2009 Phila. Farmers Markets

[rlibkind]

Dave Garretson of Beechwood Orchard was the only vendor at Headhouse Square Farmers' Market today who still had peaches, yellows or whites for $4/quart. Dave still expects to have them next week. He warns that while the flavor and texture are great, these won't be keepers; the late season peaches, he says, will dry out fairly quickly on the counter or in the fridge.

Dave still had plentious varieties of plums as well as late season raspberries. But apples are entering the peak season, which will continue into November. Beechwood's varieties today included Honey Crisp, the season's first Macouns (they'll only be here for a few weeks), Ginger Golds, Cortlands, Ida Reds, Jonathans, Jonagolds, Galas and Empires. The Honey Crisps were selling for $4.50/quart, the rest fror $4.

Northstar Orchards offered plenty of apples, too, as well as Asian pears. What attracted me most at this vendor, however, were the great yellow flat beans pictured above, a variety they called Marvel of Venice ($2.50/pound). This Italian heirloom pole bean had pods 3/4-inch wide and 7-9 inches long. Northstar's heads of endive ($2.50/bunch) also looked particularly good. A.T. Buzby's green string beans were healthy looking, $3.50/quart.

The celeriac (celery root) at Culton Organics -- that's Tom Culton in the banded hat -- cried out "Eat me, eat me". So I bought a knob. I haven't yet decided whether to just julienne it and toss it in remoulade, or simmer with potatoes and puree them together. Using them with the potatoes elevates the puree considerably, giving the potatoes a superb fresh flavor and providing a light texture you don't expect. Just severely trim the bulbs; you may want to hold the cut up celeriac in acidulated water to forestall oxidation. The leaves are a welcome addition to a stock pot or any place else you want an herbal celery flavor. Culton also had many cases of gorgeous, long sweet peppers, mostly red but some with a tinge of green, priced at a bargain 3/$1.

Many of the vendors still have a good supply of tomatoes: field, heirloom or cherry. Corn is still available, as are eggplant in its many manisfestations. Produce that does well in cooler weather has been making a comeback in recent week, including cabbages and other members of the brassica family (cauliflower, broccoli, kale, collards and, soon, brussels sprouts), and radishes, among others. Yoder Heirlooms contiunues to offer those wonderful cowpeas (black eyed peas) I raved about a few weeks ago. And just about everyone's got winter squashes, including butternut, pumpkins and, in the case of at least one vendor, blue hubbard.

[rlibkind]

To my taste, the best potatos are the first fresh-dug spuds of spring. But the variety of potatoes that appeared at the Headhouse Square Farmers' Market today challenge that belief.

At North Star I found the Belgian Bintje variety, $2.50/pound. These are the classic potatoes used in the frites you find on streets throughout Brussels, though they are equally compatible with boiling or steaming. I intend to use them sautéd in either bacon or duck fat. I'll also try them in a fish chowder using leftover halibut (see previous post).

Savoie Farm featured a number of potatoes I had never seen before, including the All Blue ($5/pound), Rose Gold ($8), Island Sunshine ($5), Red Cloud ($4) and Onaway ($4).

Noelle Margarum, doyenne of preserves and herbs at Headhouse, was selling Kennebecs and Potomac Reds at $2/quart. Her Kennebecs, however, were labelled "Kenny Backs". These potatoes undoubtedly originated in Kennbec County, Maine, though these flavorful all-purpose spuds are quite popular among Southeastern Pennsylvania farmers. Noelle also had a beautiful selection of winter squashes, as shown in this photo:

Blooming Glen also displayed Kennebecs, as well as Purple Vikings, Both were priced at $2/pound.

Beechwood Orchards still had raspberries, as well as the last of their peaches. In addition to apples and Asian pears, Beechwood displayed Seckel, Bosc and Bartlett pears ($5/quart) and concord grapes ($4 quart).

In yesterday's post I observed that local chestnuts, like those sold by Earl Livengood, tend to be smaller than the Italian imports we should start seeing a few weeks. Dave of Beechwood proves me wrong; his chestnuts were plump, big and blemish free, $3.50/quart. He expects to have them in future weeks and I intend to try them soon, even if I don't have an open fire available.

A few merchants didn't make it to Headhouse today, including Yoder Heirlooms and Patch of Star goat dairy. They are expected back next week.

As usual, Tom Culton had an interesting array of produce, including white, orange and purple cauliflower (photo below). He also featured the Italian variety of pears I wrote about a few weeks ago, big yellow tomatoes, and huge baskets of concord grapes.

[KatieLoeb]

Those purple cauliflower are just bee-OOTiful! I saw those too and had to pass since there's still some leftover cauliflower from earlier in the week (mashed a la South Beach faux potatoes) in my fridge. I was on a mission for some zucchini but there was no green left by the time I made it there just after 1PM. Someone snatched the last bunch of dill in the entire market out from in front of me too. No worries. I went over to the Italian Market and found all that I needed for the Mucver (Turkish Zucchini pancakes) I'm planning to make for dinner tonight. I'll be making a stuffed eggplant as well.

