Successfully Negotiating Kauai's Farmers Markets
Learn the difference between backyard gardeners and real farmers. Daniel Lane photo
Wednesdays, 3 to 4 p.m., $35
Learn how to select perfect produce, when it’s in season and how to cook with it during Tasting Kauai’s new one-hour farmers market classes. Marta Lane, Kauai based food and farm writer, teaches residents and visitors how to negotiate market pitfalls.
“One day I was at the farmers market and I saw friends who were visiting from Colorado,” says Tasting Kauai founder Marta Lane. “As we hugged and said hello, I saw a table full of near-rotten mangos. It was still snowing in Denver and my friends were excited about the big, beautiful tomatoes they just bought. Their faces fell when I told them they were not grown on Kauai. I felt bad for them, and was inspired to offer this class.”
Farmers markets are an affordable way to immerse yourself in local culture and the best place to buy produce that’s so fresh, it was harvested that morning. But buying at the farmers market doesn’t always insure that it was grown on Kauai.
It happens all over the world. In Hawaii, customers want mangos year-round. In Colorado, they want tomatoes in May. To make that sale, vendors buy imported mangoes or tomatoes and sell them as their own. Customers unfamiliar with the seasons can insure their dollars are spent on local products by learning how to identify locally grown produce.
There’s a whole world of delicious produce that many residents never try. Let’s face it, some of it looks like it came from another planet. Once unfamiliar produce is demystified and cooking tips are shared, it may become a regular at dinner table.
Many factors can make exotic produce expensive and the last thing you want to do is buy a pineapple that isn’t at peak perfection. This class will also teach you how to tell when produce is ripe as well as how to store it for best results.
Learn what to look for, the right questions to ask and how to prepare exotic ingredients. You’ll never get taken advantage of and you have a table full of delicious, local produce.
For reservations, call 88-635-0257.