New Parsnips, multi-coloured carrots, red globe artichokes and red curly kale are just some of the products the vegetable industry can expect to see explode onto the scene in the next couple of seasons.
Seed companies such as Elsoms Seeds and Sakata have displayed their wares at open days this quarter and invited the vegetable industry to take a look into the future. With careful consideration of current trends and the multitude of components that seed breeders need to provide, seed development seems to be going back to basics and focusing on traditional vegetable types - but with a point of difference.
Probably a direct response to recessionary times and an average summer, hardy and wholesome root vegetables are taking the limelight, with candy and stripy beetroot and rainbow carrots set to seep through from niche farmers’ markets to mainstream retailers next season.
The focus across the board seems to be on colour and taste. Beetroot consumption continues to increase, as innovative new packs and flavour-infused combinations continue to tempt consumers. Sakata, which held its vegetable seed open days in the second week of October, has been working on new beetroot varieties. These include Cardeal F1 - which has proved a success in the UK for its suitability for baby beet, high-sugar content and partial downy mildew resistance - and newcomer BEC113 F1, which is being tested commercially for the first time this season to compete for early-season production.
Elsoms Seeds also held its open days in mid-October, but this year opened up the event to vegetables outside brassica crops, such as beetroot and leeks. However, there is still a lot to report on the brassica front, with the industry gearing up to take advantage of the recent resurgence in purple sprouting broccoli.
Elsoms is undertaking a joint project with Bejo to look at how purple sprouting broccoli’s production period can be extended post-Christmas into the UK summer. At the moment, the seed breeder has the Santee variety that can produce through the summer months, but due to the limited number of purple sprouting varieties that can do this, trials are ongoing.
“Our trials so far have shown some surprising results and we have learnt a lot,” reveals Keely Watson, trainee crop specialist at Elsoms. “We will have the full results in a few months’ time. Spear quality has to be consistent through the summer and white fly limits the season. We are also looking into researching the nutritional content of the product, as it is difficult to be specific with marketing direct claims.”
Parsnips are another traditional root that has taken consumers by storm and the industry is asking for product with a smoother shape and a more level weight throughout, much like a carrot. “Consumers for parsnips are increasing and we are going back to old-fashioned vegetables,” says an insider. “They used to look like the old sugar beets, but now they have a uniform size and are being developed for pre-packs.”
Carrots, turnips and swede have also received some attention from both the vegetable industry and consumers. Fenmarc unveiled its retail launch of rainbow carrots last month under its new, consumer-facing brand The Very Very Veg Co, in response to consumers seeming indifferent to vegetables. The rainbow carrots consist of yellow, orange and white roots.
Elsoms has also been working on giving carrots a point of difference. Carrot varieties such as Ibiza, which can be cut into three almost equal pieces and then rumbled to look like baby carrots, have become very popular for their convenience.
And as well as rainbow carrots, Elsoms has launched a purple carrot with an orange centre. “Wild carrots were traditionally purple,” says Elsoms’ James Wilson. “But everybody wants something different now. More consumers are stopping in and having dinner parties, and food has basically become a social event. People are enjoying eating and talking about it.
“We have had these seeds for six or seven years. Rainbow carrots have had a steady build-up and the rest of the colours are slowly developing and gaining shelf space - this will maximise.”
Colour is definitely going to be on the menu next season, with red curly kale and red globe artichokes on the way, as well as further development in speciality culinary squashes.
Sakata UK’s Stuart Cox maintains that the company’s SC9-303 turnip will redefine the image of this traditional, old-fashioned favourite. This variety is a striking purple and white in colour, with a smooth globe shape and melon-like sweetness.
“Breeders have done an amazing job with this item,” says Cox. “Variety improvements are typically in small increments, but this is a leap forward and has significantly raised the bar. We need to promote this variety as a new experience and get consumers to try it. Repeat purchases should not be a problem with such an outstanding visual and taste experience, and trial seeds are expected for 2010.”
