Oprah Loves Verdant Kitchen and So Do We!

Monday, January 25, 2016

We've all seen the benefits of ginger & turmeric on the internet, but not all products are created equal. It can be a challenge to find products made from real, quality ingredients. That is, until Verdant Kitchen entered the scene. Verdant Kitchen is a gourmet and wellness company focused on the ginger and turmeric family of spices.

We're not just talking jars of ground up ginger and turmeric, though. We are talking addictive, organic products like ginger snaps, ginger ale, turmeric teas & more. Each recipe starts at the root - literally. VK grows all the organic ginger and turmeric that goes into their extraordinary products on an organic farm in Savannah. From there, the roots are handcrafted into delicious & healthy products. 

Ross Harding, Co-founder and CEO of VK tells us that every year, we see several thousand tons of ginger imported into our country, yet only a few US producers have attempted to grow this "finicky root." 

"Growing up near Brisbane, Australia, I guessed that the sandy soil in Savannah combined with its subtropical climate matched the conditions in Australia where ginger crops have been successful. We looked to the premium ginger processing activities in Buderim, Australia, and used it as inspiration for our activities in Savannah. In March 2012, we planted our first crop of ginger, galangal, and turmeric at our farm on Lebanon Plantation and, so, our story began..." 

The story doesn't stop there. They planted their roots (pun intended) on historic Lebanon Plantation. In the mid 1700s, this land was part of a 500 acre grant from King George II to French colonists. Since then, the land has been an experimental growing ground for crops like rice, cotton, satsuma oranges, pecans and more. 

We've loved VK since the day we tasted their incredible ginger ale at the farmers market. And our love has only grown from there. Their ginger snaps were the basis of our 2014 Peach Cobbler that brought us home the gold at Peach Jam. Their ginger ale has been the base of some of our recipes on the menu, and on the blog, including our Holiday Cocktail Guide and a Summertime Strawberry Sangria. Oprah took notice too, adding their Ginger Syrup & Ginger Infused Honey to the 2015 Oprah's Favorite Things List.

Recently, we've found a new VK obsession: Crystallized Ginger! Like everything else at VK, Crystallized Ginger has a history. Hundreds of years ago, cane sugar would be added to fresh ginger to preserve it, resulting in a fine layer of crystallized sugar surrounding a tender piece of chewy ginger. It starts sweet and ends warm and spicy with just a hint of a kick. Chef Jaye Moore, in her infinite culinary wisdom, somehow refrained from eating the whole bag long enough to create an incredible dish: Rosemary Ginger Chicken. You'll cook the sweet & spicy crystallized ginger down to an incredibly rich sauce to top Darby Farms chicken, spinach & rice. 

Try it today. Order your Rosemary Ginger Chicken and taste the Verdant Kitchen difference.