Market vs Supermarket?

jenniewb

I think you have to try and try again with markets. You learn to find the stalls which have decent products and those that don't. Those that don't let you touch the display and then take your order from a hidden box always sound alarm bells- if I wanted to shop like that I'd go to a supermarket and buy a bag of apples, not ask someone else to do a lucky dip for me!

I do find products don't last as long but accept this is due to them not being kept in the same way. Fresh produce from supermarkets is picked then kept in very unnatural conditions, some frozen in various substances (not always ice) others treated with chemicals but most kept in ways that you wouldn't get in nature and this does prolong the life of the food. Stuff at market stalls tends to be bought from huge farmers depots and not kept in such supermarket/perfect conditions and so they begin to decay where as supermarket foods are being kept frozen in time. If you want the more authentic, cheaper priced stuff, you have to be prepared to compromise and if possible, shop a few times a week rather then just once a week for fresh foods.

But a few tips:
Look for foods which are in season, they tend to fare better and are more likely to have a high turn over and so be fresher then other foods. Fresher = can last longer.

As soon as you get home, put everything bar bananas and peaches/plums/tomatos in the fridge (bananas will go black in the fridge, peaches and plums need to ripen but if they are already very ripe then do chill them.)

Vegetables can be frozen. Wash them first- it will save you extra hassel later as they can then be cooked straight from frozen. I prefer to prepare vegetables before freezing, chopping, topping and tailing etc, it just saves me time.

Only buy what you know you are going to eat. Preplan your meals, know what your going to cook, don't expect ideas to suddenly arrive in your mind. Unless your a chef or are used to being inspired by the insides of your kitchen, after a long days work and possible hellish journey home, wondering what to cook can feel like the last thing on your mind so you head for the easiest option, leaving many vegetables behind and ending up needing to throw it away.

Learn what perishes first, use it up first. Don't buy a whole load of will-only-last-two-days vegetables if you are not goint to eat it.

And if in doubt, ask! The stall owners will want to sell to you and make you happy so you come back for more. Ask them what they think will last longer, how to keep it, what to look for if its gone bad. In some cases outter leaves can look bad but the insides are still fine. You don't know this unless you ask.