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SEASONAL CHEF
IN SEASON AT THE FARMERS MARKET
JULY
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Market farmers experiment with a multitude of heirloom tomatoes, from Russian Blacks to Green Grapes, but some prove to be a challenge to grow successfully while other odd-looking varieties repel customers. |
AUGUST
| Unusual
hot peppers proliferate in farmers
market but shoppers still flock
to bells, albeit colored ones. Cucurbits you’d never find in a supermarket, from thin-skinned canteloupe to yard-long cukes.
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SEPTEMBER
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Grape varieties with seeds are barely hanging on to their toehold in the U.S. market but they're all the rage in Southeast Asia, not to mention Europe. Coming soon: a pungent seedless muscat. |
OCTOBER
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Culinary varieties of pumpkin are finally beginning to step out of the shadow of the barely-edible varieties bred for Jack 'o Lanterns. |
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NOVEMBER
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Green
apples need not
feel inferior to their red brethren. In
fact, they're better, some insist. Growers of dates who sell directly to consumers are creating new markets for their crop.
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DECEMBER
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Old-fashioned tangerines are losing ground to Japanese
satsumas, but a new variety of clementine may bring
customers back
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JANUARY
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Citrus fruits originated in the shadow of the Himalayan Mountains eons ago, but the far-flung family reunites each winter in California farmers markets. Winter artichokes are out of the scientists' bag of tricks; In Spring, the traditional varieties reach the markets.
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APRIL
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California-grown sweet onions are often called 'Maui types,' but that is a misnomer. Iceberg lettuce, disdained by salad mix connoisseurs, deserves a second look, seed companies that sell to market farmers insist.Braising mix is a trendy way to market salad mix greens that are going to seed. |
JUNE
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A long strawberry season amazed visitors to California century ago. These days, the berry harvest is practically year-round. Why organic berries cost so much
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Copyright 2005 Seasonal Chef
