Quality of the Food

Farmer’s markets typically feature produce and food that is grown both naturally and organically. The freshness, taste and quality of the food is usually much better than what you will find at your grocery store – even the expensive boutique ones. Farmers who sell at farmer’s markets retain the nutritional content of their products, pick their produce at the very peak of its flavor, and also offer you hard-to-get foods, such as raw milk and very fresh eggs. The food they sell travels from their farms (near where you live) to the market to your table., This helps to ensure that the food does not get damaged or bruised and is available to you shortly after being picked or produced.

Helping Local Farmers

Buying your produce at farmer’s markets means you are buying produce that is grown locally. This simple act ensures you are supporting the network of local farmers in your area. Doing so helps ensure that these farmers can continue their local growing operations. Fresh food from the farm to you. Healthy, flavorful, and economically smart.

Environmental Reasons

Since the time the food travels from the local farms to your dinner table, the fossil fuel consumption is reduced. The network of managed and sustainable farms that comprise the backbone of farmer’s markets help to both conserve water resources as well as the purity of the soil. This helps wildlife by helping to preserve its habitat. The positive environmental impact contributed by farmers markets in your area is an important reason why you should support them.

Sharing the experience and information with your young children will help inspire them to continue to support local markets when they grow up.

I’m all about creativity,  flavors and tastes – not just with food – more like with life. All of life.

So when it comes to food, I get really excited when it bursts with flavor. When my taste buds explode with awesomeness. I’m no longer just eating, I’m experiencing something. An experience that transcends just devouring what’s in front of me.

So I decided that if I’m going to write about food, I should probably start at the beginning.

Finding and selecting the best and freshest ingredients is the first step. It starts before eating, before cooking and before preparing the meal OK. I realize we could go all the way back to farming and even growing seeds, but for now we’ll focus on the ingredients available to each of us –  around our own neighborhoods.

It amazes me how many cooks don’t understand (or maybe don’t care) how much the ingredients they use can make all the difference in the world. The difference between good and great. It’s a simple equation. The best flavors, and therefore the best meals, come from the best ingredients.

Shopping at local farmer’s markets usually guarantees the real freshness of the produce and many other ingredients (depending on how extensive the offerings). There’s an added benefit as well. That of helping to support local farmers and meeting new people who share your love of great food.

The produce you buy at any given farmer’s market is typically grown locally (near you). Home-manufactured, artisanal foods as well as agricultural products can be found at farmer’s markets throughout the United States and in many parts of Europe.

We’ll provide lists of local farmers markets in a separate post.

And – please add any links to farmers markets or lists to farmers markets in your area so we can cover the entire country – maybe the wold.

To start, here’s a link to a farmers market that is close to us in Southern California.

Calabasas Farmers Market

arrive early to get the best