Organic farming

March is Fairtrade Banana Month

March 7, 2023 by The Natural Grocery Company

Choosing Fairtrade makes a difference!

In March we are featuring Fairtrade Bananas for $0.99/lb

Photo courtesy of Equal Exchange

Fairtrade banana producers are paid a Fairtrade Minimum Price that acts as a safety net against falling prices. This price varies by region, factoring in local conditions and aiming to cover the average costs of sustainable production.
Plantation workers and small-scale banana farmers also receive a Fairtrade Premium – an extra sum of money that farmers and workers invest in business or community projects of their choice. Banana workers have often used the Premium to improve their housing, build schools and clinics, or offer other benefits they see a need for.
The Fairtrade Standards are designed to improve employment conditions and protect the rights of workers in the large plantations where the majority of export bananas are grown. In recent years Fairtrade has undertaken pioneering work to define and progress toward living wages for banana workers.
For smallholder farms, Fairtrade supports these banana growers to improve their income and their bargaining position in banana supply chains that are often dominated by larger entities.

Photo courtesy of Equal Exchange

Season: Bananas are grown in tropical areas and can produce nearly year-round, so seasonality is not particularly relevant to the fruit. Bananas are not grown in California.

Flavor: The flavor changes as they ripen. Green bananas are more starchy, very firm and less sweet. As they ripen the taste has been described as having melon, pineapple, candy and clove flavor notes. Yellow bananas have higher sugar concentrations and therefore taste sweeter. Finally, when the peel has become brown, the banana contains notes which are reminiscent of vanilla, honey and rum and the texture is very soft.

Storage: Ripen green bananas on the counter. You can also store them on the counter – but note that they will continue to ripen, and sometimes quickly, depending on how warm it is. If they are too green for you then put them in a plastic bag with an apple to help ripen them.

You can also use bananas’ ethylene gas to your advantage: to ripen a hard avocado overnight, stick it in a paper bag with a ripe banana. The banana’s ethylene gas will work its magic on the avocado, making it perfectly ripe and ready for your next batch of guacamole.

How to use: The most common way to eat bananas is of course, out of hand. But they’re also used for a variety of sweet and savory dishes. Very ripe bananas are perfect for baking in dishes such as Banana Bread.

Bananas freeze beautifully — just peel them and stick them in a zip-top bag for use in smoothies or banana ice cream. If you’re going to freeze them, go one step further and make chocolate covered bananas for an instant dessert.

Nutrition: Bananas are really, really good for you! One medium-sized banana will give you about 12 percent of your daily fiber needs, plus lots of Vitamin C, Vitamin B6, potassium and manganese. Bananas even have a bit of protein, iron and calcium.

Our stores only carry organic produce!

Thank You Marin Cheese Company!

February 19, 2022 by The Natural Grocery Company

Marin Cheese Company is a distributor that brings us specialty cheeses. They are one of our 40th Anniversary sponsors and in every raffle tote there is a coupon for organic Montchevre Goat Cheese redeemable in our stores.

The Montchevre goat cheese they have donated is from Wisconsin. Milk is their primary ingredient and they care deeply about the way it is produced. High quality dairy products begin with high quality milk from healthy and well cared-for animals. Montchevre is committed to supporting initiatives and programs that promote communication, awareness and training opportunities for dairy production welfare issues. They offer organic goat cheese logs in plain and garlic/herb.

Thank You Burroughs Family Farms!

February 17, 2022 by The Natural Grocery Company

Burroughs Family Farms is one of our 40th Anniversary sponsors. In each raffle tote you will find a bottle of their organic California Olive Oil.

Burroughs Family Farms (BFF) is a family effort of Burroughs siblings working together to offer hand raised and sustainably grown products directly to you. Through a combination of four farms all jointly managed and interconnected, they produce grass-based meats and eggs, organic olive oil, raw organic almonds and gouda style cheese made with organic “Grass to Gold” milk.

The Burroughs Family Farm rests on the rolling hills below the majestic Half Dome of Yosemite National Park. The combination of the moderate Mediterranean climate of California’s San Joaquin Valley with good soils and water, grow some of the world’s finest quality almonds and olives and provides a thriving environment for livestock.

Each of the Burroughs siblings owns and operates a farm that is jointly managed and interconnected with the others, employing organic and sustainable production practices and producing the highest quality foods possible. They each have our own farm vision, business plan, and agricultural specialty, yet they share many resources that benefit each other’s farms.

