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Manchester's
Co-operative
Grocery

Sourced by people who know their onions

Tasty, Wholesome & Affordable Produce

Winner of the BBC Food & Farming Awards
'Best Food Retailer'
2017

A worker-
owned
business

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Manchester's
co-operative grocery

Tasty, wholesome & affordable produce

Sourced by people who know their onions
(and are always happy to talk about them)

A worker-owned business

Winners of the BBC Food & Farming Awards
'Best Food Retailer' 2017

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Our Produce

A stunning selection of affordable, wholesome food, ecological household goods & lots more.
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We’re located in the heart of Chorlton, South Manchester. Come and see us or drop us a line!
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Our Co-op

A thriving worker-owned grocery, named Best Food Retailer at the 2017 BBC Food & Farming Awards.
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We’ve got an unbeatable range of fresh organic fruit & veg, and our buyers really do know their onions.
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We aim to provide a realistic alternative to the supermarkets, so affordability is key.

Featured Supplier

Small & marginal tribal farmers grow our Araku coffee, part of our ‘Recommended’ range.

Our News

Big news, events, and a run-down of what’s especially hot in the veg aisles.

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Veg news 18th February
Fennel bulbs from Spain and Italy are offering excellent value for money this week and, as such, are a firm favourite amongst veg team members. Fennel undergoes such a transformation between raw and cooked, it can almost be thought of as two different vegetables. The crisp, white, delicately-anise flesh yields to an amazing sweetness and subtle flavour when slowly roasted in the oven or left to caramelise on the hob. Raw fennel makes for a great salad addition, but be sure to slice it as fine as possible to get the most of its flavour. Pair with lemon, capers, olives or blood orange for an enlivening winter salad. Don’t forget to save the feathery green fronds for a herb garnish too.

For anyone who grows their own veg (or fancies starting) seed potatoes are now available for the season ahead. We have several varieties to choose from, including ‘early’ crops which are ready to harvest a little sooner than the others. They are all from Newfields Farm in North Yorkshire, from whom we source a great many of the potatoes we ourselves. Potatoes are a great crop for beginner growers, requiring no fancy equipment or specialised knowledge. They will grow happily in compost bags, containers or beds and demand little attention once they’re in the ground. Start by chitting your spuds in the light so they develop sprouts, this will help speed up the growing process once they’re planted.

There’s some unusual beetroot varieties available at the moment from local growers Royal Oak in Ormskirk: cylindra beetroot’s long and thin shape makes it ideal for slicing while white beetroot offers the benefits of beetroot minus the stained hands, its flavour is slightly less earthy too than the traditional red variety. UK kale is making a welcome comeback this week and we’re expecting a decent delivery of purple sprouting broccoli for the weekend too from Organic Pantry in Yorkshire.
#unicorngrocery #vegnews #european #eattheseasons #organic #shoplocal #chorlton #ifyouatetodaythankafarmer

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Veg news 13th February
With storms sweeping across the country and mid-winter temperatures bringing a chill to the air, we are looking to the fruitier side of our offer this week for some uplifting colour and sweet, sunshine flavour.

The UK apple season is drawing to a close and we’re supplementing our supply with some fruits from France and Italy. Expect big, juicy varieties such as Dalinette and Granny Smith. Despite their Anglo-sounding name, Granny Smiths do not grow well in British soil, preferring a sunnier, more temperate climate; as such they’re a popular choice when our supply moves to Europe.

Spain has started with a promising berry season – the first strawberries of the year are tasting deliciously sweet and they smell fantastic too; blueberries and raspberries are also becoming increasingly available.

Pomegranates from Agricoop in Sicily are in the last few weeks of their season; do not be put off by their slightly scruffy appearance, they taste superb with a fully developed, intense flavour and a bright purple red juice.

The citrus range continues to delight too, make the most of blood oranges while you can, they transform a glass of juice with their raspberry-like flavour. Navel oranges are ripe, sweet and good value for money while lemons are looking handsome with a rind that’s perfect for zesting. Remember our citrus is always unwaxed, try grating a little over your favourite greens for a zing of spring-like freshness during this miserable weather!
#vegnews #apples #eatorganic #eattheseasons #organicproduce #organicfruit #unicorngrocery #ifyouatetodaythankafarmer

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Veg news 4th Feb

Our departure from the European Union last week has prompted questions from our customers regarding the fresh produce that we buy from Holland, France, Spain, Italy and beyond. Many of you are concerned that our fantastic range of fruit and veg is in jeopardy and we’d like to offer some reassurance that this is not the case! Trading has continued without hiccup or incident and we are fully prepared for the changes to the import procedure if and when they take place.

It is worth mentioning however, how dependent we are on imported produce at this time of the year, particularly given the unprecedented weather conditions of the last few months. Much earlier than in previous years, many of our UK growers are coming to the end of the season on several of their crops. Francis Sampson, who grows down South in Penzance, Cornwall, has told us that in 35 years of farming he can’t remember a winter as poor as this one. Heavy rains have caused havoc in the fields up and down the country, saturating the ground and making harvesting an almost impossible task. In a typical year we’d expect certain brassicas like Kale to be available for another good few months, but unfortunately this year things have stopped much sooner.

It is with gratitude then that we turn to our European neighbours to help us out with some leafy, colourful and citrusy flavours during these darker months of the year. You’ll notice more European lines in the display for a while as our UK growers prepare the land and sow the seeds for the season ahead. This week we’ve a great selection of French rainbow chard and some magnificent cavolo nero as well as the usual ratatouille and fruit lines we stock year round.

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