10 Farmers' Market Shopping Tips

Shopping at farmers’ markets is the easiest way to eat locally. However, more than one shopper has come home with bags of produce that went bad before he could figure out how to cook them. And many others have left after a morning's tour around the stalls only to go home with a bunch of carrots and a dazed expression. A bit of planning can keep weekly shopping for produce at a farmers’ market fun and make cooking a snap all week long.

1. Know Your Seasons
If you know a bit of what to expect when you get to the farmers’ market, making decisions at each stall is much easier. Learn what grows in your area when and talk to the growers about what will be coming to market in upcoming weeks.

2. Go Early or Go Late
For the best selection, go to the farmers’ market early. The best goods go first. Popular items may sell out before the day is done. It’s as simple as that. For the best deals, go to the farmers’ market late. Farmers and other vendors usually prefer to discount products instead of loading them back up and schlepping them home.

3. Bring Big Bags & Small Change
Some farmers’ market vendors offer bags, but they tend to be thin and flimsy plastic ones that groan under the pressure of any substantial produce purchase. Make sure everything gets home from the farmers’ market without crashing onto the sidewalk or spilling onto the floor of your car by bringing your own sturdy canvas or nylon bags. A backpack can make the hauling easier, especially for weighty or bulky items.
Although vendors will make change, purchases will go easier and faster if you have exact (or close to exact) change. At some farmers’ markets "small change" means dimes and nickels. In larger urban areas many products at farmers’ markets are sold in dollar or fifty-cent increments.

4. Sketch Meals Ahead of Time
Since you know what you're likely to find at the farmers’ market, you can do a bit of meal planning and shop accordingly. For example, if local asparagus has just come into season you know you'll want to eat it all week, do some planning, i.e. what recipes you will be using, so you'll know how many bunches of asparagus to buy.

5. Plan For Spontaneity
Yes, you’ll fair better if you plan your trip to the farmers’ market. However, you need to leave a bit of wiggle room for those strawberries you didn't know would be at market so early, or the zucchini blossoms you've never tried before. Trying new things is part of the fun of going to farmers’ markets.

6. Work In Volume
The best deals at the farmers’ market are had when you buy in bulk. You'll enjoy the best flavors and the best prices when you buy lots of whatever is at its harvest peak. How to use it all up? Try new recipes with favorite vegetables or learn the lost art of preserving food. Freezing, canning and drying are just some of the ways you can save seasonal tastes you find at the farmers’ market for later in the year.

7. Think "Whole Foods"
No, not that “Whole Foods” – think in terms of how food grows and comes to the farmers’ market without being processed first. Carrots come whole and unpeeled. Beets still have greens (and dirt) attached. Learning to handle just-harvested produce can take some getting used to, but the superior flavor is worth the adjustment.

8. Get Advice
If you find a vegetable that’s new to you at the farmers’ market and want to give it a try, ask the farmer how to prepare it. For the best tips specifically ask how they like to eat it.

9. Invest in Wheels
If you buy a lot every week, consider acquiring a wheeled cart or wagon (strollers make wonderful conveyances for fruits and vegetables) to get your haul from the farmers’ market home in one trip.

10. Keep It Simple
You’re buying ultra-fresh produce when you shop at the farmers’ market, let its natural flavor shine through when you cook it. Keep preparations simple. You’ll make cooking easier and you’ll be likely to try (and eat) even more local foods from the farmers’ market next week.

Adapted from www.about.com Guide