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With over 190 organic products in our range, the Crazy Jack supplier network spans the globe!

We like to think global and act local. There is a place for sustainable, locally produced foods, but also a place for traditional imports of dried fruit, nuts and seeds. Crazy Jack Organic supplies products that for the most part cannot be grown in the UK, such as dried apricots, figs, brazil nuts & cashew nuts.

We have introduced and pioneered organic farming to many groups who simply were not aware that successful alternative production methods existed. At the time of writing, land under organic cultivation in the UK accounted for just 4% of productive land. Our task has been to spread the message about the benefits of organic farming globally so that all regions and communities can benefit from organic food production.

Our view is that one day, organic agriculture will once again be the norm. This is what Crazy Jack is all about.

A few of our ongoing projects:

Organic Apricots

Crazy Jack dried organic apricots were among the first products in our range and are prepared in the traditional manner. Dried naturally in the Turkish sun, with no added preservatives or colouring, they have a firm texture and are excellent to eat on their own and are perfect for baking.

We have been recruiting farmers to organic farming in Turkey for over 25 years through our membership of the Good Food Foundation, www.goodfood.nl. The Good Food Foundation have their own agronomists who specialise in organic farming and they advise farmers on organic farming methods and how to convert to organic farming. Crazy Jack help to underwrite the farmers risk of "going organic" by making a commitment to buy their organic produce.

Organic farming relies on a progressive, comprehensive system-based approach. Crazy Jack apricot farmers have implemented a drip feed irrigation system which reduces both water loss and the impact on natural water resources - our farmers were among the first in Malatya (and in Turkey) to trial this system.

Find out more about our Organic Apricots...

1. Organic Apricots are naturally dark because they are dried without using sulphur dioxide as a preservative. This means that you taste the rich, dark and intense flavour of a naturally dried apricot. They are delicious, sweet and full of flavour. Our apricots are also a good source of fibre, vitamin A and iron, and are superb to snack on or bake with.
2. Sulphur dioxide is used to preserve the bright orange colour of conventionally grown apricots, and is largely responsible for the tangy taste often associated with dried apricots. Sulphur Dioxide is a known allergen and can be responsible for a "gripey" or "windy" stomach, which is often associated with eating conventionally grown apricots - this has little to do with apricots and is more to do with use of the preservative sulphur dioxide. So if you have a sensitive stomach, try our organic apricots and see if they make a difference.

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Organic Mango

Mango is one of the most widely grown tropical fruit and it is available in literally hundreds of different varieties. Each variety has a unique flavour that may be sharp, sweet, fragrant, soapy or a combination of all of these! They are a great tasting fruit.

Crazy Jack use Brooks and Amélie varieties of Mango which are perfumed and sweet; they are grown in Burkina Faso, Western Africa - one of the world's poorest nations which has problems with severe drought and soil erosion. However with care and attention Burkina Faso is well suited to growing the delicious mango varieties we have carefully selected for producing the best dried Mango, with excellent flavour and texture. The farming communities we buy from have chosen to farm the soil organically because of the benefits it brings to them and to the environment.

The mango is picked when very ripe, and is then washed, peeled, sliced by hand and dried on racks without any other ingredients. That's it - no colours, preservatives, flavours or added sugar. Our mango may vary in colour and flavour from season to season because we do not process it to make it homogenous (some suppliers add sugar, which masks any variance in flavour, and add colour to ensure a uniform colour - we do not).

Find out more about our Organic Mango...

1. Burkina Faso has notoriously poor, thin soil. Our growers are experimenting with under canopy cropping, this means growing secondary crops under the mango trees. By rotating crops and mulching in green manure, we hope to improve soil fertility and reduce pest problems through biodiversity.
2. Where possible our packers are using locally made, ventilated solar heated drying trays. By using the sun this new technology reduces both the need for electricity and dependence on expensive financial investments, whilst improving the quality and output of the organisation.
3. Our mangoes come from a large number of individual growers who have one or two trees, plus a host of small more organised local farms which are all owned and run by the locals themselves. Trade, not aid, in action!

