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produce

‘Look, don’t touch’ keeps produce healthy and safe

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By Himanee Gupta-Carlson & Madeline McCarthy

Owl Wood Farm, photo by Pattie Garrett

The escarole sat crisply in my display bin at the Saratoga Farmers’ Market. It caught the eye of a customer.

I greeted him, and he asked, “Is this lettuce?” As he did so, his fingers wrapped impulsively around the leaves, cradling them.

“Please,” I said. “Can I ask you not to touch?”

The customer felt bad. I did, too. But as the COVID-19 pandemic continues we all are adapting to new practices of interacting with each other and the fresh foods at the market. Asking customers not to touch products until they have committed to buying them now is among the Saratoga market’s safety rules.

As we celebrate National Farmers Market Week this week, we also highlight how not touching fresh fruits and vegetables minimizes damage while also easing the risk of Coronavirus spread. In addition, the food remains safe and healthy with the farmers being the only ones touching the produce prior to purchase.

But how does one buy without touching?

Raspberries from Burger’s MarketGarden, photo by Pattie Garrett

Jason Heitman of Green Jeans Market Farm helps customers choose tomatoes by asking them what sizes they prefer and when they plan to eat them. He checks the bottoms of tomatoes to gauge their ripeness, noting that not fully ripened fruits will continue to ripen until consumed.

Brian Talmadge of Talmadge Farm encourages customers to choose beans that look wrinkle-free and shine. Cucumbers, he says, also have a shine.

Charles Holub of Scotch Ridge Farm brings handpicked berries to market that have attained enough sweetness to be eaten immediately or frozen for later use.

Greens from Squashville Farm, photo by Pattie Garrett

Such greens as lettuce, kale, and escarole are harvested one or two days before market so they can be washed and cooled for maximum crispness. They might wilt during a market from exposure to sun and wind but will rebound when rinsed in cold water. If stored in a produce bag in the refrigerator, they’ll remain fresh for up to a week.

I explained to my customer who mistook escarole for lettuce that it was a green from the chicory family and often used to make Beans and Greens. I also noted that it, like many other greens, was delicious sautéed with a bit of olive oil, black pepper, and garlic.

He bought the escarole and, like many others, thanked us for keeping the farmers market safe.


This week’s recipe: Spinach Salad with Peaches and Beets

Touch, don’t squeeze: Checking produce for ripeness

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By Himanee Gupta-Carlson

Halls Pond Farm, photo courtesy of Pattie Garrett

Early September is a time of abundance at the Saratoga Farmers’ Market: Summer squashes, tomatoes, and eggplants are plentiful. Fruits such as peaches, plums, cantaloupes, and watermelons are just coming in. The harder shelled delicata, acorn, and spaghetti squashes are making their first appearances, giving market goers much to choose.

With the choices come questions of sweetness and ripeness: Which tomato is sweetest? Will that watermelon be red and juicy when cut, or green and bitter?

There are no easy answers, as one only knows the true taste of such items when they’ve been cut open. And many traditional methods of testing summer produce for ripeness like knocking on melons or squeezing tomatoes are unreliable and potentially damaging.

However, there are a few tricks to determining ripeness.

Gomez Veggie Ville, photo courtesy of Pattie Garrett

“Color, feel, and smell,” says Paul Moyer, of Old World Farm, which brings nearly 50 varieties of tomatoes to market. Moyer picks up a tomato and holds it, “like you would hold a baby or a fragile item that might easily break.” He recommends looking for uniformity in color, touching it very gently for firmness, and smelling it at the base. Similar principles apply to eggplants.

Soft skinned zucchini and summer squash should be firm but not hard and unblemished. They will spoil quickly so are best used soon after purchase. Harder skinned winter squashes, however, will continue to ripen after harvest and often gain sweetness with time.

Farmers harvest some fruits before they reach full ripeness such as peaches or plums to avoid spoilage. They might be rock hard at market but will soften within a few days if kept in a bowl on a counter away from the sun.

Burger’s Marketgarden, photo courtesy of Pattie Garrett

That practice differs, however, for melons, which will remain ripe if picked ripe but will be hard and bitter if harvested too soon, says Ryan Holub, of Scotch Ridge Trees & Berries. Scotch Ridge sells berries in the summer and fall, and seedlings for backyard gardens in spring. Among its offerings this year were watermelon plants, which are producing melons now.

“If it twists off the stem easily, it’s ready,” Holub says, adding that a melon picked too soon has little chance of ripening once off the vine.