AfterTaste (by Sherry)

Yesterday’s visit to the Greenmarket (aka farmer’s market) in Union Square yielded some interesting finds. The Greenmarket is actually located in various areas in all boroughs of NYC, but the Union Square location is one of the biggest and is open Wednesday - Saturday.

As ashamed as I am to admit it, I haven’t visited this market in a long time, probably 6 or 7 months, maybe even more, even though I’m in the Union Square area very often. Anyway, I hope this informative post detailing my trip will more than make up for that embarassing fact.

It’s obvious that the produce crops this year, in this area of the country, are being affected by the unseasonably warm weather. I believe this accounts for the horrendous apple crops. I had to scour four different orchards’ stands before I could find two, count ‘em TWO, decent apples. My fingers ached after all that picky selecting. Aside from the crappy crops, this is due, in part, to my effective, yet sometimes painful, method of choosing crisp, fresh apples which is to squeeze each apple very tightly with my thumb and forefinger. If your fingers make an indentation (you’ll feel it), then skip that apple, it’s mealy and mushy. If your fingers don’t make a dent and the apple looks good otherwise (no worm holes, not a lot of bruises), grab up that apple. This is how I came to find my TWO delicious honeycrisps (which are already gone)…I suppose I can say they were worth the effort, but it was disheartening that it took so much energy and time right in the middle of Apple Season to find a couple of sweet, crisp apples.

Perhaps also due to the unseasonably warm weather there were a lot of tomatoes and corn still selling, although it made me uneasy to see them in the middle of October. The weather does not seem to have affected the crop of gourds this year, however, as there were plenty of nice looking pumpkins and squashes. But I didn’t buy any, so who knows? Maybe they just looked good.

Here are some notable things I saw (and/or bought):

1. Edible nasturtiums in beautifully bright reds, oranges, and yellows. I’ve never personally used edible flowers, but for a special occasion there are few things that would wow your guests more. $5/pint
2. Sunflower greens. I had never seen or eaten these before and was told they are eaten raw, so I tried one. They taste like a more “green” tasting uncooked bean sprout. They look like peashoot greens but with a thicker white stalk. I’m convinced these would be delicious sauteed with garlic and Thai fish sauce, despite what the seller told me about eating them raw. $6/quarter lb
3. Martin’s Pretzels from Pennsylvania (where else?), a farmer’s market staple. A jawbreakingly crunchy, salty treat, I had to grab up a 1/2 lb of “brokens” (um, broken pieces of pretzels, instead of whole ones, in case you couldn’t figure that one out). I wanted to purchase some whole wheat pretzels too, but unfortunately they were out of those. They also sell unsalted pretzels. $2.50/half lb (Broken, salted)
4. Honey crisp apples from Caradonna Farms, as mentioned earlier. $2/lb
5. Oyster, cremini, portabello, and shiitake mushrooms from the Bulich Mushroom Company. When I returned after one round of scouting the entire market out, all that was left were the oyster mushrooms. They were firm and exuded a beautiful bluish gray hue. I had to grab them up (esp. since they are so expensive at Citarella or Eli’s, I considered these a bargain), although I still haven’t decided what to do with them yet. I’ll probably sautee them with some olive oil, garlic and salt, then toss them with some pasta, and Parmiggiano, keep it simple. I wouldn’t wanna overwhelm the delicate flavor of the oysters. $7/lb (I bought half a lb and it filled up half of a brown paper bag)
6. Sourdough half loaf and cranberry scone from the Rock Hill Bakehouse. According to their signs, they were rated as some of the best sourdough available in the city. I’m not sure about that, but it was delicious. Rock Hill’s selection of baked goods is vast and smelled wonderful, so that is what initially drew me in. Among their spread, they have cinnamon raisin bread, onion loaves, 7-grain loaves, currant and cranberry scones, and various cookies. I bought the scone for my sister, who enjoyed it immensely, praising its moistness and its circular shape (”I hate it when they make them triangular! They’re always dry! Blech! This is good though…round…moist…mmm…”). $3/sourdough half loaf, $3/cranberry scone
7. Dutch Farmstead and “Womanchego” cheeses from Cato Corner Farm. I tasted the Dutch Farmstead first. It had a really nice smooth texture, but the taste was a little too mild for me. I opted for the “Womanchego” (as much as I detest the corny name), which was a bit sharper and firmer. It wasn’t very manchego-like to me (tasted more like a cross between Swiss and Edam, in texture and flavor), but tasty none the less and ended up going very well with the sourdough. $17.99/lb (pricey, yes)
8. Southwestern chipotle goat cheese from Lynnhaven Goat Milk Cheeses. They sell all types of flavored goat cheeses in ~3 inch logs from black pepper to rosemary garlic. Their cheese is what great young goat cheese should be: mild, creamy, but not too creamy, tart, and fresh. The rosemary garlic was delicious, but I decided to go with the Southwestern chipotle for its unique flavoring. Good garlicky goat cheese is easy to find, but goat cheese flavored with cumin, chipotle, and garlic? Not so common. Some may find it too salty, but I love salt, so… $5/log, $12/sampler box of 3 flavors (Rosemary garlic, black pepper, and plain)

Among the other stands that I saw, but did not take any particular notes on, were one selling game (ducks, pheasants, chickens), one selling seafood (fish, scallops, shrimp), one specializing in lamb (sausage and dyed wool), another selling maple syrup and maple candy, one specializing in buffalo meat, one selling concord grapes and juice, and another selling jams and jellies.

A few tips to consider before you go to the Greenmarket:

• When you get there, make one round just to see what’s being offered, where, and for how much, so you can plan your purchases accordingly. You don’t want to buy 3 lbs of tomatoes at the first stand you get to and then stumble upon riper, more luscious tomatoes at the last stand you walk by.
• Go early. I went at 3pm and a lot of stuff was gone/the selection was dwindling.
• Try to plan to cook that night. There were a lot more things I wanted to buy, but couldn’t because I had mandatory dinner plans and didn’t want any produce going bad before I got a chance to use it.
• Be patient about choosing your produce. Just because you’re picking it up at the market doesn’t mean it’s necessarily the best quality.
• Don’t be afraid to ask to sample things, esp. cheeses or unique produce (like when I asked to try the sunflower greens).
• GO! If you love food half as much as I do, you will adore the experience of shopping at this market, despite its being crowded and hectic.

Happy food shopping!