[rlibkind]

The Rittenhouse Square Farmers' Market, operated by Farm to City, is busting at its seams. The nearly 20 vendors I counted yesterday pretty much filled the north side of the square between 18th and West Rittenhouse.

To accommodate more stalls, Farm to City founder and director Bob Pierson has obtained the city's permission to expand the market along 18th Street, according to one of the vendors.

Although a couple of the stalls yesterday were promotional in nature (Zipcar, Otolith seafood CSA), most were selling the best of autumn's produce, dairy products and baked goods. Among them:

• Crawford Organics' (photo) filled their three-slot space with beets, celeriac and small, fresh rutabagas at $2.50/pound and small (and overpriced) romanesco at $3 a head, among other items.
  
• Hilltop Produce featured unpasteurized cider, $2/quart, $3/half-gallon, $4/gallon. Fahnestock Orchards' apple selection included Honey Crisps, Stayman Winesaps, McIntoshes, Empires, Jonagolds, Mutsus (a.k.a. Crispin), Cortlands and Fujis; all were $1.50/pound, except the Honey Crisps, $2.
  
• Rineer Family Farm (which also shows up at South Street and other farmers' markets) still had raspberries ($3.75/half-pint, two for $7), cherry tomatoes ($2.25/half-pint, two for $4), heirloom tomatoes ($3.50/pound), and field tomatoes ($2.99).
  
• Hails Family Farm showed up with a nice selection of dairy products, from milk to cheese spreads. They also stocked their all-natural cream cheese (no gums), which was briefly carried by Fair Food at the Reading Terminal Market; alas, the Wyalusing, Pennsylvania, dairy and produce farm no longer makes deliveries there.
  
• La Baguette Bakery had a nice selection of breads and pastries. I took home a $5 stromboli (made from baguette dough, so it was far better than Stouffer's French Bread Pizza) with pepperoni and mozzarella. Reheated at home for five minutes in a 350-oven, it made for a light, crusty lunch for two.
  

[rlibkind]

We're almost a month past the autumnal equinox, and that means farmers' markets will be shutting down for the season over the next month or so. What to do after that?

Well the Reading Terminal Market and its Fair Food Farmstand and the year-round Clark Park market come to mind first. But Farm To City, Bob Pierson's organization, offers another option, Philadelphia Winter Harvest.

From November through April more than 500 food items are availble from this service, including organic produce, flavored vinegars and condiments, meat, poultry, eggs, raw and pasteurized milk, cream, yogurt, cheeses honey, maple syrup, canned and dried fruits, vegetables and herbs, breads, coffees and teas.

Under Philadelphia Winter Harvest, you can order once every two weeks for deliveries weekly (don't ask me to figure that out); deliveries are made to Old Pine Community Center where orders are available for pickup.

For more info visit http://www.farmtocity.org then click on Buying Clubs, Philadelphia Winter Harvest.

[rlibkind]

At least for the hour after it opened, both vendors and customers were a tad scarce at the Headhouse Square Farmers' Market yesterday, each group deterred by the threats of the second successive Nor'Easter. Maybe it picked up after I left shortly before 11, when the weather appeared less threatening.

Although some merchants were among the missing because of the recent rains (Young's Flowers, for example, couldn't pick because of the South Jersey showers), most of the regulars were selling their goods. Tom Culton was back with his brassicas and winter banana apples, Beechwood, North Star and Three Springs showed off the fruits of their respective orchards, Savoie proudly displayed its variety of hard-to-find potatoes, Queen Farm put forth its usual enticing display of oyster mushrooms and specialty Asian vegetables, and tables of both Blooming Glen and Weaver's Way groaned under the burden of radishes, beets, turnips, chards, lettuces and other garden goodies, including some of the season's last tomatoes.

Birch Run's sign reminded me that, addition to intriguing cheeses, they also deal in veal. One cut that got my attention for future cooking was brisket, $9/pound. I've only had it once, at the expansive brunch served at Lacroix in the Rittenhouse Hotel. In that case it was corned (brined) before braising. Basically, it's meatiest part of a breast of veal without the bones.

These Ying Yang dried beans from Culton Organics are just one of the many varieties of fall produce I found at Headhouse Square Farmers' Market the previous Sunday. Alas, they weren't there yesterday.

Tom continues to feature some delicious, though small, chestnuts. They roasted up perfectly (about 10 minutes in a 425 toaster oven; be sure to make a small 'x' on the flat side to avoid popping). Out of the first two dozen chestnuts I roasted, there were only two that were moldy/inedible.

