Saturdays start early for farmers market fans who grab reusable shopping bags, jostle for parking spaces and hit the stands. It's how you get the best pickings of fresh produce, herbs, flowers, artisanal cheeses, organic eggs and just-baked breads.
It's also the way to learn about the foods you're buying by asking the same people who grew the vegetables or made the cheese.
On a recent Saturday at the Peachtree Road Farmers Market, a woman was attracted to a beautiful display of heirloom tomatoes but also hesitant to buy any.
She asked the farmer, "How do I know which ones to pick?" He replied: "Well, it depends when you want to eat them. If you want them for today, choose the really ripe red ones. If you want them for a few days from now, choose the firmer ones that will ripen on the kitchen counter."
She smiled and began her personal harvest from the farmer's selection.
More farmers markets
August is National Farmers Market Month, and the U.S. Department of Agriculture reports a 9.6 percent increase in the number of farmers markets over the past year.
While Georgia can't beat California's 827 markets or New York's 647, the percentage of growth in the Southeast region beats the national average at 13.1 percent, according to the 2012 edition of the USDA's National Farmers Market Directory.
Marilyn Wright Yon, a dietitian with the School Nutrition Program for Georgia's Department of Education, likes to visit farmers markets so much she seeks them out while on vacation.
"You find amazing things and meet really interesting people," Yon said.
She recommends bringing a small cooler, especially if buying cheese, eggs or meat.
"Buy something new to you to try," Yon said. "Ask how to prepare it if needed."
Chefs and farmers
For additional advice, check out the chef demos that are often part of the entertainment and education for shoppers. The Peachtree Road Farmers Market and Morningside Farmers Market, for instance, feature local chefs and cookbook authors each week. Rebecca Lang, the author of "Quick-Fix Southern" showed people what to do with the summer's bumper crop of corn and tomatoes.
You'll even see chefs leading private tours of the market. I saw Linton Hopkins, executive chef of Restaurant Eugene, lead an eager bunch of foodies as he introduced them to farmers and spoke about unusual varieties of foods or especially tasty ones.
Executive chef Thomas McKeown of the Grand Hyatt in Buckhead is a regular at the Peachtree Road Farmers Market, where he recently demonstrated how to prepare a goat cheese mousse with heirloom tomato jam.
But McKeown also goes to visit one of his favorite farmers, Cory Mosser of Burge Organic Farms of Mansfield.
"I use Burge's produce in the hotel restaurant, where we have a big commitment to supporting local farms," McKeown said.
He'll be on Mosser's farm Aug. 19 to cook lunch for volunteers pitching in to work the fields.
"It's a crop mob. You've heard of a flash mob right?" McKeown said. "Well this is an organized effort to help farmers with volunteer labor."
What a great way to celebrate National Farmers Market Month.
Carolyn O'Neil is a registered dietitian and co-author of The Dish on Eating Healthy and Being Fabulous! Email her at carolynoneil@aol.com
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