Each fall here in the southeast you’ll find cartons of giant purple grapes with a very thick skin called Muscadines.  They are part of the family of “slip-skin” grapes, as are their green-gold cousins the Scuppernong, and Concord grapes from the northeast.  “Slip-skin means” that the flesh can be easily popped out of the skins by squeezing the side of the grape and popping the flesh out of the top stem opening.  This is the method in which they are usually eaten since the flesh itself is edible but quite thick and leathery.  Quite often I will honestly just eat the whole thing, sometimes including the seeds, and consider it an addition to my daily dietary fiber!  Both Muscadines and Scuppernongs are often used for making a sweet style of wine here in the south.

A couple of years back I started offering a class called “Fresh from the Market” where I would take guests to the farmer’s market to shop for produce for a seasonal market-inspired menu.  That first fall we had many people that had never seen Muscadine grapes, much less eaten them.  Quite honestly, they were fairly new to me as well.  The first time I tried one the taste immediately reminded me of ruby port wine and I couldn’t get that thought out of my head.  I then began to think of how the two could be brought together and this recipe was the result of that experimentation.

Muscadines in Port Wine Syrup with Vanilla Ice Cream

The thick-skinned Muscadine grape is native to the southeastern United States and has been cultivated here since the 16^th century. Skinning and seeding the grapes can be a little tedious but will be worth it when you taste this sweet treat! If you don’t mind a little extra fiber in your diet and a bit of crunch, you can skip the part of seeding the grapes.  This isn’t a hard and fast recipe.  you just want to have a nice thick flavorful syrup in which to poach the grapes.  Adjust all quantities as you like or need.

Yield: 8 Servings
1 dry quart muscadine grapes  (“dry quart” is the labeling term for the large plastic clamshell container that they are commonly packed in)
½ cup of reserved muscadine juice from peeling the grapes (add water if necessary to bring up to ½ cup)
½ cup port wine
3/4 cup granulated sugar
2 quarts vanilla ice cream

Peel the muscadines by holding over a medium bowl with stem end facing the bowl. Squeeze the grape with your thumb, index and middle finger until the top splits open and the flesh is ejected from the skin. Place the grape skins in a 1-quart saucepan. Remove seeds by either cutting the flesh in half and poking them out, or squeeze the seeds out the stem end of the grape. Set seeded grapes aside.

Strain the juice from the peeled grapes and add water if necessary to bring the quantity up to ½ cup. Place grape juice into the saucepan with the skins and add the remaining ingredients. Bring to a simmer and cook for about 30 minutes or until mixture is syrupy and reduced by half. If the grape skins are not tender to the bite, continue to simmer.  Add peeled grapes to sauce and serve warm over ice cream.

As the days shorten and grow cooler, the autumn months are one of my favorite. Perhaps it’s the respite from the heat of summer, the new season of vegetables and cooler weather that inspire “comfort cooking”, or a combination of both. For some people I think it’s the “routine” that we often fall into this time of year. That annual routine of holidays and celebrations starting with various weekend harvest festivals and then stretching to Halloween, Thanksgiving and the climax of Christmas and New Years.

I love the distinct sweet, hearty and flavorful creations that come from cooking this time of year. Winter squash is piled high in the markets and pomegranates and figs are brightening the shelves and just waiting to add a sparkle of color and touch of flavor to our meals.

Pumpkins are a versatile fruit that often get relegated to the role of decorative element or pie ingredient. We often forget that the native Americans depended upon them along with other squashes as a primary food source, more typically eaten in savory preparations rather than desserts. The fact is, most things that can be done with butternut and acorn squash can also be done with pumpkins. Of course they make delicious soups but how often have you served pumpkin as a side dish or part of a salad?

When selecting pumpkins for cooking, focus on the smaller “pie pumpkins” or the miniature varieties often known as “Jack-be-Little”. Pie pumpkins also known as “sugar pumpkins” are best for cooking as they tend to have a denser flesh with less water to dilute flavor and a greater percentage of sugar for flavor. The miniature pumpkins, which most people don’t even realize are edible, are great for single serving salads, soups, desserts, and even casserole-style dishes. When selecting pumpkins, look for those that are weighty for their size and are firm without any soft spots. Store pumpkins and winter squash in a cool dry place until ready to use.

