Hello everyone, I’m so sorry for my lapse in posts but it’s time — farmers market time. So it’s time to wake up those taste buds and get busy eating fresh, local food.
As we’ve moved from the Snowmaggedon of winter to the warm breezes, bright sunshine and, well, yeah … pollen of spring, my taste buds have eclipsed the point when just any ol’ strawberry or tomato will do.
I can’t even express how giddy I am at the thought of fresh veggies and fruits. It’s finally my “eating” spring. I have literally felt like I’ve been in a holding pattern and I’m ready to break free on summer recipes. Yum.
Sure you can see the bright sun, feel the warm breezes, smell the freshly cut grass (achoo!) and hear the spring birds chirping but there’s nothing like the *taste* of the fresh produce at the farmers market.
When you’re roaming around, checking out vendors make sure you try the samples and not just because you’re hungry but really *taste* the difference.
Like I’ve written about, there are good vendors and bad vendors — if you see out-of-season produce or shiny produce that’s *bad* — and give them all a taste test. You’ll figure out the good stuff and find your home for the summer.
The Reston Farmers Market kicks of this weekend and, according to my sources, it looks like we’ll have a wide variety of plants to get everyone’s gardens going and growing. I will update with photos and what I’m planting. I’m planning on tomatoes, jalapenos and some other herbs.
What’s interesting is that I’ve had at least one deck planter pop back up with tomato plants from out of the blue — they seem to be growing an inch a day — and a friend said all of her herbs were coming back like crazy. Conditions are good people.
So maybe those blizzards were good for something besides sitting around sipping wine and eating hearty soups.
So get out there and taste, taste, taste.
I recently ran across and article in the L.A. Times — link is here — that gives a great primer for the farmers markets. I’ve included a few tips but please give the story a look, too. It provides some great advice.
“It may seem like there are too many issues to juggle, but getting the best from farmers markets all boils down to quality, integrity and personal contact. We are lucky to live at a time and in a region with such an abundance of great produce, ours for the feasting, if we know how to choose,” the story says.
“To make a fully informed decision about organics for each farm and produce item requires considerable research and thought, more than most shoppers can devote. When I’m not sure, I make a leap of faith to favor organics but keep this factor in perspective as one among many.”
Here are few tips, although it’s possible some of the options may only pertain to California you’re quite likely to see produce at a market that can be nearly impossible to find at a grocery store.
• Eating quality, namely flavor, aroma and texture, are paramount. Farmers markets can provide quality better than any source other than one’s own garden (assuming one has the land, proper climate and time).
• Variety: Farmers markets and farm stands offer shoppers the best opportunity to find great-tasting varieties that are neglected by commercial channels. Get to know the tastier varieties, and ask farmers and managers to identify them by name. Look particularly for heirloom varieties, such as Blenheim apricots and Black Krim tomatoes; superior modern varieties, such as GoldRush apples; and delicate items, such as boysenberries and Persian mulberries, which are only available at their best at farmers markets.
• Freshness, of course, is crucial. If you can, get to a market early for a larger and fresher selection. Many items get bruised from rough handling or wilt after a few hours in the heat. When it’s really hot, take a portable cold box to protect the most perishable items.
• Ripeness (for fruit) and proper maturity (for vegetables) are equally critical. And since ripe often means fragile, bring a cart or a box (like a fruit box with plastic cups) to keep delicate purchases from being crushed.
• Seasonality: Following the rhythm of the seasons means not only knowing when to start buying but also when to stop, because the fruit or variety is past its prime. Good shoppers get to know the produce calendar.
• Appearance: Like almost everyone, I favor attractive produce, but not necessarily by commercial standards, such as huge, all-red peaches. I look for distinctiveness and for indications that an item will taste good: e.g., for a nectarine, deep orange or cream ground color, and sugar speckles. But I also like some varieties chiefly because they look good, like Romanesco cauliflower, with its mesmerizing fractal form.
• Personal contact with the grower: Of course, interacting with farmers is a joy in itself, one that includes but transcends produce quality. Ideally, one would like to buy directly from the farmer, a family member, or at least someone who has a connection to the growing, someone who can best explain, for example, that the cherries are blemished by hail but still delicious. Realistically, with the proliferation of markets, there’s no way that growers can be everywhere and still actually farm, and many vendors are employees who never see the farm, but at the very least they should be able to answer questions such as what variety an item is.
• Price: I evaluate price in relation to quality. If something costs significantly more than it would at a supermarket, it has to be a lot better or forget it. Prices do vary considerably both within and among farmers markets.