Hello Everyone...

This will be the last of our fresh at the market series on this forum. I've pretty much covered the entire year (available by searching), and I certainly appreciate all of the positive responses I have received from many of you during the past year! It's also been a great platform to share information about Swiss markets and the quality fresh products available all year long.

For those who are interested in what we have to say, you can continue to read more (including this month's complete article on March) by checking out our new blog - fresh attitude (oops...a shameful self-promotion). Ok...now a bit about what's fresh at the market in March...

what to look for…
Shopping in March is all about product origin. There are not many Swiss products available so the market is much more open to imports. Products originating from Egypt, Cyprus, Morocco, and Israel are becoming more prevalent. Fresh garlic, tomatoes, new potatoes, and various fruits from these countries are in abundance right now. Spain, Italy, and France, however, continue to supply many of the best products. It is also worth noting many of the fresh products available this time of year are mass-produced in greenhouse environments and contain high levels of pesticides – not to mention a general lack of consideration to the environment or worker rights. There are, however, some very good opportunities to find excellent quality fresh products.

Look for Italian artichokes, which appear right now in three different varieties: the small carciofini, the purple-hued Toscana, or the very spiny spinosa. Also from Italy are some fantastic tomatoes from Sicily and Sardegna. They are often sold with quite a lot of green on them, but they will ripen into red beauties after sitting a couple of days at room temperature. The year’s first potatoes are also showing up at the market. Look for ‘new potatoes’ from Cyprus or Italy – and make sure there is still a good amount of dirt caked on the potato (dirt is a protection against light and heat exposure). Potatoes from last year’s harvest can also be quite good as they have had enough ‘curing’ time to develop flavor and consistency. They are excellent for making potato purées, but they do not keep very long – use them quickly! Other considerations while shopping this month should include: Monk’s Beard from Italy – an unusual wild herb, new garlic from France (toward the end of the month), Broccoli Raab (Cima di Rapa) from Italy, France or Switzerland, radicchio varieties from Italy, chicory from Switzerland, blood oranges from Italy, and lemons from Sicily. On the wild side, consider dandelion greens, young nettle shoots, and bärlauch. From the storage bin, consider various cabbage varieties, broccoli, cauliflower, salsify, winter spinach, and beets. Asparagus are also available at the market, but do avoid all non-European asparagus. Early-season asparagus always comes first from Italy and France. Look to Italy for green asparagus and Cavillon (France) for white asparagus. Fresh fava beans from Spain and Italy will also begin appearing toward the end of the month. more...

Jack

This is excellent, Jack... I'm moving to Zurich soon and this list will come in handy as I'm really looking forward to shopping at the markets again! Glad you have a blog, too - I've put you in my feedreeder. Thanks!

Thanks for the comments (and subscribing to our blog)...I think you will find the markets in Switzerland excellent. Here is a list of the various markets throughout the major locations in Switzerland: fruit & vegetable market locations

Jack

Absolutely top notch advice as always Jack, I'll be taking a print of this to the market with me! And good luck with the Blog

Hi,

I've enjoyed reading Jack's posts and the discussion that they often encourage.

Note to moderators: it would be nice to have a "Food and Drink" section to the forum where Jack's posts could be collected - as well as other items of an epicurean nature. Then those of us wishing for instant gratification would be spared the fun of using the wonderful search facility on these esteemed fora.

Cheers,
Nick

We've discussed this, and plan to come up with an appropriate section in the near future. We just have to figure out how to properly define it (it will be a bit more than just food & drink).

It'll include a coffee and an After Eight mint to round things off....

Cheers,
Nick

Well, we are in Switzerland, so I wouldn't be surprised if it included grappa as well.

Italian blood oranges need a little 'something' to make their juice more hearty: try blending in a large chunk of ginger and a good measure of beetroot for an invigorating kick in the morning. Better than coffee. (Yes, I just wrote that...)

Another interesting way to use Italian blood oranges is to add slices to a salad made of bitter greens (radicchio, dandelion greens, rocket, etc...). Simply toss together with a good olive oil and a 'sassy' vinegar and top with some crumbled feta cheese... Max's idea for the morning is definitely intriguing though...

Jack

Don't want to rain on your parade Jack (nor p*ss on your fire), but wouldn't dandelion leaves act as a diuretic hence their common name

Only if they've aged; young, tender leaves are easy on the system. Same goes for coffee, beer, wine - but you wouldn't cut those outta your diet, would you?

Didn't realise that, apologies Jack, of course I wouldn't consider cutting out the essentials of life from my diet - certainly not beer.

Hi Jack,

Earlier today I was trying to point a new member at the full fresh at the market series, didn't find it so easy to get them all in one go, so here they are:

February 2007
April 2007
May 2007
June/July 2007
August 2007
September 2007
October 2007
January 2008
March 2008

Thanks very much for your efforts.

Yesterday while shopping at Coop I found small pots that had basil, and parsley growing in them on sale. Dunno if its common, but this was the first time I laid my eyes on them. I would really like to have fresh herbs in my kitchen at all times, rather than having to use store bought dried, almost flavourless herbs. The fresh ones that I buy every week either get over in 2-3 days, or wither away and find their way in the trashcan at the end of the week, depending on how much I cook during the week. How difficult is it to grow cilantro/basil/sage/parsley etc at home?

BTW, today I made the first batch of meusli bars..which came out quite good. Am happy that I can make them with very little effort, control the amount of butter, and know the ingredients that make my fav bar. Was praising myself all day for that

I am loving the white asparagus at the moment!!

Basil is a bit delicate and needs much sun. Parsley is sturdy.

If you buy one of those green plastic elongate containers at Migros or Coop (between 40cm and 60cm long), and buy some good potting mix (it has to be dark and contain enough organic material), basil can grow rapidly and abundantly.

However, like he said, they need direct sunlight so once the weather gets hot you might need to water every day or two days. Use liquid fertilizer regularly once they have started to get quite big. Oh, and buy those little clay balls at Migros, and put a layer of 4-5cm on the bottom of the container, and create little watering holes with a screwdriver; you'll see there are 3-4 spots per container already marked. The clay balls helps keeping the plants from drying out too quickly.

I did this for basil, oregano, thyme, summer marjoram, and citron melisse, had about 5 containers in total, and by taking 3-4 harvests throughout the year I ended up with about 25 pots of green pesto. I can still use these now as you can freeze them, and defrost when needed. Toni yoghurt pots are ideal for this. Of course, to create a pesto, you need to chop up these herbs and add pecorino cheese, salt, olive oil, and garlic to taste. I also found the pesto tastes good regardless of the amount of basil. I guess most of these plants are from the same family, and their volatiles must have similar chemical characteristics.
Edit: oh how could I forget the pine nuts. I do add them, but if you are on a budget, roast some cashews or buy roasted and use a pestle and mortar to smash them into bits.

I never had to reseed the plants, I just cut a bit off with scissors and they regrow. With basil however, buy the big leaved variety, and keep picking out the flowers, and pick the big leaves individually, while keeping the plant itself intact. If you do that the basil will regrow its leaves several times, as long as the flowers are not allowed to grow too big and go to seed.

Nice tips re growing the basil but don't forget the pine kernels in the pesto. You've made me hungry now!

Here's a bit of a bump...

The artichokes this year are a bit disappointing so far...but, the blood oranges are fantastic!