If you’re using them for soups or need the puree, the easiest method of cooking them is to treat them like any other winter squash and split them in half lengthwise, scoop out the seeds and then place cut-side down on a parchment or foil-lined (to minimize clean-up) baking sheet. Roast in a 375-400F degree oven until soft to touch on the exterior.

Placing them cut-side down allows the interior moisture to help steam and soften them. When softened, cool and scrape the flesh from the interior of the skin.

Miniature pumpkins are both attractive and edible! Scoop the interior seeds, season the interior and roast upside down until tender. Fill them with pumpkin pie mix, corn pudding or even your favorite meatloaf mixture and bake until cooked through. Salad greens and seasonal fruits such as figs, dates, and pears can be arranged inside the roasted pumpkins for a decorative salad that can be assembled in advance.

What kind of wine should I use when I’m cooking?

As Julie Andrews once sang: “Let’s start at the very beginning…” :

Do not use “cooking wine”.

Look next to the vinegars in any grocery store and you’ll find an array of bottles labeled “white cooking wine”, “Cooking Sherry”, “Cooking Marsala”, etc. The reason they are not sold in the wine aisle is due to their classification as a “food product” because of the addition of salt. Some people say that “cooking wine” came to have salt added in order to keep chefs and cooks from imbibing on the job. Sadly, this is probably true. Unfortunately when wine is reduced during the cooking process, so is the salt rendering it very difficult to control the final seasoning and resulting in a less than ideal flavor.

“Don’t cook with a wine that you wouldn’t drink”

This is a common recommendation and acts a good base guideline. I say base guideline because it’s not necessary to spend a lot of money on an expensive bottle of wine that’s intended for the Daube de Boeuf (beef stew) or Coq au Vin (chicken braised in red wine). I was recently discussing this very topic with guests in one of my cooking classes. They were quite surprised to hear that most restaurants don’t use the pricy bottles of wines from the wine list for their sauces and reductions. Sure, there are always exceptions and in the case of a special wine dinner where the menu item is going to be paired with a specific wine the same wine is probably being used in the dish. However, in the restaurants that I’ve worked, the only time that a pricier bottle of wine made its way to the kitchen was when it was left over from a banquet or special occasion function. Even then, it would probably fall prey to sampling by the wait and culinary staff before it ever had a chance to make its mark on the menu. I generally don’t recommend paying any more than about $10-$12 a bottle for a intended for cooking. Most wine used for cooking in restaurant kitchens is going to be, hold your breath…are you ready? Jug wine. WHAT? ?? I can hear your collective gasps but yes, it’s true. You can do the same and not feel ashamed. After deglazing a pan with wine for a sauce it should generally be allowed to simmer and reduce in volume by two-thirds before continuing with further ingredients. The reduction of the wine helps to concentrate flavors and extended cooking will help to prevent a strong alcoholic flavor. When less expensive wines are reduced and blended with the many other flavors and ingredients, your guests will generally not have a clue as to whether you started off with an inexpensive option, or a pricier “made for drinking” model. Wines that are best are those that are medium-bodied so that they don’t completely overwhelm and dominate other flavors. Remember wine is one component of a sauce, not the only flavor. Unless you’re using wine in a sweet application, it’s generally a good idea to avoid white wines that are sweet such as Riesling. As with anything in cooking however, experimentation when you have the time and opportunity can provide new discoveries. Years ago during a corporate team-building and creativity experience that I put together for a group of corporate chefs we gave them six different styles of white and rose wine to use for making a butter sauce. The team that received the White Zinfandel felt slighted and were initially upset. When it came time for the taste test….one of everyone’s favorite butter sauces was the one produced from the White Zinfandel. Lesson: Experiment and see for yourself! Even when it comes to fortified wines such as sherry, Marsala, and Madeira there are plenty of options available that are under the $12 price point.

“Leftover wine? What’s that???

