"Kale is a forgotten vegetable in Belgium"

The Dutch are known to eat lots of hotchpotch dishes during the winter. Kale and sausage is one of the traditional dishes. In Belgium this vegetable is a lot less known and is even categorised as one of the forgotten vegetables. This was told by Guy Jennes of BelOrta. "BelOrta offers this vegetable under the denominator 'Bel'Oblita'. We want to pay more attention to forgotten vegetables."

Difference in culture
According to him there is undoubtedly interest from society in the forgotten vegetables. Also from the Belgian population there is more interest in eating forgotten vegetables. As far as consumption goes there is a large difference in culture compared to the Netherlands. Here we eat more savoy or green cabbage than kale. Our French speaking compatriots eat more of it. During Carnaval in the region of Liege on the day of Mardi Gras (Fat Tuesday) kale is eaten as a tradition. In Flanders kale is also known as curly kale. Here it is stewed. This is one of the methods of preparation chefs pay attention to in typical cookery or weekly magazines. Also it is often eaten mashed with potatoes, as in the Netherlands.

October to February
"Kale is not traded all that much at auction. BelOrta has five growers, one of which is Dutch. Sorting is done on the basis of weight and the size of the curl. Kale is supplied both loose and packed in blue EPS-cases. Supply of loose leaves is also possible at BelOrta. The most important months of supply are from October to February."

In 2008 37,000 kgs was delivered to BelOrta and in 2009 this was quite a bit less, at 29,000 kgs. A year later the auction house received 39,000 kgs, but in 2011 there was a slight decrease again to 35,000 kgs. In 2012 and 2013 46,000 and 52,000 kgs were delivered respectively. Consequently there is a clear increase to be seen during the past years at relatively low volumes. Comparing 2013 with 2009 there is an increase of almost 80%

For more information:
Guy Jennes
BelOrta
Supervisor Verkoop
120, Mechelsesteenweg
B-2860 Sint-Katelijne-Waver
T +32 (0)15 56 52 94
F +32 (0)15 56 53 60
M +32 (0)478 24 73 09
guy.jennes@belorta.be
www.belorta.be