Seewinkler Sonnengemüse is harvesting fresh ginger in Austria for the first time. Ginger will be available starting Monday, October 8, 2018 in selected MERKUR branches and in the LGV-Gärtnergschäftl. Wallern (OTS/Vienna) Vegetable farmers Claudia and Gerald Kern have started harvesting the ginger at Seewinkel.
Ing. Josef Peck, MBA, Managing Director of Seewinkler Sonnengemüse and Sales Manager of LGV-Frischgemüse Wien will be presenting this new Burgenland ginger to interested customers and gourmets during the harvest period. "With the first ginger harvest, we can underline our claim as a leader in quality and innovation, offering small quantities to our consumers this fall," explains Peck.
Image source: LGV / Seewinkler Sonnengemüse
First Austrian ginger from Seewinkel
In an exchange with connoisseurs from Asia, the idea was born to use the mild climate of the Seewinkel for the first cultivation of ginger in Austria. Seeds were selected in cooperation with experts, after which a cultivation trial started. The special microclimate in Seewinkel forms the basis for the cultivation of the ginger. In early May, seedlings were planted in the field and in a foil tunnel.
The ginger cultures in the foil tunnel are being grown two to three weeks ahead of those in the field. The warm summer was beneficial to the formation of rhizomes. The Burgenland ginger from Seewinkel is fresh, has a pleasant sharpness and is intense in smell and taste. The color of the ginger is white, with a slightly reddish coloration in the stem.
Ginger available from October 8th
Seewinkel ginger from Burgenland will be available in MERKUR stores in Vienna, Lower Austria and Burgenland, starting this Monday, October 8th. It can also be found in selected BILLA and ADEG branches. From Tuesday, October 9, it will also be available at LGV-Gärtnergschäftl at the Kettenbrückengasse 20 in Vienna.
Sales cooperation bears fruit
Since the beginning of the year, SSG and LGV have shared their innovative strength and know-how in a sales cooperation. As a result, the large vegetable producer has become the most important local supplier in eastern Austria. Regarding the development of new products and vegetable specialties, their forces are bundled as well. The cultivation attempts in the current vegetable season is now bearing their first fruits.
"The aim of the cultivation trials is to find new, good-tasting vegetables and to reactivate old varieties that can be produced sustainably in the following years by gardener families and vegetable growers in Vienna and Seewinkel, then to be regionally marketed in Austria", Peck says of the basic idea and importance of the cultivation attempts. "This ginger from Seewinkel adds a touch of Asian exoticism to our product range," he adds.
Florian Bell, Managing Director of LGV Frischgemüse,
distribution partner of the Seewinkler Genossenschaft
Versatile Austrian ginger
The young ginger from Seewinkel is particularly suitable for refining meat, fish and vegetable dishes. Its well-balanced sharpness allows the addition of just several grams and gives dishes a touch of Asian exoticism. Head chef Christian Domschitz is known for his passion for vegetables. His menu in restaurant Vestibül in the Burgtheater reflects this quite well.
Coming from Vienna, Domschitz got to know and love the LGV gardener vegetables and the Seewinkler Sonnengemüse. He is enthusiastic about ginger. "I also use Burgenland ginger for seasoning vegetables and salads, and for desserts with a high chocolate content, such as brownies and chocolate ice cream as well," says Domschitz. "Due to its antibacterial effect, ginger is also ideal for adding to our drinking water. Two slices of young Burgenland ginger will give tap water an aromatic flavor," he continues.
Strategic partnership
The 100 gardener families of the LGV are producing more than 37,000 tonnes of fresh vegetables per year in Vienna and Lower Austria. Around 90% of the harvest goes directly to predominantly domestic trading partners and large vegetable markets. The strategic trading partnership between LGV-Frischgemüse Wien and Seewinkler Sonnengemüse has been the largest since the beginning of 2018.
Vegetable producers in the best growing regions of Austria Together, the two gardener cooperatives offer around 60 varieties of fresh vegetables and garden herbs. With the Gärtnergschäftl in Vienna's fourth district, there is now a gourmet address in the middle of the city, making the innovations and specialties of these gardener families very tangible.
Producer cooperative Seewinkler Sonnengemüse, based in Wallern in Burgenland, was founded in 1995. It brings together 47 active vegetable growers. The product portfolio ranges from peppers to tomatoes, radishes to new potatoes, spring onions to zucchinis. Producing 9,300 tonnes of vegetables, Seewinkler Sonnengemüse generated 18.3 million euros in 2017.
Source: LGV / Seewinkler Sonnengemüse
For more information:
LGV-Frischgemüse
Frau Angelika Günther, MA
Leitung Marketing und Kommunikation
Haidestraße 22
1110 Wien
Tel.: +43 1-76069-700
E-mail: a.guenther@lgv.at
Web: www.lgv.at