{"id":18912,"date":"2014-04-30T18:53:36","date_gmt":"2014-04-30T18:53:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/webcookingclasses.com\/?p=18912"},"modified":"2017-01-19T02:55:11","modified_gmt":"2017-01-19T02:55:11","slug":"farmers-market-truths","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/webcookingclasses.com\/farmers-market-truths\/","title":{"rendered":"3 Truths and 1 Lie About The Farmers Market"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><strong>The farmers market is not a grocery store.<\/strong> A grocery store is a brick-and-mortar retailer who gathers global products that will sell to the largest number of people. If it doesn\u2019t sell, it loses its shelf space.<\/p>\n<div align=\"center\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/uSykm4GrE44\" width=\"640\" height=\"480\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\"><\/iframe><\/div>\n<p><strong>The grocery store has one truth, it\u2019s convenient.<\/strong> However, it also brings many lies.<br \/>\nHow many times have you heard of products making health claims that are then removed because of a court order? Are the \u201cnatural\u201d eggs from anti-biotic fed chickens your definition of natural? The grocery store is more advertising than advocacy.<\/p>\n<p><strong>But, your local farmers market is most often telling the truth.<\/strong> You can ask the guy that picked the tomatoes, chose the eggs, or raised the cow. He\u2019ll tell you more about your food than the mega-mart employee, setting on your way to <a href=\"https:\/\/app.webinarjam.net\/register\/171\/1d1eb3e40e\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow\">cook fresh foods.<\/a><\/p>\n<p><strong>There are three main truths you should bring to your mind for farmers market shopping success<\/strong>, but also be aware of the one lie that is already in your head.<\/p>\n<h2><strong>Truth Number 1: You Need A Flexible Palate To Shop At The Farmers Market<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p><strong>You won\u2019t be able to get everything all the time from local farmers.<\/strong> You may not be able to get some things at all, but that\u2019s okay. The truth is that you should approach your visit with an open mind and an open palate.<\/p>\n<p><strong>With a little awareness, you can recognize which items are the freshest, which are in season, and which will yield the most food enjoyment.<\/strong> This is a dramatic change of thought for many people who buy ingredients for a recipe rather than creating a recipe from the ingredients available.<\/p>\n<p><strong>You have to pay attention to the season to get the most benefits from your local market.<\/strong> If your broccoli has a band reading \u201cMexico\u201d and it\u2019s October, that\u2019s not the freshest product. But, when you anticipate blueberry season and enjoy them fully for 6 weeks, you don\u2019t eat blueberries for the rest of the year. There\u2019s something else to discover just coming into season. When you shop seasonally, you\u2019ll really know how to save on food. http:\/\/howtosaveonfood.com<\/p>\n<p><strong>Please don\u2019t confuse \u201corganic\u201d with local.<\/strong> Produce that is labeled organic has followed certain guidelines AND had the resources to file with the USDA. Many of your local farmers follow the exact same rules, without searching for loopholes, but don\u2019t go through the arduous process of securing the label.<\/p>\n<h2><strong>Truth Number 2: You Need To Spend Cash<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p><strong>Your local farmers are small business owners.<\/strong> They work very hard to provide wholesome food and should be rewarded for these efforts. Using a credit card at the farmers market gives a mega-bank 3 percent of the farmer\u2019s money. Most market purchases are under 10 dollars anyway. Please don\u2019t be the person who uses plastic to buy 3 apples.<\/p>\n<p><strong>The advantage of using cash to you is that it makes you more aware of your purchases. <\/strong> Farmer\u2019s market ingredients are not waxed, gassed, or preserved like the grocery store so they will spoil more quickly. When spending cash, you\u2019ll be limited to buy only what you will cook within the week. There\u2019s no reason to stock up on farmer\u2019s market foods. Next week\u2019s purchase is still in the ground and will be even fresher in 7 days.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Spending cash also helps you with your food budget<\/strong> because it\u2019s so easy to throw additional items into a shopping cart when you flash plastic through the check out line. With cash, you may have to make decisions between which items to buy. That\u2019s an advantage because only so many items will fit within the weekly meal plan anyway.<\/p>\n<h2><strong>Truth Number 3: You Need To Learn How To Cook<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p><strong>I speak with people all the time that want to take advantage of the benefits the farmers market offers<\/strong>, but they don\u2019t know how to cook many of the ingredients there. Without confidence, they search recipes. Recipes call for specific ingredients, and that negates the need for the farmers market, as I said before. It\u2019s a vicious cycle.