The food industry has seen some drastic changes since my wife and I opened Tiffin Asha in Portland, OR over 10 years ago. Changes that could force you to walk away from something you worked so hard to build. We held on somehow. I think sometimes it was stubbornness or maybe even a sadistic challenge. But all joking aside, I believe that there comes a point in your business where it morphs into identity, a part of your core or to put it more simply, you love it,  therefore it becomes something almost impossible to completely walk away from. 

We have seen this business through three incarnations, from food-cart-turned-restaurant to now a more sustainable pandemic-proof condiment line. One thing that has remained consistent throughout is we’ve never stopped cooking with heart. This is our style, always has been, always will be. It really goes without saying that caring about the quality and ingredients of what we put into our food is very important to both of us, so it was a natural decision for us to have our condiments Non-GMO Project Verified. We are so proud to be able to rock the Butterfly logo on our products, and we hope that our story can inspire micro businesses like ours to do the same. 

My wife and I feel very passionately about the non-GMO movement. GMOs are carelessly put into our food supply, without considering sustainability and long term impacts on our planet and its people. The Non-GMO Project constantly works to educate people of this harm and illustrate that it doesn’t have to be this way. Maybe even some of these bigger food manufacturers can see that if smaller companies like us are finding a way, they should follow suit. At the very least we look at the Non-GMO Project’s logo as a way to make companies more transparent and accountable for the ingredients they choose to use.

We released our two condiments in October of last year and we are so excited to say both are Non-GMO Project Verified! Our South-Indian inspired Tomato Ginger Pickle and Green Tomato Pickle are part of a new generation of American condiments that folks can use to unlock new flavors with their everyday foods! Our Tomato Ginger Pickle has a delicious jammy texture with notes of citrus and maple. It first hits your mouth with a touch of sweetness and rounds out into a nice medium heat that slowly creeps in. Our two favorite go-tos with the Tomato Ginger Pickle are with any burger and grilled cheese. Our Green Tomato Pickle on the other hand is saucy, giving you more freedom to mix into other ingredients easily. Piquant, mustardy and spicy, this one is meant to wake your taste buds up! Our two favorite applications for the Green Tomato Pickle are dolloped onto any sausage and mixed into Mac and cheese. We like to tell folks that no recipe is required for these condiments! Isn’t that why you bought a jar of something delicious, so you wouldn’t have to cook? 

Just in case, here are some pro-tips: pop the lid and dip, dollop, douse… repeat. 

This guest post is written by Elizabeth Golay, Chef/Founder, Tiffin Asha