With the cold season upon us, you may doubt the possibility of experiencing local tastes and flavours. One only has to look outside to see that our Manitoba growing season is a very long way away.
At our house, we relish local food in winter more than ever. With our pantry, cold storage and freezers full of delicious food harvested during the growing season, we enjoy a wide variety of cozy meals made with local ingredients all season long. Not all of us have the ability to grow, harvest and/or store our own food, but a wide variety of food can be sourced from local producers year-round.
Allow me to share some tips to eat local in winter.
Find a source of local grains and pulses.
Winter is a great time to bake some bread and enjoy rich soups filled with local veggies and pulses. There are several places to source local grains and pulses. Deruyks Top of the Hill Farm produces organic flour and grains and has delivery points at various locations including Can Am Country Corner. See what they offer on their website. Bloom Bakery and Mill opened recently near Steinbach and their products can be purchased at a variety of local retailers listed on their website, Our family has also participated in a unique initiative called Winter Grain CSA organized by Adagio Acres that supplies a large variety of local grains and pulses to participants once a year. More information can be found on their website:
Whole grains and pulses have an extremely long shelf life, of literally years, and so stocking up when you encounter local suppliers can be a good idea. That said, you may want to keep items like flour and oatmeal in the freezer for long term storage.
Plan for winter storage vegetables for next year.
If you don’t have your cold storage filled with root vegetables, I highly recommend that you plan for next year. You have two options - grow your own or purchase local root vegetables. I find that winter vegetables such as potatoes, onions, garlic, squash, carrots, beets and cabbage are quite low maintenance to grow compared to some of the higher input vegetables. You can plant them in spring and for many varieties there is minimal labour in the growing season until it’s time to pick them or dig them up in the fall to transfer into cold storage. Many winter vegetables will store long into the winter, even spring, if the conditions are right.
A cold storage needs to be kept anywhere from 0 to 5 degrees. We have used a room in our house with a cold air intake as well as an insulated shed in our yard that has a heater on a thermostat. I also have a fridge dedicated to cabbage and fermented vegetables. If you have the inclination, there are plenty of old-fashioned DIY root cellar ideas online.
Buy meat, eggs, and milk from a local farm.
Generally, meat, milk, and eggs can be purchased locally all year round as they aren’t so affected by our short summer growing season. I like to fill the freezers with meat in fall, but in many cases, you can source local animal products all year round. Local meat producers can be found in the Local Food Initiative directory, or on the Direct Farm Manitoba website.
Stock up on honey
Although honey is harvested in late summer, it stores indefinitely, and you will most likely be able to source local honey all winter. I still like to stock up in fall to make sure I always have some in the pantry. Local honey can also be found in the Local Food Initiative or Direct Farm Manitoba directory.
Enjoy local teas, sprouts and herbs.
Herbs can be grown indoors all winter, and it is sure nice to add a touch of greenery to winter dishes.
Sprouts are also an easy project to undertake in your kitchen. They add a touch of freshness to sandwiches, stir-fries, or salads, and come with some remarkable health benefits.
Spruce or pine tea can be picked in the winter, and it’s wonderful to get a boost of fresh vitamin C during cold and flu season.
I also love to have a cupboard stocked with local teas. You can forage and dry your own during the growing season or check out products from Thrive like a Wildflower Holistics and Prairie Shore Botanicals.
Eating local allows us to embrace the season we find ourselves in. We may not want to give up imported food completely but taking steps to embrace local during the winter months provides a rewarding sense of fulfillment.