News & Events Archives - Manzanita Manor Organics

July 3, 2015 By andrea

Jutta and Cynthia on the California Report

Jutta and Cynthia had the privilege of being featured on the California Report last week, talking about dry farming in the face of drought. Check out the article and hear the radio interview in its entirety by clicking here.

Here’s a snippet:

Jutta Thoerner dry-farms walnuts outside Paso Robles in San Luis Obispo County, and she’s an outspoken advocate of the practice.
Thoerner and her partner, Cynthia Douglas, own Manzanita Manor Organics. They have solar panels running their coolers and sheep grazing their vineyards. At their walnut orchard, Thoerner gets a tractor out only twice a year. Mostly, she uses horses.
Today, Thoerner sits in a wagon, gently but firmly directing two horses named Sonny and Lily. They’re pulling a large log behind the wagon to smooth out the ground.
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As she unhooks the horses, she explains that it’s all part of her process of dry farming, using no irrigation ever, on her trees.

See the article at KQED to read more

April 27, 2014 By andrea

Fair Trade, support it.

Last night we had the pleasure attending a fundraiser for the non profit: Project Hope and Fairness an organization started by Eve and Tom Neuhaus the owners of Mama Ganache Artisan Chocolates which provides MMOrganics with Organic and Fair Trade Chocolates for the Chocolate Covered Walnuts we sell here in Paso Robles on our Farm stand and website. It was very important to us as a family to support Fair Trade in the coco industry, but I realize now that there is some confusion on what Fair Trade means and why it is necessary for all of us to support it when ever possible. You might not know that the coco industry is sliding toward a supply crisis because of the simple truth that it is not profitable to be a coco farmer. They net less than 1 % of the value of the coco beans they grow. The coco trees are aging and the replants are often rubber trees. The farmers are aging too, the young people migrate to cities looking for better wages. 90% of all the coco grown in the world comes from small family orchards. Because of their physical isolation and fragmentation they have no bargaining power when it comes to selling their products. The fair trade program aims to put things right. Farmers get paid a fair price for their products, they get access to healthcare, education for family members is available and clean water projects are implemented. Farmers who join this program have to do their part, many requirements on their end need to be full- filled before they are accepted into the program. For example: No child labor is allowed on Farms that participate. The Project Hope and Fairness goes a step further.Tom travels to Africa and is setting up small chocolate kitchens, bringing over the machines and teaching skills so that farmers are learning to turn the coco bean into chocolate. This value add process creates many jobs and ensures a sustainable income for the farmer. Go to www.projecthopeandfairness.org to read their story and make a donation if you can. We @ mmorganics are doing our part by donating part of the proceeds of the sale for our 4 oz and 8 oz bags of chocolate covered Walnuts to this non profit and we hope to be able to enjoy many more years of Fair Trade Chocolate.

December 19, 2013 By andrea

Valuable Walnut Oil

If you have stumbled across our 100% Organic Walnut Oil as the brand new product on our webpage, you might have asked yourself: How do I use Walnut Oil? Why even use it?

Health Benefits

Besides its mild, delicate taste, adding a great nutty flavor to your dish, walnut oil is used for its health benefits, above all for its exceedingly high amount of polyunsaturated fatty acids. In fact, walnut oil contains up to 73% of polyunsaturated fatty acids, among which 10% are Omega-3-fatty acids. These are considered essential to maintenance of health. As your body does not produce them, Omega-3-fatty acids must be absorbed through your daily diet. Sprinkling our organic walnut oil over your dish is one way to satisfy parts of your needs of Omega-3-fatty acids as well as vitamin B1, B2 and B6. Dr. Oz, who considers himself a great fan of walnuts and walnut oil, points to the fact that walnuts might also help reduce stress, referring to a 2010 study in the journal of the American College of Nutrition. For more information, see his blog “The Wonderful Walnut”.

Cold press to preserve nutrients

The fact that all the valuable nutrients are preserved in our walnut oil is due to our method of cold press that we apply in the oil making process. As we only use our raw, 100% organic dry-farmed walnuts instead of roasted walnuts, the final product is of yellow-gold color and tastes super mild. Due to its light taste, it makes a great ingredient in any desserts. What else can you use it for?

Uses

If you want to preserve the high nutritive value not only during the pressing process but also during preparation and consumption, keep in mind to use medium or low heat. High temperature cooking will destroy the essential nutrients. Walnut oil is at its most valuable when used as finishing oil in cold dishes, dips or salads.