Brussels sprouts have been making their appearance at local markets, too. Tom was selling his for $5 a quart. His white, purple or orange cauliflower and romanesco was $5 for medium-sized heads. Yellow string beans were $5/quart, sweet potatoes $2/pound. Among fruits, Tom had delicious Winter Banana apples as well as Asian pears; they were pricey at $1 apiece last week, but the apples, at least, could be had for less yesterday.

(You'll have to wait an extra week to try Culton's produce; he's off next week to do some leaf-peeping in western North Carolina.)

Pumpkins, as predicted in a previous post, are expensive this year. Blooming Glen's jack-o-lantern pumpkins were $8 apiece when I checked on the previous Sunday. Long Island cheese pumpkins, ideal for baking use, particularly pies, were $6 each; huge Blue Hubbard squashes were similarly priced. Butternut squash was more reasonable $1.25/pound, Delicata $1.50.

Also based on prices the previous week, North Star Orchards' apples were all $2/pound, except the Honey Crisps, $2.50. Magness pears were $2. Beechwood Orchards apples were $4/quart, $4.50 for Honey Crisps. Pears were $5/quart, chestnuts $6/quart.

Margarums also had potatoes, including $2/pound Russetts. Savoie offered about half a dozen varieties, most from organic seeds from an Aroostock County, Maine, supplier. Like those of the other sellers at Headhouse, you'll pay more for potatoes than you will at a supermarket, but for varieties you'd be hard-pressed to find.

[rlibkind]

Many of the region's farmers' markets have closed down for the season, but a number are still going strong.

The Food Trust's Sunday market at Headhouse Square and Thursday market at Clark Park will continue through the week before Christmas. Both will be open the day before Thanksgiving, but closed the following weekend. They'll then continue in December until Christmas. Clark Park's Saturday market will continue year-round.

At Headhouse today, remaining produce vendors included Blooming Glen, Beechwood Orchads, North Star Orchards (photo), Weaver's Way, Three Springs Fruit Farm, Margerum's, Culton Organics, Queens Farm and Savoie Farm. Dark, leafy greens were particularly attractive at a number of the stands, and North Star, Beechwood and Three Spruings offered a nice variety of apples; Beechwood also was selling quinces ($5 quart) for those of you into apple pie making. Cabbages and other brassicas (turnips, brussells sprouts, cauliflower and romansco) were also prevalent. In addition to its usual fine selection of heirloom potatoes, Savoie featured some good looking lettuces.

[KatieLoeb]

The Chinese gentleman with the cool Asian produce had some Japanese sweet potatoes that taste like chestnuts when you roast/bake/nuke them. Very delicious and possibly my new favorite tuber...

[KatieLoeb]

I spy with my little eye...

Qu'est-ce que ça? Madame TarteTatin??

[rlibkind]

Golden and red beets added color to the Blooming Glen stall at today's Headhouse Farmers' Market.

[rlibkind]

Tom Culton, shown today behind his Headhouse Farmers' Market stand laden with colorful cauliflower, loves produce in all its varieties. So much so that, according to an article in Citypaper this week, he raises 63 varieties of garlic. Read it here.

[rlibkind]

I've been telling Dave Garretson of Beechwood Orchards about Cox Orange Pippins for a couple of years now. This week he found some on a neighbor's orchard and brought them to Headhouse Square.

Although these apples were picked about a month ago and have been in storage, they've hardly lost anything. Indeed, this variety ripens best after picking. Cox Orange Pippins are only moderately crisp (those who insist on absolutely crunchy crispness will be disappointed), but their flavor is second to none, with a perfect balance of sweetness and tartness. Many believe, as I do, that it's the world's finest dessert apple, i.e., for eating uncooked. It's no wonder that Cox Orange Pippins are the most popular apple in the U.K., so much so that they're imported from South Africa in the off-season. (Alas, because they are more susceptible to disease, it's likely to lose this distinction soon, as more growers shift to other varieities.)

This variety first appeared in 1825 in England. And if you think the taste is vaguely familiar, you aren't imagining it. Today's Gala apple is a less flavorful but hardier descendant.

[rlibkind]

Dave Garretson of Beechwood Orchard, who sells at Headhouse Square, has changed his pricing system. Until this week, he priced his fruit by the pint or quart. It was always good value, but you had to take it home and weigh it out to get a good comparison with other vendors.

Starting today he switched to strict by-the-pound pricing. His apples were $2/pound, pretty much in line with other vendors.

And he's still got Cox Orange Pippins.

Dave's only fear is that he's going to have to restrain himself when picky customers threaten to bruise the fruit next peach season

[rlibkind]

Dave Garretson of Beechwood Orchards, who sells at the Headhouse Square Farmers' Market, loves his apples, and this week he had one of the best, the Newtown Pippin.