If you have no idea of what leftover wine is, or choose to cook with but not drink wine, there are some good options. The large bottles of “jug wine” are a good economical value for those who use large volumes such as restaurants. Most people probably don’t cook with that much frequently enough to use it up before it goes “off” and develops unpleasant flavors from oxidation. The easiest and most economical way to avoid this is to use Bag in the Box (BIB) wine. BIB wine is perfect for both frequent and infrequent users due to the fact that it’s sealed in an airtight bladder, allowing it to sit in your pantry at your disposal when needed. Another nice benefit is the array of package sizes available… everything from “juice box” size to the super jumbo economy pack. Simply dispense what you need and leave it in the pantry until the next time.

Storing Leftover Wine for Cooking

If you do have leftover drinking wine you either need to start buying better wine, or get new friends! Or perhaps you need to start inviting me to join you…

Seriously though, you do have a few options:

• First, keep in mind that chilling things will slow down chemical reactions and therefore slow the potential for wine to turn to vinegar.
• White wines are generally stored just fine in the refrigerator. Do remember however, the less oxygen in the bottle, the longer the shelf-life of the wine.
• When refrigerated red wines can throw off and have precipitation of sediment. This isn’t harmful but will add particles to whatever you add the wine to. If this has occurred, simply strain the wine. To prevent it from occurring, pour the wine into a smaller container to minimize the oxygen in contact with it and store at room temperature.
• In either case you can use one of many methods that usually involve pumping oxygen out of the bottle, or spray cans that add a layer of nitrogen (heavier than oxygen) to the bottle to prevent the surface of wine from contacting with oxygen.
• Freeze your wine in small containers, whether it be small storage containers or even ice cube trays each with a tablespoon or two of wine in the compartments will help you to maximize the benefit of any leftover wine.

Alcohol Cooks off During Cooking, right?

Actually, no. The intensity and undesirable volatile aromatic compounds of alcohol will cook off with the initial cooking but it actually takes a long time for the majority of alcohol to be cooked out of a dish. It will also depend on the method of cooking being utilized. According to the USDA Table of Nutrient Retention Factors, when wine is added to a boiling liquid, 85% of the alcohol remains. Even after extended cooking of about 2 ½ hours there is still about 5% alcohol remaining. Keep in mind that those numbers are a percentage of the original volume of alcohol and of course it’s being greatly diluted by everything else in the sauce.

I figured an appropriate follow-up to the previous discussion on “TomatoLand” would be one featuring what else…tomatoes!

It’s mid-summer and the tomatoes are popping off the plants!

If you’re not growing them yourself then try to get them from a farmstand or farmer’s market for the best flavor.  Here in the Savannah area the best tomatoes (and peaches) are to be gotten from Jerry Polk.   Jerry used to have a produce market on Liberty street here in the historic district but due to declining business and high rent he had to close this past January.  Luckily he hasn’t left he business altogether as he and his wife still sell produce at a street-side stand near Teeple’s Seafood on Victory Drive (3209 E. Victory Drive, Savannah).  His sister Becky Polk-Bashlor operates “Polk’s Plus” where I live here in Pooler, GA  (807 US Hwy 80 W., Pooler, GA).

