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The Market:
Alameda
Certified Farmers Market
Taylor and Webster Streets
Alameda
,
Calif.
Tuesdays, 9:30 am to 1 p.m.
Market-Goer:
Victoria Slind-Flor
The
Alameda
market is one of a large group of farmers markets in northern
California
operated by the Pacific Coast
Farmers Market Association. This is an all-year,
rain-or-come shine market which, in the peak summer growing
season, attracts as many as 35 vendors.
I visited on a rainy gray day, but 21 vendors managed
to make the trip into
Alameda
.
Alameda
is a former Navy base town that is now solidly middle class,
and ethnically diverse. It’s about two miles—via an
under-bay tunnel—from
Oakland
’s thriving
Chinatown
. Market manager
Bill Harlow says the market, which has been in existence for
15 years, attracts a large bevy of Asian shoppers who show up
to shop even before everyone is officially open for business.
But after about 9:30, the crowd diversifies. Because the
market operates in the middle of most people’s work week,
many of the shoppers were stay-at-home moms pushing baby
strollers.
Harlow
does welcome some non-farm vendors, because “we have to have
some non-agricultural vendors as an attraction, so we can
compete with the grocery stores.” This day, two different
bakeries, a fishmonger from
Santa Cruz
, and seller of rotisserie-grilled chicken, filled the
non-farm slots.
Several
of the farmers brought neighbors’ goods to market under the
“second certificate” program.
What this means is that the neighboring farm also has
to be certified, but can send produce to market with a
different vendor. Ibarra-Cruz
Farm from
Gilroy
raises organic celery, green onions, baby salad greens,
carrots and carrots, but also brought an assortment of
mushrooms from a neighboring certified farm. “It’s good
business,” says
Harlow
. “The mushrooms
help attract people to the Ibarra-Cruz stall.”
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Julio Ortega
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Medina
Farm of Watsonville made its final market appearance of
the season, bringing two varieties of field-grown
strawberries. The
White Diamond berries were large, and slightly crunchy.
The smaller Red Heart were more intense in color
and slightly softer, making them perfect for jams and
preserves. Sales assistant Julio Ortega says the berries
are pesticide-free but
Medina
is not a certified organic farm.
Berries were selling for $1.50 per basket, or
three baskets for $3.
Medina
will return in March, says Ortega.
Specialty
Products of San Juan Batista brought a wide range of
products, including white-tipped French
breakfast radishes, sugar snap peas, yams, sweet
potatoes, celery, leeks, and Brussels sprouts. |
Happy
Boy Farms of
Watsonville
brought bagged baby salad greens, butternut squash, leeks, and
Napa Cabbage. Everything
from Happy Boy is certified organic. |
| Sisters-in-law
Lori and Barbie Ratto represent the third generation of
a family that once farmed nearby
Bay
Farm
Island
. The island, which is technically part of
Alameda
, is now given over to subdivisions and an industrial
park. But the Rattos, who have farmed since the
grandfather came over from
Italy
, now raise crops in French Camp, in the
San Joaquin
Valley
. They were
selling loose carrots at 50 cents a pound, celery at $1
per bunch, onions at 50 cents a pound, and huge
vine-ripened tomatoes at $1 per pound. |
Lori and Barbie Ratto
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J&J
Ramón’s farm from
Stanislaus
County
brought seedless grapes at $1.25 per pound, fuyu persimmons at
75 cents per pound, walnuts in the shell for $1.25 per pound,
and enormous vine-ripened tomatoes for $1 per pound. They also
had bags of shelled walnuts for $5 per pound.
NYT
Fresh Farms of Fresno is owned by Hmong immigrants, and they
brought several varieties of Asian specialty vegetables,
including bok choy, kabocha squash, and Chinese kale, known as
gai
lan.
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daikon
were huge, as much as two feet long, and were displayed
with a tiny ruff of green tops still attached.
Fresh Farms also sold peanuts, which many Asian
shoppers were buying to bring home to boil
with green onions and spices. |
daikon radishes
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What I Bought:
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Walnuts
and Satsumas
The
walnuts will largely go into my holiday baking,
particularly one family favorite, cheesecake
cookies with a walnut crust.
Price: $1/lb. for satsumas
$5/1-lb. bag of shelled walnuts
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French
Breakfast Radishes, Leeks, Rainbow Chard The
radishes are wonderfully crisp and sweet, and are
traditionally eaten atop buttered baguettes.
Price: $3/bunch for chard
and leeks
(or $5 for 2 bunches)
$1/bunch for radishes
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Butternut
Squash, Napa Cabbage Both
the squash and Napa cabbage are from Happy Boy
Farms. The
Napa
will be combined with the rainbow chard for a
hearty soup of the minestrone
variety.
Price: $1/lb. for
butternut squash
$1.50/lb. for Napa cabbage
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Carrots,
Celery The
carrots and celery are from G. Ratto Farms.
The celery will be combined with the leeks and
sautéed to add to a poultry stuffing recipe I
will prepare with two turkey legs. The carrots
will go into the minestrone.
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