The Hungry Gap

The next six weeks or so are an annual challenge for us in the UK because it’s when home grown onions, carrots and potatoes which have been stored since last autumn start to sprout. Other vegetables bolt or run to seed. The first spinach, salads and new potatoes will not be with us until May. 

Our forebears relied more than we do now on pickled vegetables at this time of the year. These tasty staples are often overlooked these days which is a great shame as there’s nothing better than a mouthful of crispy sauerkraut (in my opinion!).

Farmers have adopted all sorts of new ways to fill the gap using poly-tunnels and such like to bring some crops on early. Supermarkets, of course, import a great deal from sunnier climes so we can still eat pretty much what we want when we want and never mind the air miles.

In recent weeks the Community Larder benefitted from over production of certain vegetables last year. Farmers do this to try to satisfy the supermarkets.  We have received stuff they don’t need or have rejected for being too small/long/bent which would otherwise end up in landfill. I’m thinking particularly of a tray of celeriac some of which were rather small and would never have made it into a supermarket but were nonetheless delicious.