Tomato Tips

• Select fruit that have plump taut skin and have a deep intense color.
• Select fruit that have an aromatic quality.
• For best flavor store at room temperature out of direct sunlight.  Chilling shuts down enzymes responsible for flavor as well as causes the interior cells to burst, resulting in a “mealy” texture.
• If a tomato is cut but not completely used, place on a plate covered with plastic wrap and store on the counter, using it in the next 24-48 hours.  Even sliced tomatoes will lose their flavor in the refrigerator.
• When slicing tomatoes, slice vertically instead of horizontally to yield slices that generally have more solid meat content and stay together when picked up to put on sandwiches, burgers, etc.
• For best flavor, season tomato slices with salt and pepper before building your sandwiches and burgers.
• Plum varieties of tomatoes (such as Roma) are generally preferred for cooking due to the fact that they have a higher percentage of solid meat content and less water thus resulting in less volume loss due to evaporation during cooking.
• Peel tomatoes by scoring the bottom of the tomato with a sharp knife in an “x” shape.  Drop a few at a time into a pot of rapidly boiling water for about 30 seconds and then using a slotted spoon, remove and shock in a bath of ice water to stop the cooking and quick chill them.  The skin will then slide right off.
• The term “Concasse” in recipes and menus refers to tomatoes that have been peeled, seeded, and diced.
• While classically it is considered “proper” to always seed a tomato when dicing it, scientists have now determined that a lot of the flavor of a tomato is contained within the gel that surrounds the seeds.  If the texture of tomato seeds doesn’t bother you or give you indigestion as it does with some people, leave the seeds in.  Otherwise, you can rub the gel and seeds through a fine mesh strainer to reserve and use the tomato juice and gel while still removing the seeds.
• To seed a tomato:  Considering the stem end as the “north pole”, cut the tomato in half horizontally at it’s equator.  One at a time, hold each tomato half cut-side down over a bowl and squeeze out the seeds.
• Ever tried chasing a cherry or grape tomato across the plate and onto the table before you were able to stab it???  Do your guests a favor and cut cherry, teardrop and grape tomatoes in half or in quarters (depending on their size) when using them in salads so that your guests don’t have to worry about making a scene or squirting someone in the eye when eating it!
• Bumper crop of tomatoes and no time or inclination to can them?  Simply wash them and then place in freezer bags…no blanching, peeling, cooking, or cutting necessary.  Place in the freezer and store up to a year.  The skins will slide off as they thaw and you can then make a “fresh” tomato sauce or soup in the middle of January!
• While you’re grilling, smoke or char-grill tomatoes and stick them in the freezer for use in sauces and soups such as smoked tomato bisque.  Cut the tomatoes in half and grill until charred or smoke them over indirect heat.  Tomatoes can also be smoked in the oven.
• Recipes calling for green tomatoes are using tomatoes that are simply unripe.  While some varieties such as Green Zebra are actually green when ripe, “green tomato” recipes came about as a way of using tomatoes that wouldn’t have time to ripen before the frosts of fall.  The tomatoes could be picked and put in the root cellar or other cool places for alternate recipe usage.  A raw green tomato has a tart to neutral taste and is very similar to eating a tart green apple or mild flavored melon. 

If you’ve ever joined me for one of my cooking classes here in Savannah or elsewhere, no doubt you’ve probably heard one of my tirades about the taste (or rather the lack thereof) of grocery store tomatoes.  If you haven’t heard my “lecture”, here’s the point:  Tomatoes WILL NOT RIPEN once they’ve been picked.  Sure, I know you’ve set them on the countertop  or the windowsill until they turned red and softened.  That my friends is called decomposition, not ripening.  The reason most grocery store tomatoes have not taste is because they are picked green.

When I first moved to Florida I tried planting tomatoes in April which is when I planted them out in California.  Due to the poor soil and the fact I just wanted a few plants I took a cue from my mother who used to grow hers in 5 gallon nursery buckets.  They began to take off, growing quickly and starting to produce flowers.  By early to mid June I had harvested one or two small ripe tomatoes but despite the fact they were flowering like crazy, nothing else was happening.  After bringing my issue to a Disney horticulturalist that worked with me at the Disney Institute, he showed me the error of my ways…basically cultivating plants in Florida is contrary to the way it’s done anyplace else!   The plants were blooming but because the evening temperatures didn’t cool off enough, the flowers were sterile.  I needed to plant my tomatoes in October instead of April which is the end of the growing season!  Well, I can’t say that I ever really acquired the habit of planting vegetables in the opposite season and my tomato harvest was limited to those first and only two tomatoes.  Now that I’m living near Savannah, GA I haven’t fared much better because I now back up to a wooded area where deer like to graze on anything young, tender and enticing.

A new book called “Tomatoland” written by Barry Estabrook has recently come out.   According to this article from the author and featured on www.onearth.com, it focuses on the insane growing conditions and the difficulty with which tomatoes are grown in Florida.  While most other areas of the country have soil much more beneficial, Florida boasts that milder climate allowing production even when most areas are blanketed by snow.  “Tomatoland” definitely sounds to be a interesting and enlightening read!

