Salad crops with a farm gate value of €26 million are grown every year in Ireland, in a sector which provides employment for more than 500 people. Crops such as tomatoes, peppers, cucumbers and lettuce are grown for use mainly in salads, and what could taste better or be fresher than local produce. But changes in the eating habits of consumers and other trends may be set to increase the range of opportunities where the crops are used.
In the UK, cooked breakfasts are becoming increasingly popular, with egg sales predicted to increase by 50% by 2018 on the back of this, with a similar trend being followed in Ireland. A cooked breakfast for a weekday may not consist of eggs, bacon and sausages, especially with an increasing emphasis on healthy eating. However tomatoes, one of the few fruit/vegetables to be eaten at breakfast, are ideally placed to take advantage of this trend, and they can be fried or, even better, grilled.
Smoothies have established themselves as a breakfast staple in many households, and new trends are starting to emerge in ingredients. Whilst berries would have traditionally been the most popular ingredients for a smoothie, and continue to be, less sweet smoothies with more adventurous ingredients are starting to emerge. Spinach is commonly used, while tomato and cucumber add refreshing new tastes to smoothies to get the day off to a healthy start. You can have half of your 5-a-day done before you’ve left home!
On another front, in the UK, in anticipation of a surge in sales of Pimm’s at Wimbledon, cucumber growers reportedly doubled the amount of crops they planted this year. Cucumber is a key component of Britain’s favourite summer drink and over 450,000 glasses were sold at last year’s tennis tournament. While Pimms is not that popular in Ireland, gin consumption is on the rise and is now often drunk with a slice of cucumber. Consumption has been helped particularly with the introduction of premium brands such as Hendricks and boutique brands like Glendalough Seasonal Gin.
