Shop Local, Eat Fresh at the Saratoga Farmers' Market | Food, Crafts, Music in Saratoga Springs

Shop Local, Eat Fresh

Wednesday Market

A fresher way to get through the week

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By Emily Meagher

Market at High Rock Park, photo by Pattie Garrett

Weekend farmers’ markets are a great way to unwind from the week, spend time with family and friends, and stock your fridge for the week ahead. But there’s no need to wait until the weekend to do this – the Saratoga Farmers’ Market’s midweek market, rain or shine, on Wednesdays, 3-6 pm, offers a way to get the freshest foods – usually picked off the land the day before or even that morning.

This year’s return of the midweek market to downtown Saratoga in High Rock Park offers a more intimate, slower-paced alternative to the Saturday markets. Product offerings include fresh produce, plants and flowers, eggs, baked goods, prepared foods, tool sharpening services, and more.

Scotch Ridge Berry Farm, photo by Pattie Garrett

Vendors appreciate the market’s different characteristics. “Midweek markets are a great opportunity for farmers since it provides a platform to sell your freshest products that otherwise might not make it to the weekend,” says Charles Holub, owner of Scotch Ridge Berry & Tree Farm. He notes that since his farm doesn’t use pesticides or herbicides, they must pick berries every other day to avoid critters. “And naturally grown fruit doesn’t keep long after picking – just a day or two – so these midweek markets let us sell more of our product,” Holub adds.

For customers, the smaller size of the Wednesday market is a draw, especially this year. “Many customers prefer the smaller crowds – plus it makes it easier to have more meaningful personal interactions with customers,” says Becky Dennison of Shushan Valley Hydro Farms. “Since there’s less traffic, products don’t sell out as quickly, and there’s not such a rush for customers to get to the market. The atmosphere is very laid back,” adds Charles Holub.

Owl Wood Farm, photo by Pattie Garrett

A family-friendly affair, this season’s Wednesday markets will offer the Power of Produce Club with themed activities for children of all ages (running June 30th through September 1). Market-goers can also expect weekly live music and community guests (including the Cornell Cooperative Extension’s Master Gardeners offering gardening tips and soil testing every third Wednesday of the month). Also, on Wednesday, July 21 and Wednesday, August 11, representatives from the Office for the Aging will hand out free Farmers’ Market Nutrition Program coupons to be spent on fruits and vegetables at the farmers’ market.

Visit the Wednesday market every week, 3-6pm at High Rock Park!

This week’s recipe: Pasta with Spring Vegetables

Psst… Some of the best things happen on Wednesdays

By

By Himanee Gupta-Carlson

Burger’s MarketGarden, photo by Pattie Garrett

Weekends are market days for many farmers. But the Saratoga Farmers’ Market would like you to let you in on a secret – there’s a midweek market, as well.

Tucked into a corner of the Wilton Mall parking lot is the Wednesday market, featuring about 15 local farmers and prepared food vendors. From 3 p.m. to 6 p.m., they offer eggs, fresh produce, plants, baked goods, and prepared foods.

“It’s our best-kept secret,” says market board president Beth Trattel. “A simple way to pick up the freshest foods in a safe, no-fuss environment.”

In years past, the market association promoted its Wednesday market as a family-friendly space to gather for music, children’s games, and food purchases. This year, with COVID-19 restrictions on public gatherings in place, live music and games are on pause. But farmers are still coming.

518 Farms mushrooms, photo by Pattie Garrett

Who’s there and what are they bringing? Here’s a snapshot.

As you enter the market from the former Bon Ton parking lot, flowering plants and other seedlings from Burger Farm greet you. Nearby, Shushan Valley Hydro Farms offers hydroponically grown herbs and vegetables. Surrounding Shushan are baked confections from The Chocolate Spoon, casseroles from The Food Florist, and Mediterranean meals to go from Euro Delicacies.

Further into the market are more farmers: Owl Wood Farm and Gomez Veggie Ville with their colorful piles of vegetables; eggs, chicken, and more vegetables at Squashville and Green Jeans farms; mushrooms and lavender at 518 Farms; and apples and cider of both the sweet and hard type from Saratoga Apple. On another end, you’ll find My Dacha Slovenian Café with its meals-to-go offerings. And tucked in between other stalls are Saratoga Garlic with its pickled garlic and aioli offerings, Gifford Farms with produce and baked goods; and Mister Edge’s popular knife sharpening service.

Gomez Veggie Ville, photo by Pattie Garrett

More vendors will start attending as the state eases its COVID-19 restrictions.