Final thought:  Enjoy your homegrown, farmer’s market, and locally grown tomatoes now during the summer and wait again until next summer.  Enjoy your fruits and vegetables in season and they’ll always taste better!

A perk of living in the Low Country region is having access to fresh sweet wild shrimp.  Outside of shrimping regions there is little choice but to purchase frozen or previously frozen shrimp.  That’s ok..no need to feel bad about it, that’s just the reality of enjoying a food item not from your particular region.

Whether fresh or frozen, try to purchase wild shrimp.  As with most wild food items, especially of the animal variety, they have a lot more flavor.  Wild shrimp generally have a much sweeter flavor than their farm-raised counterparts which are most commonly being imported from the far east.

The American shrimping industry has been experiencing one hit after another.  Last summer’s oil spill in the gulf all but decimated the gulf shrimping industry and now the current and anticipated gas price increases aren’t boding well for the shrimpers who burn fuel in search of their sweet prize.

So the next time you’re shopping for shrimp, support the American shrimping industry and buy wild American shrimp for the sake of flavor and the economy!

Oranges and orange juice, what would breakfast be without them? Browse the produce section of any grocery store today and you’ll certainly find oranges as a staple item available year-round. As a child it was traditional for mom to include an orange as part of our stocking loot at Christmas time. I once asked “why an orange?” It seemed like such a common item that I figured it was probably just an easy way of taking up a chunk of space. She then explained that when she was a child growing up in Nebraska during the 30’s & 40’s, oranges were only available around Christmas and were eagerly awaited, thus it was a treat! Oranges are such a part of our everyday existence it’s hard to believe that as recent as a hundred years ago they were still considered somewhat of a specialty item.

We might tend to take them more or less for granted today, but with so many varieties of citrus to be enjoyed, it’s a shame to simply relegate them to the juice glass or breakfast garnish. While various types of citrus are available year-round, December through March is really the peak season. Blood oranges and Meyer lemons are two of the more prominent specialty citrus that can be found in markets now through the end of March.

Blood oranges get their gory name from their color which can vary from reddish-orange to maroon. Believed to be a spontaneous genetic mutation, they are native to the Mediterranean with domestic oranges being grown predominately in California (Florida is too humid for reliable production). The flavor is sweeter than a standard navel or Valencia orange and depending on variety, can often have raspberry or strawberry-like undertones of flavor. They produce a beautiful sanguine colored juice and make a striking addition to salads and tarts.

Meyer lemons are a cross between a sweet orange and a tart lemon and were introduced to the United States in 1908 by Frank Meyer who was an agent for the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Sweeter than a standard lemon, the Meyer has a thinner skin with golden yellow color. December through February is the height of the season but they can sometimes be found as late as March & April. Meyer lemons are often the darling of pastry chefs and are great for making curds and soufflés. When substituting Meyer lemon juice in dessert recipes it is usually best to decrease the sugar slightly. If a tart sour lemon flavor is preferred, the standard Eureka or Lisbon lemons are really the best.

Tips for Selecting & Using Citrus Fruit:

• Select fruit that is weighty and solid feeling for its size. Large fruit that isn’t very heavy is often likely to be dry and fibrous on the inside.
• When shopping for limes, choose those which have more yellow coloration than green. Limes turn yellow as they ripen, thus a dark or intensely green lime will be less mature and juicy.
• Terms such as “peel”, “rind” and “skin” refer to the white and the colored part of the exterior layer of citrus fruit. “Zest” refers to only the colored part of the peel which is where the oils are contained. Avoid grating and zesting into the bitter white “pith” which is the white layer under the zest.
• Southeast Asian recipes will often call for Kaffir lime leaf which can usually only be found in asian stores. If Kaffir lime leaf isn’t available, lime zest can be added for a similar flavor.
• To extend the lifespan of citrus fruit, refrigerate whole fruit (lemons & limes in particular) in self-sealing bags inside the produce drawer of the refrigerator.
• Enjoy the flavor of Blood oranges and Meyer lemons year-round by freezing whole fruit in self-sealing bags. Once frozen and thawed, the fruit will yield more juice due to the expansion and bursting of interior cell walls.

