To Market, To Market
At a farmers' market, you'll find the freshest produce and local specialty foods; you'll also have a great time
an interview with Deborah Madison
Deborah Madison, author of "Savory, Satisfying Vegetable Stews" in the October/November 2001 issue of Fine Cooking (#47), is a passionate advocate of farmers' markets. Recently, she shared a few thoughts with Amy Albert, Fine Cooking's senior editor, about the many advantages of supporting your local farmers' market -- including how shopping there can make you a better, more informed cook.
What are the biggest advantages of shopping at a farmers' market?
There are about a million of them, but for starters, there's incomparable freshness and peak flavor found in foods that don't have to travel long distances and are picked when they should be. There are more interesting varieties that are often more tender and flavorful than the usual ones we come across. It's much more fun to shop at the farmers' market, too; it smells like flowers, rather than floor wax and disinfectant. And food aside, the farmers' market is one of the most relaxed, convivial places you can be -- a public space in which you run into friends and neighbors and meet new people. I've overheard more people planning impromptu dinners at the farmers' market; I love that. It's often said that the farmers' market makes a small town out of a big town.
I should add that there's not just produce at the farmers' market. You get wonderful fresh eggs, farmstead cheeses, and meats from animals that haven't been subjected to feedlot treatment, hormones, and antibiotics. Not long ago I had some fall lamb from our Santa Fe farmers' market (farmersmarketsnm.org), and it was just about the sweetest thing I'd ever tasted, just as the rancher had promised. Lamb, like vegetables, has its season, and knowing this brings your world into focus in a different way.
It sounds like farmers' markets are a golden opportunity for us to know more about our food.
It's a terrific opportunity, and they provide the only direct connection that remains between the consumer and the producer. The only other example that comes to mind is if, let's say, you know the artisan who makes your furniture, but not everyone has access to that privilege -- food is much more universal.
What can we do to make more farmers' markets happen?
There are more and more happening all the time -- at this point, there are over 3,000 markets nationwide, where 25 years ago there were just a handful. Anyone can help out, volunteer, or even start a market -- farmers' markets aren't necessarily started by farmers -- they're often started by ordinary people who see a need and an opportunity. Education, education, education ... we have to become dedicated shoppers so that this thing is more than just a trend. Bring your kids. Cook a meal with everything bought at the farmers' market, share it with your friends, and then say, "This is from the farmers' market -- go shop there!" We hear a lot of talk about supporting family farms -- it could be that the farmers' market is the best hope for the family farm, especially as we begin to realize the extreme importance of having a food source close to home.
What do I do if I see an interesting vegetable but don't know how to cook it?
The first thing is to ask the growers; often they know. That said, some farmers may be great at growing something but not expert in the kitchen when it comes to cooking it -- sometimes a farmer grows a vegetable in order to respond to a market niche -- she sees the good price that radicchio gets and decides to give it a try. And I've always found that you if call out in a moderately loud voice, "What do I do with this?" there are always people around who will jump in to tell you.... Learning to cook new things is why we have cookbooks, and it's why we have magazines like Fine Cooking.
To find a farmers' market near you, visit www.ams.usda.gov/farmersmarkets.
Deborah Madison's article, "Savory, Satisfying Vegetable Stews," appears in the October/November 2001 issue of Fine Cooking (#47). Amy Albert is Fine Cooking's senior editor.
Portrait photo: Scott Phillips; others: Amy Albert
From Fine Cooking #47, pp. 66-71
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