Well Preserved

We announced the start of a new series of posts last week with a promise to launch today.  The full details are here but the premise is simple – creating good, wholesome food at affordable pricing as a means to support and create a dialogue in which we can share how to eat wholesome food at a fraction of a price of fast food alternatives.  The terms gourmet and cheap are relative – the term Tuesday is not.

A recent interview with Thomas Keller (one of the world’s top chefs) revealed his secret to great food as a single equation: great products + technique = great food.  So many recipe books and tips on eating healthy focus on recipes (i.e. technique) but rarely where to find the product affordably.

Chef Keller’s definition of great ingredients likely differ from mine – then again I am not cooking nightly at a 3 Michelin star restaurant.  Local and organic are niceties – fresh and healthy are necessities.

Consider the following sink full of vegetables bought last weekend:

I forgot to count – the haul amounted to more than 16 peppers, 4 medium-sized broccoli and more than 2 dozen carrots.  Enough vegetables for an entire week for $10 Canadian dollars.  All were fresh – the carrots were almost field sweet.

The downside is that they were imported from the US – alas it is likely that more and more groceries are coming from elsewhere as today is the first official day of winter (and the shortest day of the year).  Compared to the origins of much of the produce appearing at major grocers these days, the US is relatively close (and certainly can be closer than many locations from across our vast country).  Purchasing the same amount at the grocery store could easily have been $25+.

If shopping on a budget, timing can be everything.  We have the luxury of the St Lawrence Farmer`s Market in Toronto which is a year-round market.  The North Market is a temporary market that is in a building just north of the main building and operates only on Saturdays.

There are some farmers (as well as some truly authentic butchers, cheese makers and others) as well as several resellers.  A reseller is someone who buys fruit or vegetables from places such as the food terminal and resells them to the public at large.  I`ve had my frustrations with dedicated resellers in the summer who do not clearly separate their offerings from farmers and are willing to allow consumers to confuse them with farmers.

Many resellers at once-per-week markets do not sell food full-time.  Many do not have storage facilities and know that their produce simply wont last a full week until the next market.  It`s also exhausting to haul all their produce back to storage facilities and many are willing to part with their product at cost (or lower) at the end of the day.  You do not need to barter – simply arrive at the end of the market and look for reduced prices.  The closer to the end, the more likely a reseller will drop their prices.

We do not hound people or barter when we do this – we simply arrive at the right time.  If you are in an urban area, look for a weekly market and find out when it closes – take a peak around and see what is being offered – you may find yourself in for a great find!