Saffron has long been considered to be the world’s most costly spice.  Mentioned as far back as Biblical times, it has been grown from India through the mideast and all over Europe.  Saffron is the stigma of a purple fall-flowering crocus.  Each flower only has 3 stigmas and the flowers as well as the stigmas have to be hand plucked which is what results in the steep price that always accompanies it.  Even today, spice merchants say that most of the crop is usually grown on small family farms who belong to cooperatives for the marketing and sale of their crop.   Unlike most spices which begin to have distinct flavor loss after about a year, I’ve heard spice expert suggest that saffron can retain its distinctive  flavor up to 5 years.  Although if you’re keeping it that long you’re probably just not using it all!

I’ve always recommended that people buy whole saffron rather than ground saffron which is often available overseas and is usually quite a bit cheaper than whole saffron.  The reason to avoid is the reason it’s a lot cheaper….it has typically been “cut” with other yellow-red spices such as turmeric.

Now it looks like there might be concern in regard to the whole saffron stigmas as well.  According to a story in The Independent, a UK-based newspaper, a home cook who routinely used saffron began to notice a distinct decline in the flavor he was experiencing.  Convinced that something was amiss he purchased large volumes for testing at the Spanish Ministry of Industry, Tourism and Commerce.  The results?  According to their tests they say that in some cases only 10% of it was actually crocus stigmas and miscellaneous crocus parts could account for the remainder.  It would appear that exporters are using other crocus parts that are dyed and then added to the actual stigmas.  They say it isn’t a case of food safety but more of fraud.  Yet another case of “Buyer Beware”.

Read the complete story…

Each time I travel to or from Atlanta there’s a sign on the east side of Interstate 75 that always catches my eye, not because it’s fancy, flashy, or particularly unique, but because of what it says:  “State Farmers Market”.  Unfortunately I usually seem to be passing through the area on some sort of timeframe…either trying to get a good start heading home before traffic gets bad, or heading to Atlanta for a particular reason.  Sometimes, I haven’t been in a hurry but it happened to be later in the evening, later than one would expect anyone to be selling produce.

Today I was heading back to Savannah from Atlanta and like the Siren’s call, I felt it tugging at me.   As I merged from I-285 to I-75 the sign read “State Farmer’s Market 3/4 mile”, almost as though it were a purposeful taunt, teasing me because I’ve always wanted to stop but have never quite felt like I had time.  “What the heck?” I thought as I steered toward the interstate exit.  Sure it would delay my return home but why be in a hurry to return to what I knew awaited me?  The sense of adventure and excitement as I make new food discoveries certainly outweighs the known quantity of getting home at an earlier time just for the sake of being home. For six years I’d been making excuses as to why I couldn’t stop, it was now time to take action!

Located in Forest Park, GA, about 12 miles south of downtown Atlanta, the State Farmers market is located at Forest Parkway, just south of the I-285 interchange.  As you exit the interstate and head toward the market you’ll be quickly enveloped by trucks ranging from big rig trailers to smaller box trucks that are moving to and from the market.  Follow the signs to the market and to your left as you pull down into the area with the open sheds designated for various types of vendors.  As you pull in it will be very easy to feel overwhelmed.  One of the reasons I hesitated to stop this time was simply the fact that it’s January and there isn’t a whole lot in season.  I figured I’d probably pull in, take a quick overview and quickly be on my way…or so I thought.  The market occupies over 150 acres and features areas for truck farmers, re-sellers that are getting produce from the bigger wholesalers, an exhibition hall, garden center, and even a wholesale grocery company that’s open to the public.

After wandering up and down the sheds of the re-sellers for awhile I decided to check out the “Georgia Grown” Visitor Center located right near the entrance and parking area. 

It was here that I met Marsha Thomas who is the director of the Georgia Grown Welcome Center and the Executive Director of the Georgia Grower’s Produce Association.  I’m certain I would have enjoyed my visit and been impressed with the farmer’s market but I wouldn’t appreciate it nearly as much without the treasure trove of information that Marsha proved to be. 