Thank you for your continuing support!

https://www.burroughsfamilyfarms.com/

Pachamama Coffee of the Month: Mexico

September 16, 2021 by The Natural Grocery Company

Mexico happens to be Pachamama’s coffee of the month, and since September marks the beginning of National Hispanic Heritage Month, we thought sharing this blog would be helpful, informative, and provide a new perspective about coffee’s wonderful, labor-love journey from seed to cup.

We present Pachamama’s latest Blog, Journey to the Origin. Their Creative Director, Rosa, recounts her discovery of coffee’s incredible journey from seed to cup while visiting one of Pachamama’s owner cooperatives: La Union Regionnal Cooperative, in Veracruz, Mexico.

We hope you find the time to read about her experience. It’s a short read that demonstrates how Pachamama Coffee is one of the most sustainable coffees the Natural Grocery can offer our customers. It is available in our El Cerrito Store.

Citrus Season!

December 21, 2017 by WineAndBeer

Satsuma [sat-SOO-muh] – A loose-skinned, typically seedless, member of the orange (citrus) family.

One of the most bountiful crops in California is citrus. From the Navel oranges to Satsuma mandarins, there’s a citrus variety for everyone. California citrus begins with the oh-so-loved, satsuma (typically available through the second week of January). Throughout the winter months, we will have many varieties of citrus on the shelves of our produce departments in Berkeley and El Cerrito.

Satsumas have a sweet/tart flavor and suprememely refreshing juice. With its smooth, thin, lightly attached skin, satsumas are wildly popular at this time of year.

History: Satsumas may have originated in China but they were first reported in Japan more than 700 years ago.

The ‘Owari’ Satsuma arrived to the United States from Japan, first in 1876 and next in 1878. During the period 1908-1911, nearly a million budded trees from 1908 to 1911 for planting in the Gulf States. The first recorded introduction into the United States was in Florida by George R. Hall in 1876. The name “satsuma” is credited to the wife of a United States minister to Japan, who sent trees home in 1878 from a place that was then called, Satsuma, on the southern tip of Kyushu Island, where it is believed to have originated.

For the next couple months we will be introducing seasonal citrus varieties to our stores on a regular basis. Please swing by our Produce Department, enjoy a tasty sample and experience how amazing California citrus can be when grown organically and harvested at perfect ripeness!

Look out for Satusumas grown by these wonderful farms:
Beck Grove
Serendipity Farms
Capay Organic

Extra Virgin Olive Oil – Burroughs Family Farms

March 7, 2017 by WineAndBeer

Burroughs Family Farms – Extra-Virgin Olive Oil

We recently started selling Burroughs Family Farms organic, non-GMO, cold-pressed extra-virgin organic olive oil [aka EVOO]. This exemplary family-owned farm, situated in the Sierra foothills below Yosemite, is one of our favorite regional producers. We already source quality pastured eggs, organic cheese, and almonds from their property. The Burroughs Family Olive Oil is a blend of Arbeqina, Arbosana and Gretchenina olives (originally from Spain). The oil has a pleasant fruitiness with hints of grassy undertones. It is very versatile and may be used in sauces, salad dressings, as a topping to bread and for low heat cooking.

Here is what Burroughs Family Farms says about their oil:

Our olives are first cold-pressed at temperatures that do not exceed 80 degrees F. This protects the polyphenols, antioxidants, and vitamins that give the oil its nutritional value and its aroma and flavor.

Why extra-virgin olive oil?

EVOO is known to contain stronger concentrations of phytonutrients (especially polyphenols) that have well-known anti-inflammatory properties

EVOO supports blood vessels not only by providing antioxidants like vitamin E and beta-carotene, but also also providing unique molecules like HT that actually work at a genetic level to help the cellular walls of the blood vessels remain strong.

Cholesterol lowering and blood pressure lowering benefits of monounsaturated oil (olive oil contains 75%)

High quality extra virgin olive oil has a smoke point of around 405ºF (191ºC), making it ideal for lower temperature cooking such as light sautés and non-cooked uses such as dressing salads and dipping bread. Such uses protect the nutritional value and beneficial qualities of the oil.

Why California Olive Oil?

As with wine, it has taken years for people to discover that some of the world’s finest olive oils are produced in California. Our family owned and operated farms rest on the rolling hills near Yosemite National Park, where the combination of the moderate Mediterranean climate with good soils and water grows some of the world’s finest quality olives.

