2 Weeks Today: Tips for farmers markets
It`s exactly 8:00AM as I write this on a Saturday morning. I know where I will be exactly 14 days from now. Here`s a hint from last year:
Brickworks Farmers Market (and many other Toronto summer markets) open in the next 2-3 weeks. I am bounding with excitement.
Toronto has a truly amazing Farmer’s Market “scene” going on. There were more than 40 last year and you could go to a different one every day of the week if you wanted. Here’s a few tips gleaned from years of exploring the markets:
1. Each one is different. Take your time to learn about the market; this is generally a lot easier on the web. Does the market allow resellers? Crafts? Is it all local? Organic? Single-farm only? Find what you are looking for – there are no “right” answers that apply to all.
2. Bigger is not better. Don’t be surprised if a market is small. A market with 7 or 8 vendors can contain a world full of treasures. We are conditions by our massive grocery stores to believe that massive choice is better. Some large markets contain less options than smaller as they have many vendors selling what is essentially the same thing.
3. Know where the farm is. Buy the same ingredient from different regions and compare. Mark Cutrara (Cowbell) did a taste testing of identical veggies from East and West of Toronto last year. Different soil, temperatures, sun and treatment can dramatically affect the taste of two carrots. Do your own side-by-side tastings and see what you like.
4. Go early. I used to go to markets around 9 or 10 and think that there wasn’t much to see or buy. I have found that 10-20% of a market’s finest stock can disappear in the first 30 minutes. For example, at the Brick Works you are not allowed to buy anything until 8AM. This is strictly enforced and each vendor waits for a bell to sound before they can take payment. On a crazy day many booths will have a lineup of 10-15 people with bags of their chosen produce and cash in hand to pay at 7:50. When the bell rings they will drop their cash on the table and dart to the next booth. It’s completely silly and completely fun.
5. Go late – especially to a new market. Going later in the day reduces your options but increases the time farmers have to talk to you about their offerings, philosophy and what they had earlier in the day. I go to markets later in the day to build relationships, learn all that I can and try things that are new to me.
6. Talk to the farmers. I’m often surprised to see people walk up to a booth and with no greeting start barking orders or comments. Many of the farmers standing before you woke up in the middle of the night because of their passion and committment to bringing us food. They’ve worked through the cold, the rain and the brutal heat to feed us. They are filled with knowledge and sometimes are treated like one of those automated cash registers that you poke and prod to pay and get away. Your day will improve with a few smiles and kind words traded back and forth.
7. Ask for cooking tips. Not only do they have plenty of experience but they hear all sorts of tips from other market attendees. Ask what others are doing with it.
8. Smile and make eye contact with other market goers. It’s surprising how easily one can engage in conversations at a market.
9. Ask about seasonality. There is nothing worse than thinking you will skip fiddleheads and get some more next week only to find out that you missed the boat on the final week. Find out what’s on the way out and what’s on the way in.
10. Try something you’ve never had before. If you don’t know what to do with it, ask. I have never cooked sunchokes until this year (also known as Jerusalem Artichokes) and learned to “chip” them this year. The results were spectacular.
11. Prices – if you don’t understand why they are what they are, tactfully ask. When a farmer told me that his 5 pound chicken was $25 I didn’t think I’d ever buy it. When I asked him to explain why this was so different from what I see in the store (notice the word “different” as opposed to “expensive”), I got an answer that surprised me and shocked me further than I came home with a chicken. Price can be a sensitive sore spot but I see it as an opportunity to learn and be sold on why I would spend a different amount than I am conditioned to. This doesn’t mean that I always do but it certainly leaves me with a greater understanding.
This is not the ultimate list – I’m sure we’ll think of more fairly easily (bring your bags, dress appropriately, bring the family, try the food…) but it’s a start. Any favourite tips out there?