For now, Wednesday remains a great space to get the fresh ingredients for one or two meals, perhaps a prepared meal for Friday, and a few sweet treats. Try carrots dipped in aioli , scrambled eggs with arugula, radishes and lettuce tossed in a salad, and more.

 

See our full listing of this season’s Wednesday vendors

Wednesdays at the Saratoga Farmers’ Market

By

By Himanee Gupta-Carlson

When the opening bell rings at 3 p.m. next Wednesday at High Rock Park, the Saratoga Farmers’ Market will begin its 41st season.

The Wednesday market runs May 1-October 30, from 3-6 p.m. Like the Saturday market, it offers a wide array of amazing foods fresh from our region’s local farms, along with locally made wines and spirits, art, and meals to go.

For many market regulars, the Wednesday market is the farmers’ market at its best. It offers an opportunity to browse at a leisurely pace, planning a few nights’ meals while listening to local music, and taking part in a series of all-ages activities.

Earn a $2 Bicycle Benefits coin each time you ride to the Farmers’ Market

“The intimate size of our midweek market creates a more relaxed pace,” says market activities coordinator Julia Howard. “It’s a little more spacious, airy. It’s a great way to meet up with friends.”

This year, the market is celebrating eight new vendors:
● Goode Farm, fresh and dried flowers and wreaths;
● Slate River Farm, herbs, meats, eggs, and seasonal ramps and fiddlehead ferns;
● High Peaks Distilling, spirits;
● Italian Market, pasta sauces;
● Alaturco Mediterranean Grill, gyros;
● Oliver’s Café, crepes and kettle corn;
● Left Field, snow cones; and
● Vedanta du Mas Designs, art.

As always, the Wednesday market will offer free music, children’s activities, its Power of Produce Club, and information booths. About 20 other vendors – ranging from small farmers to local artists and food entrepreneurs – will be returning to the market, as well.

Power of Produce Club at the Wednesday market

The Tisch Family Band will serenade market visitors on opening day. Throughout the season, the market will participate in the Bicycle Benefits program, and host tours. Market staff also are planning to organize monthly bus trips for Saratoga seniors.

As a shopper and a farmer, I look forward every year to the start of the Wednesday market. It evokes the historic roots of Saratoga’s producer-only market and the region’s agricultural heritage. I enjoy talking to vendors as I fill my bags with great foods for a few days before I return to the market Saturday to replenish.

Alexander’s Bakery Makes Allergen Free Treats Its Focus

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By Mariah Rankin

 

Vicki Brignati always loved to bake. But when her son Alex was diagnosed with severe allergies to peanuts, tree nuts and peas, her baking took on a different meaning.

“Her life became devoted to learning everything there was to know about food allergies and keeping him safe,” says Kristen Poulin, who co-owns Alexander’s Bakery with Brignati. “Alexander’s Bakery was created with a simple premise – everyone should be able to enjoy baked goods safely.”

Brignati and Poulin brought Alexander’s Bakery to the Saratoga Farmers’ Market this year. At their stall, located on the north end of High Rock Park on Wednesdays, they offer a range of baked goods, all of which are free of such allergens as peanuts, tree nuts, dairy, egg, soy, wheat, fish, and shellfish. They also sell at the market’s Clifton Park location on Mondays.

Alexander’s Bakery’s goods also are vegan and gluten-free. In this sense, Brignati and Poulin represent a small but growing group of prepared food businesses that are dedicated to creating foods anyone can eat.

“We quickly realized that we were filling a gap,” say Brignati and Poulin.

“We have been so warmly received by people with food allergies and sensitivities. They have told us many times how happy they are that we exist. We’ve also been well-received by many people who do not have food allergies or sensitivities. They simply love our products.”

Among the favorites is a whoopie pie that also is vegan, gluten-free, and made without the major allergens that plague many residents of the Capital area and others nationwide.

In addition to eliminating allergens, Brignati and Poulin try to take advantage of local, seasonal ingredients whenever possible. They debuted an iced blueberry lemon cookie at the market’s blueberry festival in late July. As fall approaches, they’re looking forward to unveiling iced pumpkin spiced mini muffins and apple cinnamon granola. The latter features locally grown apples that Brignati and Poulin dry themselves.

The pair describes the summer and their decision to sell at three farmers’ markets as a big step. They look forward to continued growth through the fall and next year.

The Saratoga Farmers’ Market is 3-6 p.m. Wednesdays and 9 a.m.-1 p.m. Saturdays at High Rock Park. Find us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram, and check us out on the FreshFoodNY app. E-mail friends@saratogafarmers.org for volunteer opportunities.

