Years ago in America--and still today, in many parts of the world--food shopping was a part of most families' daily routines. Daily food shopping is useful when:
These days, even though local food and local eating are on the rise and farmers markets are more widely available than they were a few years ago, most of us don’t live close to farming areas, and we certainly don’t go food shopping every day. Even if we’re avid farmers market shoppers and fans of organic local produce, most of us rely on our refrigerators and freezers to carry us through the week, and we rely on the preservatives in packaged foods to keep them fresh.
Fresh, local food items including meats and baked goods don’t stay fresh forever, and organic local produce is free of the pesticides and preservatives that keep grocery store foods perky for extended periods of time. If you plan to rely on farmers markets during the coming spring and summer, a few tips can help you make your bounty last from one week to the next.
If you live by yourself, buy your farmers market fruit in threes. The same rule applies to vegetables like tomatoes, potatoes and carrots. If you’re shopping at the farmers market for a family of four, you can adjust that number to two per person. Of course, if your family is indifferent to tomatoes but tears through summer peaches like a pack of wolves, you can feel free to modify this simple rule of thumb. Weekly purchase amounts for meat, bread and dairy products are more flexible, since these things last a little longer than organic local produce and all of them (including milk) can be frozen if necessary.
There are few things in the world as beautiful as a warm, fragrant loaf of fresh bread. To keep your fresh bread romance alive for a week, cut the loaf in half as soon as you arrive home. Wrap one of the halves and place it immediately into the freezer. By the time the first half is gone, you’ll be at midweek, and you can take the other half out of the freezer and fall in love all over again.
After two days without being used, all farmers market red meat and poultry should go from the refrigerator into the freezer. Fish has a different schedule, and it should be used on the first or second day if possible. If you don’t plan to use your farmers market fish within three days, you should freeze it immediately upon bringing it into the house.
With refrigeration, eggs can last longer than you may realize. But you’ll observe as a few weeks go by that the consistency of a cracked egg changes. The albumen (egg white) spreads out wider and flatter beneath a yolk that is somewhat less brilliant and elastic than it is right after being laid. This is nothing to worry about, but farm fresh eggs are generally tastier and more appealing when they’re eaten within a week.
Many fresh fruits and vegetables can be frozen for use later in the year. However, some produce doesn't freeze well, such as salad greens and lettuce, whole tomatoes, green onions, cucumbers and potatoes. If you want to buy a large quantity of produce to freeze, talk to the farmer or farm stand worker to see what they recommend. Produce should be frozen in sealed, airtight containers and blanched once you are ready to eat them.