Swede has also come under the microscope of late and Elsoms’ new range of Tyne and Twede swedes, which will become available to consumers next year, is set to revolutionise the sub-category. The varieties have a neat neck and a root that trims off with very little wastage. “Swedes are becoming a big crop again,” says Wilson. “The traditional vegetables are coming back into vogue. The problem is that everyone still wants everything 12 months of the year. Scotland and Devon are the traditional areas for growing swede, but we are developing varieties that do well elsewhere.”
Recent weeks have seen Lincolnshire experience the driest period of the season, with supplies of broccoli and cauliflower in particular running short, although recent rains have now alleviated the situation. Cox maintains that many customers at the Sakata open day had confirmed the additional value of viewing new and existing market-leading varieties that had grown through recent dry conditions. “Growers and packers need to supply quality and volume whatever the weather and, although perfect trials are a pleasure to see, it is when conditions are tough that the winners stand out,” says Cox.
With this in mind, broccoli variety Parthenon F1 was picked out for maintaining good vigour, fine beads and a deep green colour. For cauliflower, Cox picked out Concept F1 for its renowned curd protection and overall high quality over recent weeks. He says that reliability of cycle time is an important feature of Concept for July-October cutting.
Also at the open day, Sakata introduced a new cabbage variety, K3-537 F1, which is a new summer/early autumn primo that produces 700-1,000g heads with high levels of leaf disease resistance, dark head colour and long field-holding ability.
PARSNIPS TAKE THE LIMELIGHT
Modern recipes promoted by many chefs now recognise the parsnip for its unique flavour and versatile usage as an integral part of their dishes, both modern and traditional, says Roy Bartlett of father-and-son partnership Roy and Rod Bartlett (R&RW Bartlett). We have even seen a large restaurant chain stipulating the use of Staffordshire parsnips on its national menu.
This quarter, we have made significant investments in our packing facility, which has led to better handling of the product with an increased number of packaging concepts, and increased the efficiency of the packing process.
We farm more than 720 acres of parsnips around the Staffordshire village of Shenstone. The business was established in the 1950s when my mother and I started growing root vegetables on a site of just 50a. R&RW Bartlett now specialises in parsnip growing, weeding by hand, harvesting daily and keeping a close eye on food miles.
This year, our 150a early crop of parsnips had a higher level of weeds than other years, so this meant that we had to increase the number of people in our hand-weeding teams. To maximise sales of the entire crop, we supply all aspects of the industry, including multiple retailers, wholesale markets, discount supermarkets, the foodservice industry and all aspects of the processing industry.
We are fortunate to be on Staffordshire’s light, free-draining soil, which allows us the flexibility to manage parsnip production under varying weather conditions. The early part of this year was cool with a lot of rain, which meant we did not need to irrigate - however, the parsnips grew slowly and later in the year, with warmer, sunny days, the crop caught up. We have now got an excellent-quality crop with a good yield.
We have seen increased sales of Staffordshire parsnips, as consumers are moving towards preparing and cooking meals from raw ingredients within the home, as this is the healthiest and most cost-effective way of eating a meal of quality. Dishes include roasted parsnips in olive oil, parsnips with honey and lemon, deep-fried parsnips and parsnip crisps.
We are constantly looking at all aspects of parsnip growing, packing and marketing of Staffordshire product. Part of this is trialling new varieties, which we grow in one-acre blocks. If we feel the parsnips pass the taste, texture and appearance test, we will then go on to grow them in a 5a commercial trial. At present, we grow two main varieties - Gladiator and Javelin.
As with all fresh produce, quality and freshness are the key to success, so selecting the correct fields with the right soil types and within 10 miles of the packhouse is most important. This allows us to start harvesting at 5am and go through the process of washing, grading, polishing, hydro-cooling and packing, so they are ready for collection and distribution by 9am - four hours from field to customer isn’t bad by anyone’s reckoning.
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