This variety probably originated in the early 18th century in what is now the Elmhurst area of Queens, New York. (Take the Brooklyn-Queens Expressway and you'll cross Newtown Creek). It was beloved by Thomas Jefferson, Benjamin Franklin, and Queen Victoria.

The Newtown Pippin (unlike my favorite, the Cox Orange Pippin) is one of the great storage apples, which only gets better with age: I plan to delay the gratification of eating them until February, by which time their sugars will be fully formed and balance the tart, piney, citrusy, nutty flavor of this American classic; kept in cold storage with adequate air circulation (a perforated bag in your refrigerator's crisper), they'll probably keep until spring. Eat them now and you'll only get a glimmer of their complexity.

Today it's rare to find Newtown Pippins in the fresh market. Most are turned into juice, thanks to its clear, flavorful nature. If you've enjoyed Martinelli's sparking cider. you've consumed Newtown Pippins. Martinelli's purchases, at above market prices, have prevented the California plantings of Newtown Pippins from being uprooted in favor of other crops.

This revered variety was pushed out of the fresh market over the last 20 years by the Granny Smith, which offers only a hint of the wonders of the Newtown Pippin, but is more visually appealing than the frequently lopsided antique apple, whose countenance can appear marred because of natural russetting near the stem end.

In addition to California, the Newtown Pippin was a favored variety in tidewater Virginia, where the parochials renamed it the Albemarle Pippin, not wanting to keep the Yankee name. It was a major export item to England until the early 20th century when tariffs decimated that market.

Although the Newtown Pippin works well in pies, as well as apple sauce, it's highest uses are for cider and as a dessert (fresh eating) apple.

[rlibkind]

The ranks of vendors at the Headhouse Square Farmers' Market are thinning, but there were still plenty of produce stalls yesterday offering potatoes, apples, root veggies, romanesco, greens, onions, etc. The Headhouse market will continue through Dec. 20, the last Sunday before Christmas.

Produce vendors making the trip were Blooming Glen, Weaver's Way, Culton Organics, Queen Farm, Savoie Farm and Beechwood Orchards. Protein vendors were Mountain View Poultry, Natural Meadows and Otolith (a fish purveyor which only occasionally shows up at Headhouse). Other vendors today were Joe Etc. (coffee), Wildflower Bakery, Young's Garden, and John + Kira Chocolates. As I was leaving a lunch vendor (might have been Taqueria de la Pueblo) was setting up.

Beechwood continued to offer a nice variety of apples. I picked up some more Newtown Pippins for storage.

Today was Blooming Glen's last week at the market until spring. I purchased German butterball potatoes and a small head of radicchio.

[rlibkind]

The Piazza at Schmidts, developer Bart Blattstein's residential complex on North Second Street in Northern Liberties, plans to start a new winter farmers' market in mid-January. Tom Culton, a regular at Headhouse Square who also supplies a number of city restaurants with his unusual produce, plans to be there to sell greens. More details when I get them.

[rlibkind]

Eleven stalwart vendors braved the cold, rainy weather to sell their wares at the Headhouse Square Farmers' Market this morning.

Among them was Beechwood Orchards, which was selling Northern Spys, my favorite baking apple. Dave Garrettson, who with his family owns and operates Beechwood, got the Northern Spys from a neighbor. I'm going to make another apple pie with them.

Next week, which will be the last of the 2009 season for Headhouse, Beechwood will be selling all its apples for $1 a pound.

In addition to Beechwood, today's vendors were: Blooming Glen, Joe's Coffee, John & Kira Chocolates, Mountain View Poultry, Natural Meadows Farm, Queen Farm, Savoie Farm, Star Gazer Wines, Wild Flower Bakery, Young's Garden.

Sharing the coffee stand with Joe is Gil Ortale, whose Market Day Canelés make an excellent accompaniment to the java. These custardy little cakes with a crispy exterior are an adult treat. One of the secrets in their baking is to mix beeswax with oil or butter, then coat the tin mold's interior with this "white oil". The treats have got history, too. Paula Wolfert tells all.

[Andrew Fenton]

Next week, which will be the last of the 2009 season for Headhouse, Beechwood will be selling all its apples for $1 a pound.

I saw this today, and it's worth highlighting what a screamingly good deal this is. Unfortunately, I'll be out of town then; otherwise I'd totally pick up a giant bag of your Newtown Pippins and eat them all winter long. Instead, I picked up a medium bag of Gold Rushes and will eat them over the week. Dang, I love those things.

[lfabio2007]

Run don't walk to the Rittenhouse 'farmer's market'. The rest of the stuff is fine... but the bread the gentlemen sell is Real Bread. No, not the 70%-overweight-by-water you get almost everywhere... both the baguettes and the boules actually weigh what they should and don't require two forklifts to handle!

I'm investigating, I think they're the same bakery that was there year-before-last, they're in Collingswood on Haddonfield rd.