Waitrose fresh produce buyers are the first in Britain to purchase UK-grown sea kale, in what is presumably an effort to capitalise on the in-vogue vegetable’s growing importance and prominence in upmarket UK restaurants and television cookery programmes, FreshPlaza.com reports.
It is thought that the vegetable, which is related to the cabbage, may have fallen out of favour because it is far more susceptible to bruising when moving through supply chains than the majority of fruit and vegetables. It also needs to be eaten quite quickly after having been cut.
Sea kale has been in Waitrose's horticultural pipeline for three years, and the retailer describes its taste as somewhere between celery and asparagus.
Tom Moore, a head Waitrose buyer, said, "We’re thrilled to be re-introducing sea kale back to the UK. We’ve taken three years to perfect this new crop – it’s been a real labour of love.
"Sea kale is a classic British vegetable, which can be simply steamed or even fried to give it a crisp texture. It’s also delicious served with hollandaise."
British sea kale will be sold in Waitrose as part of a mixed sea-vegetable package at £2.49.
© 2016 European Supermarket Magazine – your source for the latest retail news. Article by Peter Donnelly. To subscribe to ESM: The European Supermarket Magazine, click here.
