Black garlic and tasty treats on the go
Delicately flavoured pumpkin seed oil from Austria, chocolate from Switzerland, hearty snacks for in-between meals. Producers from Central Europe will be exhibiting in Hall 4.2.
Just a small sip of pumpkin seed oil liqueur is enough for the wow effect: it tastes clear, nutty and chocolaty at the same time. ‘It's all down to the pumpkin,’ says Thomas Rumpf, who has his hands full with his wife Vilma in Hall 4.2 at Grüne Woche. The couple run a small family farm in Styria that produces the finest pumpkin seed oil. ‘We've been doing this for 20 years,’ reports Thomas Rumpf. From the pumpkin variety to the harvest (‘We only harvest the beautifully ripe fruits, the green ones stay in the field’) to the storage (‘There must be no silos or stables nearby, otherwise the seeds take on the flavour’) to the roasting (‘Not too hot, otherwise it becomes bitter’), every single production step contributes to the quality. The pumpkin seed oil, vegan pumpkin seed pesto and roasted pumpkin seeds as a crunchy snack - for example with orange chocolate or savoury with salt or chilli - will also be available at Grüne Woche.
The healthiest bulb in the world
Also very fine: black garlic. ‘It's the healthiest bulb in the world without you smelling it,’ says Robert Sorger. ‘I always say: black garlic is for evenings together, white garlic is for lonely evenings.’ The family business Holzers Kärtner Knoblauch has been selling black garlic since 2019 and has become a celebrity in Austria. The company spent five years tinkering with the fermentation process to turn white garlic into black garlic. It tastes fruity and caramelised with a hint of acidity - perfect with cheese, steak or prosciutto. At Stand 106, it is available as a whole bulb, in powder form or as a paste. Sorger also has all kinds of white garlic creams, as well as freeze-dried strawberries, peaches and plums.
Sporty at the ‘hazelnut toss’
Long queue in front of the ‘hazelnut toss’ on the Swiss side of Hall 4.2. Chocosuisse - the association of Swiss chocolate manufacturers - has set up a large game table: On an inclined surface, participants try to roll a small ball into one of the seven holes in three attempts. Not easy at all. ‘Nobody has scored full points yet,’ says stand organiser Jeannine Scheider. Whether they score zero or 110 points, all participants receive a small bar of chocolate.
Naturally, there is plenty of Swiss cheese all around: Appenzeller, Emmental, Tete de Moine or Gruyère. If you need something warm to eat, you can choose between melted raclette cheese on bread or the ‘cheebab’ - a cheese kebab in bread with white cabbage, red cabbage, fried onions and cocktail sauce.
Savoury empanadas with beef or vegetables
La Milonga (Hall 4.2, Stand 445) also offers a savoury snack for in between meals. At the crossing point from Switzerland to Italy, owner Daniel Oteda sells delicious Argentinian empanadas - classic with beef, onions and peppers or in variations such as vegetable empanada with spinach and mozzarella or with Creole chicken. Oteda was born in Argentina and has lived in Valencia, Spain, for around 20 years. During the flood disaster in October, his shop was also completely flooded. Cars piled up in front of the shop door and 11,000 finished empanadas were lost in the shop. An immense loss. So he is all the more pleased to be at Grüne Woche. If you fancy something sweet after the empanadas, we recommend the alfajores: a soft sand cake filled with dulce de leche (caramel cream) and a hint of grated coconut.
