Winner of the fresh produce category at the Food & Drink Expo Ideas To Dine For awards, The Really Garlicky Company was at the show, not only to pick up its trophy but to promote its new line of garlic shoots.
In the last 12 months, the company, which supplies fresh garlic to retailers including Waitrose, has doubled its garlic production in Nairn, Scotland, to 60 acres, and has become the biggest garlic grower in the UK.
The Really Garlicky Company had a small harvest of garlic shoots - which are cut from the bulbs before they flower and are known as ‘scape’ - last year, but has only started to promote the product this year.
One of the company’s co-founders, Gilli Allingham, told FPJ: “The season will start at the end of May, but we are trying to create demand now, as it is a very short season. The garlic variety we grow is very closely linked to wild garlic, and the shoots have a very mild, sweet garlic flavour. We are working on recipe development, and we are likening the product to chives, and even asparagus. We had a great response from the farmers’ markets we took the garlic shoots to last year, so we are now ready to push the product forward.”
The Really Garlicky Company won the Ideas To Dine For awards with its new Eazy Garlic frozen puree, which co-founders Gilli and Glen Allingham devised and marketed at their farm. The company produces a small volume of Eazy Garlic, and supplies 10,000 packets a year to delicatessens and farm shops. Glen Allingham said of the award: “I think Eazy Garlic has got a lot of potential, and it is great to be recognised by the trade, as well as the Food & Drink Expo.
“We developed the idea as a solution to our garlic’s short season. It is only available for six months of the year, and we needed a product to fill that gap. Garlic puree freezes really well, and the flavour does not change.”
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