Price drops, international awards, share-table violence, and agriCULTURED is nigh.
Our refrain in the Harvest Ops team is this: It is not about us. We focus on ensuring that whatever we do or whomever we collab with, that it benefits the Harvest community. Enter agriCULTURED. Celebrating the contributions of the agrifood sector and the Tasmanian innovation, collaboration and quality that drive sustainable growth. We share these values at Harvest, and to celebrate that we are, alongside Beaker Street, hosting Ferment Stations. A hands-on workshop in which you’ll make your own sauerkraut in the market, from market produce. Plus receive wisdom from experts in fermentation and walk away with your very own jar of goodness to complement your meals all winter long. Join us on Saturday the 6th of August for Ferment Stations, plus guided shopping, a cooking demo from Harvest Chef de Mission Rhys Hannan, and plenty of exciting conversations and learning opportunities.
If you can find one, the big news this week is that the national median lettuce price has dropped from $12 to $7. Rejoice oh ye salad fans. If someone had said 6 months ago that lettuce prices would garner as much national conversation as house prices, we’d have called them mad. But here we are. Supermarkets are continuing to warn of extreme shortages and high prices for weeks to come. Yet another reason to avoid that whole dubious duopoly in our opinion. This is all very distressing, but to lighten the mood we present you with this quote from Helen Hawkes at The Guardian: “these are prices never experienced before by baby boomers.” Lol.
At Harvest, you’ll hear no such warning. Our message is loud and clear: farmers’ markets are critical to our local food systems and represent value, best practices, community support, nutrition and wellbeing. Important stuff we’re sure you’ll agree.
Excellence dans la fabrication de fromage.
Farmers’ markets also represent the very finest that your local primary producers have to offer. That much is obvious as soon as you interrogate the first parsnip. Too esoteric? Prefer a practical example? Here it is: Elgaar Farm has won first prize at the International Cheese Awards UK, taking out the gong for Best Australian Cheese. Picking up the win for their “Normadie” washed rind, plus a silver for their Scamorza Affumicata. Further recognition of the excellence du fromage at Elgaar Farm. “Normadie” is a washed rind cheese that “really pays tribute to the cheeses first produced by monks in the heart of the Normandy region in France but is crafted with our unique Tasmanian character.” We couldn’t have said it better ourselves. So we didn’t.
Is the trophy a gong made from a wheel of Double Gloucester? We hope so. Even if it isn’t, that doesn’t diminish Elgaar’s amazing achievement. Join us in a massive congratulations to all at Elgaar Farm and then go eat some delicious cheese.
Share and Share-Alike at Harvest.
While we’re on the cheese bent, let’s talk share table platters. We have unanimously agreed upon something food-related in the Harvest office, which is rare indeed. We have agreed that if you have a friend that refuses to eat in the share-platter style, they should no longer be your friend. Remember that being “hangry” is a real phenomenon and that this refusing-to-share scenario could turn violent. Not a good look at a dinner table. Cut them out. Harsh, but fair.
We point this out because you can put together a world-class, literally, share-platter at Harvest. Pick yourself up some cheese (obviously), bread, hot smoked salmon, pâté de tête, and ham. Then, crunchy veg, mascarpone, herbs, seasonings, nuts, fruits, cider, beer and olive oil. Make yourself a dip from the salmon and mascarpone. Present the rest on the biggest board you can find and have at it. That is seriously all it takes. It is the most fun way to share a meal, requires the barest minimum of prep and is wholly healthy and delicious.
We’ll leave you to ponder that now. Thanks for reading. Don’t let the hangry creep in. See you at the share table.