I immediately knew she’d have stories to tell when she mentioned that she’s been hanging around this market since it opened in 1959.  As it turns out, Marsha is a second-generation “caretaker” of the State Farmer’s Market.  Her father Gabriel Lee Thomas was responsible for starting the Atlanta Produce Dealer’s Association in 1947 when the state farmer’s market was located near Murphy street closer to the center of Atlanta.  Having outgrown that space, the market was moved to its present location where it has been operating since 1959.  Marsha isn’t the only one that’s been calling the market home since its relocation.  Sutherland Foodservice, The Market Grocery, and Po Boy’s Greenhouse were all here in the beginning and are still operated by their founding families today.  Discussing the market and its vendors with Marsha it becomes readily apparent that there is a true familial feeling among those that have been there through the years.  Her own father, who rarely spent more than a few days away from the market at a time continued to be involved with the market up until the age of 85.  Marsha reveled in stories of the many celebrations that have been held at the market throughout the years such as the annual Fourth of July celebration which typically featured a watermelon eating contest and various entertainers.  It was at one of these events that a teenage Dolly Parton made her debut along with Porter Wagner.  Unfortunately the success of those events also seemed to be their undoing.  As the popularity increased, the crowds became too large for the space and they had to discontinue the festivities.   She’s hopeful that they’ll be able to bring back smaller scale events as a means of reviving the seasonal celebrations.

As one of the largest produce markets on the east coast, the Georgia State Farmer’s market is open 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.  Of course it stands to reason that the major foodservice suppliers would be running such schedules but the smaller truck vendors are said to usually sleep out in the stalls and keep someone on hand to take care of those late night produce needs.  The busiest time is the early morning when Atlanta area chefs and smaller produce suppliers are shopping the market to make their daily selections.  If you want to see it in it’s full-tilt operation, Marsha suggests visiting between 4am and 8am.  While open 24 hours it usually slows down significantly by 6pm.

If You Visit:
I suggest starting with a visit to the Georgia Grown visitor’s center for a map of the market and explanation of what you’ll find where.

There are specific stalls set aside for Georgia farmer’s, farmers from out of state (usually SC/NC) and the re-sellers that are buying from the bigger companies.  Knowing what’s what will help you get fresher produce and better deals.

Don’t buy from the first vendors you visit.  Scope out the market to see who has what.  Many of the vendors will have the same things so you’ll want to compare quality, minimum purchase quantity (some may require large volume purchases), and of course price.

Don’t be afraid to haggle.  It’s expected.

The Oakwood Café located next to the Georgia Grown visitor’s center is a busy bustling restaurant featuring homestyle cooking that changes each day.  With a variety of meat and vegetable offerings to choose from there’s likely to be something for everyone.

Groups can arrange for tours highlighting various areas of the market.  Tours must be arranged in advance by contacting Marsha Thomas at: 404-366-8767

Georgia State Farmer’s Market
Forest Parkway – Exit 237 off I-75
Forest Park, GA

Pomegranate seeds with their sweet-tart flavor, garnet color, and crunch make a nice garnish on autumn salads, entrees, and desserts.  Unfortunately they are messy to retrieve from the interior of the fruit without ending up with little red stains all over your clothing from squirting juice.

To easily remove pomegranate seeds, follow these simple steps:

Fill a large bowl with cold water and carefully slice the top off the pomegranate to expose the seeds.  This is the only time you’ll need to worry about squirting the juice.  Submerge the pomegranate under the water and using both hands, begin to break it apart into sections and carefully pull the seeds away from the membranes.

Keep the fruit submerged below the water so that any juices go into the water instead of spraying you or the kitchen.  Discard the outer shell of the fruit when it has been completely broken apart.

The seeds will sink to the bottom and the thin white membranes in the center will float on the surface.

Pour the water and seeds into a strainer placed over the sink.  Once seeds have been strained, pick out any remaining pieces of interior membrane and discard.  The pomegranate seeds are now ready to use or eat!