In the Netherlands, fresh garlic harvesting is in full swing at Beemster Garlic. "This year's weather extremes mean yields and grading are slightly lower. Some skins are missing across the board, which results in more waste and takes more work to process. Our stored crop is good quality, though. That will enable us to serve our customers well again until next March," says Jan Kruiswijk.
Beemster Garlic, a family business, has been cultivating fresh garlic in Beemster, North Holland, since 1986. A unique soil for growing garlic, says the grower. "The clay soil makes our fresh garlic robust, of good quality, and, above all, tasty. We process all our bulbs fresh, which preserves the young, vital bulbs' fresh mild flavor. Harvesting must be done within two weeks. Then we store the garlic at low oxygen levels. That's our specialty and something we do the longest of anyone."
The garlic is sold via Oxin Growers. "Thanks to Dutch wholesalers, it eventually ends up in supermarkets across Europe," explains Jan. The fresh garlic is packaged according to customer requirements. "The trend is toward less and less plastic, but most garlic is sold loose anyway. The 5kg is most common, but we pack the garlic in other weights, EPS, cardboard, and tied by the piece, and so on."
According to Jan, there's slightly more garlic in the Netherlands this year. "The recent trend is that, when the season starts, we face more competition from garlic grown in nearby European countries, such as Germany. Our marketing emphasis is increasingly shifting from the summer months to the rest of the season," he says.
"I'm optimistic about this season's market and pricing. Last year wasn't all that bad, but due to lower yields, I foresee a favorable market this year. Though, with all the increased costs, we desperately need good prices. Garlic cultivation remains very labor-intensive." The grower says there is not much competition from, say, Chinese garlic. "Fresh garlic is really different from dry garlic," Jan points out.
Beemster Garlic has been working with Bresc, making garlic purees for years. A novelty this year is that Beemster Garlic has developed a new puree. "We use a special machine to press our Class II cloves out of their bulbs. Many existing garlic purees are made from dry cloves/granules. Our puree is 100% fresh garlic cloves and thus has a unique flavor closely resembling fresh garlic bulbs. As a result, you get more garlic for the same price," Jan concludes.
For more information:
Jan Kruiswijk
Beemster Garlic
129 Rijperweg
1462 MH, Beemster, NL
Tel: +31 (0) 622 466 103
Email: info@beemstergarlic.nl
Website: www.beemstergarlic.nl