Farmer's market

I really enjoy shopping at a farmer's market when it isn't super duper crowded. So I avoid the one at Union Square and go to the teeny tiny one near work. The one near work is already back, but the one near my house won't be around until June. I can't wait for the one near my house! However, here are a couple of things I have learned from shopping in greenmarkets in NYC.

The first thing I learned was to be careful about buying baked goods or jarred goods. Unless it's something you really want or know you like, be aware that the seller may not know much about it because they're selling it for someone else or for some other company. That is not to say that the people who actually bottled that cider or made that bread are using terrible ingredients or whatnot, but just be aware that the shrink-wrapped apple pie you're tempted to buy may not have been baked by the person behind the stand. Just the other day, I bought a very expensive jar of crushed heirloom tomatoes. The guy selling it didn't even know what it tasted like but assumed it must be worth the exorbitant price because it was from heirloom tomatoes. Even now, I'm not sure it was worth the cost, but I bought it anyway cause the ingredients had only one thing: tomatoes. Plus it came in a glass jar instead of a BPA-lined can.

The second thing I learned was that even if the seller was just the middle man and is charging a heart-stopping markup, the stuff usually tastes better than what you can get at the supermarket. The greenmarket near our house has apple cider that is out of this world and the most amazingly spicy and flavorful bloody mary mix made from real tomatoes. My advice is to check out the local supermarket to see if they have a section of local produce. You may find the exact same farm's apple cider selling in the supermarket for cheaper than what the middle man at the greenmarket is charging. If not, then you'll pretty much have to pay the extra dollars if you really want that cider.

Also, fruits and vegetables bought at the greenmarket don't tend to last as long as stuff from the supermarket. I don't know why, but if you buy produce from the green market, do intend to use it within the week. Supermarket stuff seems to have been treated in a way to keep the stuff looking fresh. Potatoes from supermarkets, for instance, have been treated with some kind of anti-sprouting chemical. Same with supermarket garlic. Greenmarket stuff will definitely sprout or rot way faster than you might expect if you're used to supermarket stuff.

The last thing I want to say is that shopping at the greenmarket can get expensive. Yeah, they have a lot of cool stuff that's both tasty and less chemical-laden than supermarket stuff, but some booths charge quite a bit for their product. We don't get all our produce from the greenmarkets. The ones I go to are small and often don't have everything I need for the week. So generally, it's a treat when I get some apple cider or a bundle of asparagus. One really nice thing about the greenmarket near my work place is that they sell plants. Right now, there is a booth that is selling a variety of heirloom tomatoes and I bought two. One labeled "brandywine" and another labeled "cherokee." I have a black thumb, but with some luck, they will grow in our back yard and by the end of summer, we'll have made our own jar of crushed heirloom tomatoes!