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Author: Fieldco Ltd

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Frozen Uncategorized

Product Feature: Diced Kumara

Do you ever get to the end of preparing vegetables and look at the sheer amount of skins and waste you end up with?

A couple of reasons for you to consider choosing frozen prepared vegetables:

  • A big time-saver. This is a bit of a hot topic at the moment, what with the current labour shortages in the hospitality industry. And that doesn’t go for just the hospitality industry, businesses in a lot of industries are struggling to find staff, and resorting to other means and efficiencies to try and keep up. At Fieldco, our Diced kumara goes through a quick blanching process. This is to lock in the flavour and colour before being frozen, but in doing so also cuts down your cooking time as well. Small kumara dice that you can quickly bulk up any winter soups or casseroles with an added nutrient boost.
  • It’s doing your part to reduce food waste. No extra scraps to deal with, we’re able to get rid of them effectively and responsibly through our process division. The fresh produce that is used to make our frozen product range is a non-conforming grade, or non-supermarket grade so it is usually produce that would otherwise be just a contribution to the millions of tons of food that is wasted each year. What does a ‘non-conforming’ product look like? Usually it is a lumpy or out of shape vegetable, sometimes small blemishes on the skin, but inside, it is a perfect vegetable. We portion and prepare the vegetables, ready for you to use. 

One thing  to look out for when you’re buying is Country of Origin. You want to look out for New Zealand Grown as any other foreign country products really are not kumara, it’s sweet potato! For our Red Kumara Dice, we mostly use the Owairaka kumara variety. Small backstory on this variety…as legend has it, it was brought out by the Maori when they came hundreds of years ago. This variety has evolved a bit over time – theirs were a smaller and lumpier shape but were a staple in their diets because kumara was a vegetable that stored really well. 

What’s the difference between Red and Orange Kumara Dice? 

Beauregard, our Orange kumara, is softer in texture compared to the Original Red Kumara and has a faster cooking time. Its soft texture means it is best suited to use for a mash or as a potato or pumpkin substitute in any dish. It is also the sweetest tasting of all the kumara varieties. Try a recipe such as this delicious Chicken Pie 


The Red Kumara variety is a great healthy substitute for the average potato. Today, the traditional Red is still the main commercial crop grown in the Kaipara because of its popularity. It has a deep red skin with a creamy white flesh and veined centre. Owairaka Red are a firm textured variety, making them an ideal salad or roasting kumara but also go great in winter soups or casseroles.

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Uncategorized

Why is Dargaville the Kumara Capital?

the kumara capital

You’ll often hear of the phrase “The Kumara Capital of New Zealand”. And it makes us wonder, does everyone actually know where this is and the reason behind it?

Dargaville is the Kumara Capital of New Zealand. And it stands with good reason, as 95% of kumara you’ll find in your supermarket comes from the Kumara Capital.

Dargaville is a small farming town located 2 hours north of Auckland. Only a short 10 minutes from the West Coast and winding alongside the Northern Wairoa River, the land in the Dargaville region is typically quite flat.

Kumara growing in the Kaipara region dates right back to early Maori times where kumara was a long lasting crop for the tribes to store and they included it in their diets most of the year.

And do we really know why it is called the Kumara Capital?

Most will tell you it’s because of the shallow clay bed that makes up a lot of the land on the river plains near the Wairoa River. Kumara grow well in the alluvial plains of the northern Kaipara Region. Rich top-soil of the river plains is furrowed to a depth which ensure a good-looking well-shaped kumara crop. This shallow clay bed means the kumara, which is a root crop, grows to a good depth, before hitting the  clay layer.

Another reason is because the Kaipara region also has a very tropical climate, with warm summers and very mild winters. Kumara are a subtropical plant, grow best in tropical areas. The average temperature in the Kaipara is relatively high with our warm nights and high sunshine hours.  We typically have more sunshine than other parts of Northland even.

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Uncategorized

Where is our kumara grown?

Location matters. That’s why all our kumara is grown right here in the winterless north of New Zealand. The sunny, tropical Northland climate and its rich soil are what kumara love. With all our produce entirely New Zealand grown, you can trace each of our kumara back to the paddock it was grown in.

Dargaville is the Kumara Capital of New Zealand. And it stands with good reason, as 95% of kumara you’ll find in the supermarket comes from the Kumara Capital.

Dargaville is a small farming town located 2 hours north of Auckland. Only a short 10 minutes from the West Coast and winding alongside the Wairoa River, the land in the Dargaville region is typically quite flat.

Kumara growing in the Kaipara region dates right back to early Maori times where kumara was a long lasting crop for the tribes to store and they included it in their diets most of the year.

And do we really know why it is called the Kumara Capital?

Most will tell you it’s because of the shallow clay bed that makes up a lot of the land on the river plains near the Wairoa River. Kumara grow well in the alluvial plains of the northern Kaipara Region. Rich top-soil of the river plains is furrowed to a depth which ensure a good-looking well-shaped kumara crop. This shallow clay bed means the kumara, which is a root crop, grows to a good depth, before hitting the  clay layer.

Another reason is because the Kaipara region also has a very tropical climate, with warm summers and very mild winters. Kumara are a subtropical plant, grow best in tropical areas. The average temperature in the Kaipara is relatively high with our warm nights and high sunshine hours.  We typically have more sunshine than other parts of Northland even.

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