<\/p>\n<p><strong>You don\u2019t need to be a chef to <a href=\"https:\/\/webcookingclasses.com\/learn-to-cook\">learn to cook<\/a> with the freshest ingredients.<\/strong> As a matter of fact, it\u2019s easier to cook fresh food than packaged foods. When you concentrate on the basic methods of cooking, then you\u2019ll realize it doesn\u2019t matter WHAT you\u2019re cooking when you know HOW to cook it correctly.<\/p>\n<p><strong>To take advantage of this great local food, there are three skills you\u2019ll need in the kitchen.<\/strong> First, knife skills are important because your ingredients won\u2019t come already cut up for you. Second, be able to replicate ONE basic cooking method like grilling, saut\u00e9, or roasting. If you can consistently saut\u00e9 something well, it doesn\u2019t matter if it\u2019s chicken, beef, or vegetables. Third, know how to make sauces. A good sauce can improve the flavor, texture and appearance of any cooked item.<\/p>\n<h2><strong>The Big Lie: The Farmers Market Is Too Expensive<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p><strong>Please stop saying that the farmers market is too expensive. It\u2019s just not true.<\/strong> I think this myth was started by people who shopped there once, on a dare. Having spent their lives ignoring prices at the grocery store, they go local and for the first time scrutinize prices. \u201cOne pepper for a dollar-fifty?\u201d they say, having paid even more by the POUND at the grocery store last week. They haven\u2019t been paying attention.<\/p>\n<p>The farmers market is NOT more expensive when you consider overall value.<br \/>\nThe farmers market is NOT more expensive when you want to help your community.<br \/>\nThe farmers market is NOT more expensive when you care about the earth.<br \/>\nThe farmers market is NOT more expensive when you know the source of your food.<br \/>\nThe farmers market is NOT more expensive when you know what is IN your food<br \/>\nThe farmers market is NOT more expensive when you eat only local and stop snacking.<br \/>\nThe farmers market is NOT more expensive when you spend money on less important things.<br \/>\nThe farmers market is NOT more expensive when you get the value of shopping with family.<br \/>\nThe farmers market is NOT more expensive when you teach your children about good food.<br \/>\nThe farmers market is NOT more expensive when they treat the animals well.<br \/>\nThe farmers market is NOT more expensive when workers are paid a fair wage.<br \/>\nThe farmers market is NOT more expensive when you compare to take out food.<br \/>\nThe farmers market is NOT more expensive when you buy only what you\u2019ll eat.<br \/>\nThe farmers market is NOT more expensive when you care about your health.<br \/>\nThe farmers market is NOT more expensive when you shop there SMART.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Now, it\u2019s your turn. Please leave a comment below and finish this sentence:<br \/>\n\u201cThe farmers market is NOT more expensive when\u2026..\u201d<\/strong><\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The farmers market is not a grocery store. A grocery store is a brick-and-mortar retailer who gathers global products that will sell to the largest number of people. If it doesn\u2019t sell, it loses its shelf space. The grocery store has one truth, it\u2019s convenient. However, it also brings many lies. How many times have<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":23,"featured_media":18918,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","_mi_skip_tracking":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_active":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_note":"","_exactmetrics_sitenote_category":0},"categories":[42],"tags":[177],"yst_prominent_words":[],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/webcookingclasses.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18912"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/webcookingclasses.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/webcookingclasses.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/webcookingclasses.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/23"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/webcookingclasses.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=18912"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/webcookingclasses.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18912\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/webcookingclasses.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/18918"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/webcookingclasses.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=18912"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/webcookingclasses.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=18912"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/webcookingclasses.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=18912"},{"taxonomy":"yst_prominent_words","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/webcookingclasses.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/yst_prominent_words?post=18912"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}