The Market:
Union Square Greenmarket
17th Street and Broadway
New York City
Mon., Wed., Fri., and Sat.
8 a.m. to 6 p.m.

Market-Goer: Mark Thompson

Yesterday, this region got hit with snow, sleet and freezing rain. That was only a hint of some miserable days to come. It was dry and warmer today.  There were some  weather-beaten Roma tomatoes in the market, but they were about the last vestige of summer on display.  The rest of the fruits and vegetables were a winter mix of roots, storage crops and cold-tolerant hoop-house greens.

What I Bought:

Bartlett, bosc, sekel and d'anjou pears

Among these four varieties, the bosc pear was the very clear favorite with my panel of three tasters. The bosc is regarded as one of the best varieties for cooking because it keeps its shape. We found it to be the sweetest and smoothest-textured for eating out of hand.  The sekel was in second place, not far behind. There was a bit of a gap down to number three, the bartlett. The d'anjou was clearly our least favorite. I wondered if our rather tasteless d'anjou simply wasn't ripe enough. That may have been a factor. But other evaluators have come to the same conclusion about the variety, which accounts for a third of the U.S. pear crop. The Cook's Thesaurus says d'anjou pears are "economical" but they "aren't as tasty as some of the other varieties."

Price: $1-1/50/lb.

Six varieties of apples including spartan, sonata, Fuji, mutsu and winesap

Price: $1-1.50/lb.