Flea Markets

[ImaginaryDay2]

My wife's hometown has a number of good farm markets - also a region famous for their cherries. Of course, Detroit had/has 'Eastern Market' on weekends covering a few city blocks

 

[tango]

Although it can be nice to reminisce while perusing the antiques in a flea market, I find that the junk from my youth is not something I wish to purchase and have in my home so I too favor farmer markets where there are more useful products such as food grown by local farmers. Keeping the locals in business is important to me.

I like local produce, not least because it actually tastes of something. I get really sick of buying "fresh produce" from supermarkets only to find you get it home and it tastes of.... nothing. Of course when things are harvested long before they are ripe and artificially ripened they notionally go through the ripening process but still don't pick up the flavors or the nutrients from the plant. If you buy produce from the supermarket and want to know how fresh it is, chances are nobody knows.

In the summer I buy as much as I can from local growers. If you want to know how fresh it was, chances are that morning it was still on the plant. If I can find decent produce at a good price I buy loads of it and freeze it. We're almost finished using the peppers we bought last August/September, we ran out of blueberries around May and still have about five bags of black raspberries in the freezer. We bought a load of strawberries (not a huge number, they don't freeze as well). Next year I want to experiment with making sorbets and maybe jam with them.

 

[Lamb]

Tango, how do you get your frozen pepper to not be all squishy after freezing them? I froze some green peppers last summer and they were too soft when I thawed them.

 

[tango]

Tango, how do you get your frozen pepper to not be all squishy after freezing them? I froze some green peppers last summer and they were too soft when I thawed them.

They do go a bit squishy, but since we use them for cooking they'd go a bit squishy anyway so it's not a problem for us.

We slice them up before freezing, that helps.

 

[Cassia]

Roasted peppers canned in oil works great to but still end up squishy. Hard to get away from that in preserving.

 

[tango]

Tango, how do you get your frozen pepper to not be all squishy after freezing them? I froze some green peppers last summer and they were too soft when I thawed them.

Strawberries are a bit squishy when defrosted. They aren't really suitable to be served as strawberries but if you're going to make them into something - a sauce, smoothie, whatever - the chances are they'll be fine.

I was really pleased to find out that cherries freeze very well. Literally just give them a rinse and throw them in the freezer. Blueberries freeze well, as do raspberries.
[MENTION=216]Stravinsk[/MENTION], have you tried dehydrating berries? Once my renovation project is winding down I'd be interested in dehydrating things to preserve them.

 

[Stravinsk]

Strawberries are a bit squishy when defrosted. They aren't really suitable to be served as strawberries but if you're going to make them into something - a sauce, smoothie, whatever - the chances are they'll be fine.

I was really pleased to find out that cherries freeze very well. Literally just give them a rinse and throw them in the freezer. Blueberries freeze well, as do raspberries.
[MENTION=216]Stravinsk[/MENTION], have you tried dehydrating berries? Once my renovation project is winding down I'd be interested in dehydrating things to preserve them.

Actually, I have done fruits but do not remember doing berries specifically. I think with something like blueberries - I'd probably lightly blend it first then spread it out on my dehydrator tray in a thin layer and use a medium setting to dry it out. Some of it will drip through the holes, but that is no big deal. I've done tomatoes this way and they turned out good. When it is dry simply lift out the tray and use some sort of thin implement to loosen the sheets of fruit from the back and collect for storage (preferably air tight container/or in a freezer bag in the freezer). Then grind as needed.

 

[IACOBVS]

When I was little I used to think thats where you go to buy fleas..I was silly..lol

I thought that, too. I wasn't silly.

 

[Josiah]

Isn't it called a "Flea Market" because everything is infested with fleas?

 

[psalms 91]

Oh! oh1 is there a circus? lol

 

[Stravinsk]

Oh! oh1 is there a circus? lol

Yes psalms91, and you can be the bearded lady.:xD:

 

[psalms 91]

Yes psalms91, and you can be the bearded lady.:xD:

lol ok

 

[Stravinsk]

lol ok

hope you check it regularly for fleas.

Just cuz we're in a flea circus and your the bearded lady doesn't give you any excuse not to keep things clean.

 

[psalms 91]

hope you check it regularly for fleas.

Just cuz we're in a flea circus and your the bearded lady doesn't give you any excuse not to keep things clean.

I will make sure you get them all besides have to protect the little guys they are the stars

 

[Stravinsk]

You'll make sure *I* get them all? Dude...I mean maam, I'm not digging through your beard. And yeah, I know they're the stars...but you know there's no shortage...and that beard of your provides a perfect breeding....

Ya see what I'm getting at?

 

[Cassia]

Yes psalms91, and you can be the bearded lady.:xD:

Isn't that what feminists are accused of, masquerading as men? Beware the bosom buddy next to you lol. Not all fleas are detected in beards.

 

[psalms 91]

lol

 

[ImaginaryDay2]

*Sings*

That... That... DOOOD looks like a LaaaayDay!