owners, Paul and Carol have a deep passion for growing fresh produce and they carefully monitor the needs of the plants and ensure they are free of herbicides and pesticides with biodegradable and compostable elements. Hand harvested to order at the peak of freshness and with lots of love when packed. And I can confirm they taste totally DELICIOUS! Full of aromatic flavours, they come in a wide variety of colours and textures. We tasted so many, from fennel to cabbage to radish. What I love about this company is their mission to get the Irish consumer to know about the wonders of Microgreens and to give them a Super-nutritious High Quality Local product. We need to be eating these more in our diets.
GARRYHINCH ORGANIC EXOTIC MUSHROOMS
Garryhinch Mushrooms are the only growers in Ireland to produce fresh organic exotic mushrooms, and they are grown on the banks of the river Barrow in Co Offaly. They grow a wide variety of mushrooms – Shiitake, Maitake, White Beech, Lions Mane, Forest Nameko and a variety of Oyster mushrooms. They taste absolutely stunning, and its reassuring to know that these exotic mushrooms are grown without the use of chemical fertilisers, pesticides, or other artificial chemicals, unlike many of the imported mushrooms. Founder, Joe Gorman was telling me that because his mushrooms are grown in organic material they have a long shelf life, standard grown mushrooms have a much shorter shelf life. Move over white button mushrooms, make way for real mushrooms!!
ION IRISH ORGANIC OILS
I recall tasting Ion Organic Walnut Oil at the Blas na hEireann Irish Food Awards last year and I was blown away by the flavour and smoothness. It has won numerous awards since, including 3 stars at the Great Taste Awards this year. Their Walnut Oil is carefully cold pressed from certified organic seeds, not filtered and all the oils are bottled by hand. This product is so versatile and can be used cold in dressings, dips, smoothies, for baking or with cheese, fruit and ice cream to add extra flavour. Meeting the owners, Andrea & Markus Miley, at the Organic fair this week, I was delighted to see their range has expanded into organic spice mixes also. I got to taste their new Coffee Almond Oil, like dessert in a bottle. Creamy, rich, decadent and wonderfully smooth, I just had to get a bottle!
WILD IRISH SEAWEED SMOOTHIE BLENDS
Wild Irish Seaweeds Ltd have been harvesting wild organic seaweed from the west of Ireland for over 100 years. All their seaweed comes from the pristine nutrient rich waters of the the Atlantic Ocean off the west coast of County Clare. They have kept the same hand harvesting techniques handed down over 4 generations and innovated to build their state of the art drying and processing facility. And their smoothie blends is just one example of their innovative product offering. They taste delicious and are an abundant source of minerals such as sodium, potassium, calcium, magnesium, chlorine, iron, sulfur, copper, manganese, cobalt, bromine, iodine, and many naturally occurring vitamins, including A and C. A simple addition to your diet with huge nutritional benefits.
GREEN EARTH ORGANICS
Jenny & Kenneth Keavey started Green Earth Organics in 2006. Their 50 acre organically certified farm is situated 8 miles from Galway City, where they farm on 40 acres with another 10 acres split between a wild life biodiversity area, native woodland forestry (7000 trees) and red clover/grassland. EVERYTHING they sell is organic. They generate their own electricity using solar panels, and they harvest the West of Ireland rainwater to wash the freshly picked veg and to water the plants in their tunnels. As a business, they are striving to be carbon neutral and actively looking for ways to reduce and eliminate the small amount of plastic packaging remaining in some of their boxes. Their selection of veg & fruit boxes is wonderful, and even an option to build your own.
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