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Organic Figs

Crazy Jack figs come from an organic project which Community Foods have worked with since the late 1980's. Working with the farmers, we made commitments to buy their organic production and they made commitments to farm organically with the help of advice on farming methods provided by agronomists from the Good Food Foundation. Whole villages have now converted to growing organic! The project has been a great success, and each year we have returned to buy more organic figs and to help more farmers convert to organic farming.

Crazy Jack figs are cropped later than most figs because they are grown in the hills rather than in the valleys where most figs are grown. The figs grow more slowly here, which means they have thinner skins and, we believe, a superior flavour.

Find out more about our Organic Figs...

1. Figs are fertilised exclusively by the fig fly. This symbiotic relationship has developed over tens of thousands of years and no other creature or method is capable of fertilising the fruit! Neither fig nor fly can exist without the other. Each fig flower is uniquely designed to allow only this species of fly inside to fertilise her. Every year, fresh "male" figs containing the fruit fly are hung in the orchards and the flies emerge to fertilise the new crop.
2. On a buying trip to the village in 2006 we were picking our way through the enormous variety of wild herbs and flowers surrounding the orchards, marvelling at the display of insect life it supported. All of a sudden we saw a bird of prey swoop down to the orchard and capture a snake, which it carried off. That moment symbolised so much of what we work for - natural harmony, ecological diversity, and the sheer pleasure of seeing wildlife in action. It isn't just about food for the stomach, but food for the soul.

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Organic Basmati Rice

Both Crazy Jack basmati brown rice and polished white rice come from the Kaddar rice growers co-operative in Kaddar. The rice is grown on the foothills of the Himalayas, on the borders of India and Nepal. The rice growing area is very special as it lies in a valley that floods regularly once a year with the snow melt. It means the growers only get one crop a year from their fields, but each year, the fields are fertilised by the melt waters. The result is spectacular rice, which is very white and firm with a fantastic fragrance.

Growing organically in this area is very important as otherwise harmful residues and pesticides would run off into the rivers, affecting all those downstream.

Of course being limited to one rice crop a year compared with the two crops grown annually in other regions poses a few problems for the growers; the Fairtrade rice premium ensures above market prices for the Basmati plus a social premium which is paid directly to the co-operative and is invested in projects nominated by the farming community.

Find out more about our Organic Basmati Rice...

1. Basmati Rice, Brown - This is a de-husked but unpolished brown rice that contains the germ of the plant and is highly nutritious.
2. Basmati Rice, White - Highly prized for its fragrance and length of grain - our White Basmati Rice will swell and lengthen up to 2 1/2 times its dry length when cooked and served - a bright white, fragrant rice. Second to none, it has very few "broken" grains and "chalks" and it has been double water polished so that it cooks very cleanly.

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Organic Sesame Seeds

Crazy Jack sesame seeds are grown in Nicaragua, South America. Although many countries produce sesame seeds, in our opinion Nicaragua produces the sweetest seed. Sesame was first cultivated in Africa and Asia. We buy our sesame seed from a Fairtrade co-operative which we have worked with for many years. This ensures the farmers receive a good price for the sesame seed, and the community are paid a social premium for building or supporting locally nominated projects such as schools.

Find out more about our Organic Sesame Seeds...

1. Crazy Jack Sesame Seed is well cleaned and has a good uniform white colour - the local growing conditions in Nicaragua mean that the seed is particularly sweet which makes it ideal for baking and cooking as it does not leave any residual bitterness.
2. Sesame seeds have to be husked before they can be eaten as the outer seed casing is poisonous - next time you see a budgie fiddling with sesame seeds in his beak, picking out the kernel and dropping the husk in a mess all around his cage, you will know why! Don't get mad with him.
3. To intensify the flavour of sesame seeds, lightly toast them in a dry pan then add to salads, mashed potato, rice or anything else that takes your fancy.
4. Sesame oil can be extracted from the seeds for use in cooking; the oil produced is very delicate, with a low smoking point. The best oil comes from toasted sesame seed and is used as a dressing for oriental cuisine - see www.sanchi.co.uk where our sister company has an award winning toasted sesame oil in its Sanchi brand of Japanese products.
5. Tahini is a paste made from sesame seeds; it can be bought in jars or can be ground from seed at home in a blender. It is used in savoury recipes such as hummus or in confections such as Halva, a sweet made from sesame seeds and honey. These can both can be found in health food shops, supermarkets or delicatessens.

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