Pulse campaign entices diners with dishes beyond the norm

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Published: May 27, 2010

SHERWOOD PARK, Alta. – There’s more to pulses than beans in chili or a handful of lentils in soup.As part of a pulse promotion, Edmonton chefs used pulses to create dishes such as golden lentil dahl with tofu mushroom red curry crème fraiche, salt cod and chickpea salad with roasted peppers on Belgian endive and duck comfit with warm lentil salad, double smoked bacon and parsnip puree.Savouring Pulses, a week long promotion to showcase unique pulse dishes, is one way the Alberta Pulse Growers Commission is trying to get more chefs to use pulses in their menus and more Canadians to eat pulses and realize their health benefits, said Wendy Benson of the commission.While pulses are a staple in diets around the world, Canadian consumption of peas, beans, lentils and chickpeas is low.The pulse industry estimates Canadians consume about 125 millilitres of pulses per week, mainly beans in chili, soups and salads.About 75 percent of Canada’s pulse crop is exported.Julie and Michael Harvey of Café Haven in Sherwood Park, Alta., who joined the promotion, often add hummus to sandwiches or pita, and peas and beans to their popular soup dishes. During the promotion, Julie added a trio of dips to the menu, featured a hummus salad and a Tuscan ham and bean soup.While their customers ate the unique creations, the promotion uncovered a gap between Alberta growers, distributors, chefs and customers.Few people had heard of the term pulse, and Michael did not know that some of the best pulses in the world are grown in Alberta and shipped overseas.The couple has limited access to the Alberta product, unless they are willing to buy a one tonne bulk bag or a 25 kilogram bag of a certain variety of beans, peas, lentils or chickpeas.”There is a disconnect,” said Michael. “I wasn’t even aware Alberta had pulses.”The restaurant sourced pulses from Columbia Seeds in Vauxhaul, Alta., which made smaller 10 kg packages available for the promotion.”We don’t have the shelf space to store 50 pounds of beans,” said Julie.Instead, restaurants and consumers buy small bags of pulses from their local supermarkets or food suppliers. Generally those pulses are imported from the United States.Petra Klempnauer with Columbia Seeds in Grassy Lake, Alta., said selling five and 10 kg bags is a hassle.The southern Alberta pulse export company normally sells pulses in 25 to 50 kg bags, one tonne mini bulk bags or entire container loads for export. Until recently, the company hadn’t sold smaller amounts for the local market.”Nobody wants to buy those bags in those amounts,” she said.Klempnauer said this year their goal is to design a bag and develop a marketing plan to sell 500 gram and 10 kg bags for the local market as a way of introducing local pulses to Alberta and other provinces.Recently, the company bought a small packaging machine for local sales.”We don’t have the marketing worked out yet. At the moment, we are selling to people who contact us.”

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