Buying California olive oils vs. imports supports our farm economy, and California olive oils have a lower carbon-footprint because their shipping distance is much shorter than that of imports.

Conservation on our farms

Ours is not the easiest way to grow olives, but we think it’s best for our land and for our family who lives and works here. From organic production to state-of-the-art irrigation systems, we do whatever we can to protect air, soil, and water from herbicides, pesticides, petrochemical nitrogen fertilizers, and genetically-modified organisms. All that, plus our hedgerows of native plants support the health of native species and bees who have the most important job – the pollination of the olive flowers.

We do it for the future of our farms. For you, it’s deliciousness and more.

Burroughs Family Olive Oil is certified annually by the California Olive Oil Council (COOC). Year after year it’s labeled “extra-virgin” by the council. To get the seal the oil is lab tested and undergoes a critical analysis by an expert panel. The trained sensory panel (think of these people as the sommeliers of olive oil) ensure that the oil is free of defects in flavor or odor. In the U.S., many oils are labeled “extra-virgin” but do not undergo any such testing.

Little Trees – A.K.A. Broccoli

February 1, 2017 by WineAndBeer

In our house, we refer to broccoli florets as “little trees.” We’ve done this since our son was starting to eat solid foods. He LOVES broccoli and other green vegetables to this day (now he’s five)!

With winter in full gear, broccoli becomes one of our winter staples. It’s in the brassica family (along with other cabbage) and is hearty enough to withstand the chilly winter weather.

The word broccoli has Italian origins and stems (pun intended) from the word “broccolo” which means cabbage sprout or flowering crest of the cabbage. The word broccolo is rooted (another pun!) in the Latin broccus which means “projecting.”

Now that we have the etymology covered, here’s one of our favorite ways to prepare our “little trees”:

Steamed Broccoli with Pistachio-Orange Dipping Sauce

Prepare the Broccoli:

Cut 2 heads of broccoli into bite sized pieces. Steam or blanch until just tender. Set your timer for 5 minutes then test a piece with a fork, or knife point. When cooking the broccoli, remember to lightly salt the water, and that the broccoli will continue to cook with residual heat once you remove them from the steam or water, so you want them to be almost ready when you remove them to cool.

Prepare the Pistachio & Orange Sauce:

Ingredients:
2 Valencia oranges
2 cups roasted, salted pistachios (shelled)
1 tbsp. Champagne vinegar (or white wine vinegar)
1 small clove of garlic
1 tsp. salt
1 tbsp. water
¼ cup olive oil

Juice the oranges.
Combine all ingredients in the blender. Blend on high.
Taste the mixture, adjust for thickness (consistency) and salt levels.

If it tastes flat, add a teaspoon more vinegar and a dash of salt. If it tastes too sharp (indicating too much garlic), add the juice of another 1/2 orange and another handful of pistachios.

The consistency of the dip should be like hummus. Add olive oil and water to adjust as needed.

This recipe will be a little different each time you make it because all these ingredients vary… oranges are different sizes and have different amounts of juice, garlic is more or less potent depending on its age and olive oils are different depending on varietal and harvest date. So, play with your ratios each time. Taste along the way. Try the sauce with the steamed broccoli to get the full flavor profile.

If you have a little one in your house, this is a great recipe to make together. At this point our son instructs us on salt level, acidity and overall balance. And he LOVES dipping his “little trees” into this sauce!

See you soon,
Sarah Valor

It’s Raining, It’s Pouring…

January 20, 2017 by WineAndBeer

Rain pounded and the wind howled at our house last night. The majority of Northern California experienced similar storms.

Many of our farmers in the Sacramento, Yolo and Solano counties got more than ten inches of rain between New Year’s day and last Friday. That’s more rain than they got the entire winter of 2014-2015.

Just about everything a farmer does is harder during wet, cold winters. Imagine their work for a moment. I certainly don’t choose to garden during a storm. But a farmer has to be outside tending the land despite wild weather. Harvesting vegetables during storms means walking in the slippery mud while being hammered by the elements. And they can’t pick citrus at all when it’s raining: climbing wet ladders with muddy boots is too dangerous.

Big storms and freezing temperatures almost always damage some crops. Each of our farmers does what they can to harvest as much as possible during the dry spells. While they try to maintain quantity, this type of weather has an effect on produce prices. It’s the result of lower yield and lots of product loss for the farmer.

All this writing about the downsides of rain is not intended as a complaint. These are just the realities people growing our food manage daily during the winter.