Garlic and the Love of Farming

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By Himanee Gupta-Carlson

 

Jim and Himanee Gupta-Carlson, owners of Squashville Farm, photo courtesy of Pattie Garrett

My husband Jim and I love garlic. Not just the sight, smell, and taste of the bulbs, which are at their peak season now at the Saratoga Farmers’ Market, but everything about the planting, tending, and harvesting of it.

We began growing garlic seven years ago, well before our backyard land became Squashville Farm. We started with cloves we got from the Row to Hoe Farm. The following year, we purchased garlic in bulk and began saving seed. By 2015, we were harvesting about 600 bulbs a year.

During those years, we also helped form the Friends of the Saratoga Market volunteer organization. In that capacity, we got to know local farmers, learned more about growing food, grew an increasing variety of vegetables, and began raising laying hens, meat chickens, and goats.

This spring, we became vendors at Saratoga’s Wednesday market. At our stall, just past the central pavilion on the north end, you will find lettuce, kale, chard, and other greens; a range of seasonal vegetables; eggs, chicken, and several cuts of goat meat. And, of course, garlic. This is the food we grow to eat and enjoy offering to others.

Garlic comes in numerous varieties, and we like to sample a lot of them. We do this by traveling to the Hudson Valley Garlic Festival in Saugerties, where we meet growers and taste their wares. We decide what to plant based on what our taste buds like.

This year, we chose three varieties, one from each of the “hard neck” families. Our Red Chesnok is a purple stripe, great for baking and eating roasted; our Georgian Heat is a porcelain, great for general cooking and longer-term storage; and our Ukrainian Red is a rocambole, known for having a lot of cloves in varying sizes and a true garlic taste.

We planted cloves in November. They sprouted in the spring. The sprouts turned into stalks that produced scapes in June, which we cut off and sold. The stalks then turned brown, telling us it was time to harvest.   

As my husband notes, garlic is magical. It’s a year-round anticipation, planning, and celebration of farm-grown food.

The Saratoga Farmers’ Market is 3-6 p.m. Wednesdays and 9 a.m.-1 p.m. Saturdays at High Rock Park. Find us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram, and check out the FreshFoodNY app. E-mail friends@saratogafarmers.org for volunteer opportunities.

 

Wednesday at the Farmers’ Market – A festival of fresh

By

By Himanee Gupta-Carlson

 

Market shopper, photo courtesy of Pattie Garrett

The Saratoga Farmers’ Market starts its outdoor season Wednesday at High Rock Park, with 28 vendors – seven of which are new. For the next six months, the market runs from 3-6 p.m. Wednesdays and 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturdays.

Why visit the market twice a week?

Market administrator Julia Howard has a simple answer: Everything is fresh.

The Wednesday market creates a space for families, downtown workers, and others to plan their midweek meals as they shop.

“Envision this as dinner Wednesday,” says market administrator Julia Howard. “Fresh-cut pasta noodles, cooked at home, with fresh feta cheese, hydroponic tomatoes and a parsley garnish. Add any number of vegetables from our produce vendors on the side, and cider or wine.”

For breakfast the next morning, Howard adds, try farm-fresh eggs and maple syrup, and perhaps a couple of goat riblets, chicken or a steak for dinner the next night.

“There will be so much good food this year at the Wednesday market,” Howard said. “There’s no reason not to make it a part of your meal planning for the week.”

Midweek markets are a boon for farmers from late spring through early fall when seasonal produce grows rapidly and is at its freshest. By having an opportunity to sell produce more than once a week, farmers are able to supply customers with a larger share of their harvests, which reduces spoilage.

Many farmers also use the market as a space to sell seedlings and container plants. Wednesday’s opening market celebrates this tradition by offering children and others an opportunity to plant a seed at the market, place their name on a label, and over the weeks to come, to watch it grow.

New vendors include pasta makers Mangiamo LLC, the Saratoga Winery, Infinite Concepts jewelry, and produce/meat farmers Green Jeans Market Farm, Halls Pond Farm, Ramble Creek Farm, and Squashville Farm. Joining these vendors are 11 returning produce farmers, a dairy farmer, a maple and honey producer, three baked goods vendors, two prepared foods vendors, two artists, and a knife sharpener.

The Saratoga Farmers’ Market will hold its last indoor market for the season from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. tomorrow at the Lincoln Baths Building in the Saratoga Spa State Park. The market will be outdoors 3-6 p.m. Wednesdays and 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturdays at High Rock Park.