Maker · Vegetables
Van der Burg: sprouts and potatoes with character from the Schermer
Heavy sea clay from a polder below sea level, a family business that grows on rotation and sprouts that get sweeter after the first night frost. Van der Burg supplies small sprouts and crumbly clay potatoes from the Schermer, with an origin you can explain down to the plot.
The story
Who's behind it
Van der Burg grows in Stompetoren, in the middle of polder the Schermer above Alkmaar. It's a family business; Job van der Burg is at the helm and a couple of steady workers. The soil is heavy sea clay from a reclamation drained in the seventeenth century and sits below sea level. That clay is cold in spring and holds moisture in summer. That makes harder work, but it gives vegetables with firmness and flavour you rarely get on light sandy soil.
Growing runs on rotation and soil care. Sprouts and potatoes alternate with other crops, so the soil stays strong and disease pressure low. Craft knowledge passes here from father to son. The sprouts are Global G.A.P. certified, so origin and growing are traceable down to the plot.
What really sets it apart
Two things. First, the size. Van der Burg supplies small sprouts, sorting d. Small sprouts are sweeter and firmer than the bulk size from the shelf; they cook through evenly and don't fall apart. For the kitchen that's the difference between a sprout you serve whole and one you have to halve and pick through.
Second, the clay. Heavy sea clay gives potatoes a dry, crumbly structure and sprouts with a full, nutty flavour. Van der Burg also grows potatoes to large size, the chunks, where you get thick slices or whole knobs from. The soil gives the bite; the cold of the Schermer in late autumn means sprouts visibly get sweeter after the first night frost.
How to set yourself apart with this
Set the sprout as a vegetable on its own plate instead of a side. Small sprouts whole roasted with brown butter and hazelnut, or raw and paper-thin shaved through a salad: that reads differently on the menu than the standard box from the bulk. Name the origin. "Sprouts from the Schermer" or "clay potato from Van der Burg" tells the guest in four words that you know where you buy. In the sprout season, roughly October through February, you have with this a local product with an address you can explain.
Chef’s tip
Roast the small sprouts whole on high heat until the outside colours and the heart is just cooked. After the first night frost they're naturally sweet enough; leave the sugar and finish with brown butter and acid.
How to use it
Ideas for your menu
Roasted sprouts, brown butter and hazelnut
Raw sprout salad
Crumbly clay potato from the oven
Sprout leaf as garnish
For your menu
“Sprouts from the Schermer, grown by Van der Burg on heavy sea clay. Small size, whole roasted.”
Taste it in your own kitchen
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