January is the month we need lots of rain. Generally speaking vegetables don’t thrive the first month of the year. There is not enough sunlight in the short days. So, this is the way mother nature intended. Moisten the ground now to prepare for later.

After last week’s rains, the Drought Monitoring Center declared the “extreme drought” officially over for most of Northern California, including Sacramento, the Bay Area and Yolo and Solano counties where many of our farmers grow their crops. Click here for more information about the current state of the California drought.

Next time you are in shopping for fruit or vegetables, take a minute to think about the weather conditions of the farmer who harvested that kale or saved that orange from a storm.

See you soon!

-Sarah

Farm Discovery Day

October 4, 2016 by WineAndBeer

We had a blast visiting the McClelland’s Dairy Farm this past weekend. At an event sponsored by Organic Valley, they pulled out all the fun farm toys! We got to spend time with calfs, shake and make butter, drive mini tractors, play in corn pits and drink milk (lots of milk!). Check out the pictures for a diary of the day. It’s always wonderful to see where our food comes from. I couldn’t help but pick up a dozen of their eggs before heading back to the city. Their bird’s beaks never get clipped so they roam the fields and eat tons of bugs and grass…all the good flavor making ingredients that lead to yummy eggs.

Don’t worry if you missed the event. McClelland’s eggs and Organic Valley milk and dairy products are available at our stores.

Apple Season is Here!

September 7, 2016 by The Natural Grocery Company

Roxbury Russet Apple

Ashmead’s Kernal

Belle de Boskoop

Red Gravenstein

Every year at the Natural Grocery Company we bring in different types of organic, local heirloom and biodynamic apples, most of which we get from The Apple Farm in Philo, CA and Filigreen Farms in Booneville, CA. At the peak of the season we may have more than 50 different types of apples available at our El Cerrito store, with more varieties to come as the season changes. Right now we have 44 varieties at El Cerrito Natural Grocery Co. From The Apple Farms’ Ashmead’s Kernal, Roxbury Russet and Belle De Boskoops to Filigreen Farm’s Kidds Orange Red, Red Gravenstein and Pink Sparkle. With all of these apples in abundance one might ask, what makes these two farms and their apples so special? They are both certified Biodynamic, a method of organic farming originally developed by Rudolf Steiner that is described as a holistic understanding of agricultural processes. This type of farming has an astrological sowing and planting calendar. Choosing to plant, cultivate or harvest based on both the phase of the moon and the astrological constellation the moon is passing through. One of the first sustainable agriculture movements, it treats soil fertility, plant growth and livestock care as equally interrelated tasks emphasizing spiritual perspectives. The whole farm is conceived of as an organism. Soil, plant, animal, human. Biodynamic farmers focus on the open pollination of seeds (with farmers thereby growing their own seed) and the development of locally adapted varieties. Biodynamic Farming has about 20% smaller yields than traditional organic farming but the flavors really stand out! Some think of it as Organic 2.0!

Now, about those apples! Ashmead’s Kernal and Roxbury Russet are funny looking apples. Their rough brown skin looks like that of a russet potato. They are juicy and tart and as they age and start to soften and wrinkle, their flavors intensify. Look for these to make an outstanding juice or applesauce! Belle De Boskoops are tart and fragrant. They are a great cooking apple as they tend to hold their shape. They also have four times the vitamin C as a Granny Smith! Kidds Orange Red is aromatic, sweet and sharp. Great for juicing, drying and eating out of hand. It is also one of the parents of the Gala apple. Red Gravenstein is a natural mutation of the Gravenstein apple. Extremly floral with a sweet/tart taste, this is one of my absolute favorite apples. The Red Gravenstein is a little sweeter than the Gravenstein and is a great cooking apple. Try making a pie using half Red Gravenstein and half Belle De Boskoops! Pink Sparkle is a variety that is new to The Natural Grocery Company. Just under the skin, there are lovely pink polka dots in the flesh! Traditionally used in cooking, this apple purees well, so it would be great to make an applesauce or apple butter! Tart and slightly sweet, this apple looks like it was grown upside down with a broad base and narrows near the stem.

Come in and taste a new kind of apple as we will be getting in more varieties every week! This really is a special time of year at The Natural Grocery Company. I don’t know of any other stores in the area that can come anywhere close to carrying this many varieties of local organic apples. Can you?

By, Casey Goode, Produce Manager at ECNG

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