Shopping a farmers' market with a plan

A farmers’ market is a wonderful place to spend a Saturday morning and an easy place to spend too much money on things you won’t cook. The tables are beautiful, the samples are tempting, and it is easy to come home with six bunches of herbs and no dinner. A short plan keeps the pleasure and avoids the waste.

Before you go

1. Check what is likely in season. In most parts of Canada, spring brings greens, rhubarb and asparagus, summer brings berries, tomatoes and corn, and fall brings squash, apples, root vegetables and storage crops. Winter markets, where they exist, lean on roots, preserves, baked goods and eggs.
2. Look at your week. Decide how many dinners you want to cook, and for how many people. Write a loose list rather than a strict one.
3. Check the fridge. Note what you already have so you do not double up.
4. Bring bags and cash. Sturdy reusable bags, a cooler bag for meat, dairy or fish, and small bills make everything quicker. Many vendors take cards, but not all.

Walk first, buy second

Do one complete loop before spending anything. You will see who has the best-looking tomatoes, which stall has the fresh eggs and where the crowds are heading. Then circle back with a clearer picture. This also helps you compare prices without hovering over a stand.

Go early for the best selection, especially for popular items like eggs, baked goods and delicate greens. Go late for a chance at better deals, since some growers would rather sell than haul things home. Both are fine; they simply suit different goals.

Talk to the people who grow the food

This is the great advantage of a market. Growers can tell you what is at its best this week, how to cook it and how long it will keep. Useful questions include:

• What is best this week?
• Is this ripe now or will it need a few days?
• How do you like to cook it?
• When does this variety finish for the season?

You do not need to ask about everything. Often a short chat leads you to a lesser-known vegetable you would have walked past, and a cook’s best weeknight dinner begins that way.

What to buy first

Buy the delicate things and the heavy things at different times:

• Early in your loop: eggs, bread and anything that sells out
• Mid-loop: vegetables, fruit and herbs
• Last: meat, fish, dairy and anything that must stay cold, so it spends the least time out of the fridge

If you have a cooler bag, keep chilled items in it, and get them home and into the fridge promptly. Perishable food should not sit in a hot car for long.

Buy for the week, not the whole market

A reasonable rule: choose a few foundations and a couple of treats.

• Foundations: two or three vegetables you will cook several ways, a leafy green, onions or garlic, potatoes or squash
• Treats: a punnet of berries, a good cheese, a jar of something preserved, a loaf of bread

Seasonal abundance can tempt you into a bulk deal. Buy extra only if you have a plan, such as roasting, freezing, pickling or making soup.

Taking it home

Store things as soon as you arrive.

• Trim and wash leafy greens, dry them well and wrap them in a clean towel inside a container.
• Remove tops from carrots, radishes and beets, since leaves draw moisture from the roots.
• Keep tomatoes at room temperature, out of the fridge, until fully ripe.
• Keep onions, garlic and potatoes in a cool, dark, ventilated spot, and separate from each other.
• Refrigerate berries unwashed and rinse them just before eating.
• Wash all produce before eating, even if you plan to peel it.

What can go wrong

• Arriving hungry. You buy too much. Eat something first.
• Skipping the list. You end up with ingredients that don’t make a meal.
• No bags. Heavy items crush tender ones. Pack tomatoes and eggs on top.
• Over-ripe produce. Ask which items are meant for today and which for later in the week.

A table from the market

A market haul can become a whole dinner with very little effort: a salad of the freshest greens, roasted vegetables, a tray of cheese and bread, and eggs for anyone who is still hungry. For a more structured dinner built around seasonal food, our road trip meals across Canada piece has ideas for eating locally on the go, and the eat local section has more.

Shopping with a plan is not about restricting yourself. It is about leaving the market with food you are excited to cook, and having a good conversation or two along the way.