Fresh at Farmers Markets

Start your shopping list and get meal inspiration each week with ASAP’s roundup of what’s fresh at farmers markets. Although this report focuses on vendors at Buncombe County markets, many products mentioned can be found at markets throughout the region. Want to get this report in your inbox each week? Subscribe to ASAP’s Weekly Farmers Market Report newsletter. Looking for a yearlong view? Check out ASAP’s produce seasonality chart.

Fresh at Farmers Markets This Week

spring CSA box

These can be weeks of whiplash as the temperature swings from tantalizingly warm to hard freeze. Is it time to look for seed starts, or hunker down with a hearty stew and fridge full of provisions in case of a snow day?
The slower shoulder season is a good time to ask your favorite farmers tailgate market vendors about what they might have in coming weeks. As storage crops like potatoes, sweet potatoes, carrots, and winter squash begin to wane, you’re likely to see an uptick in greens, including salad green mixes, baby kale, microgreens, and pea shoots.

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Fresh at Farmers Markets This Week

a handful of sweet potatoes

As farmers tailgate markets have grown in recent years, it gets easier to eat local through the winter and still enjoy some variety. Even so, we suspect there’s a moment for even the most ardent local eaters when you ask, “But what else can I do with sweet potatoes?” The classic winter storage crop is a standby at fall and winter markets (at Asheville City Market-Winter, look for them from Ten Mile Farm or Sleight Family Farm). They can be easily roasted, pureed, fried, and gratinéed for cold-weather meals, but we’re here to offer a few less conventional ideas to add to your repertoire.

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Fresh at Farmers Markets This Week

Mother Ocean Fish at Asheville City Market

Seafood isn’t something particularly local to the mountains of Western North Carolina, but farmers markets can still be a chance to find good fish choices to enjoy alongside more locally grown fare. Asheville City Market-Winter offers a few possibilities.

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Fresh at Farmers Markets This Week

Apples from Creasman Farms at Asheville City Market

Fruit can be hard to come by in the winter if you’re shopping locally in Western North Carolina. Apples are a rosy-hued exception, and they continue to be available from storage through most of the season. Creasman Farms (Asheville City Market-Winter, Transylvania Farmers Market) usually has ten or so varieties, ranging from the crunchy-tart Arkansas Black to the sweeter, juicier Pink Lady.

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Fresh at Farmers Markets This Week

Carolina Flowers at Asheville City Market-Winter

Can you give your loved one a locally grown Valentine’s Day bouquet, even in midst of winter? Yes, you can!
Carolina Flowers returned to Asheville City Market-Winter a few weeks ago and has anemones, hyacinths, paperwhites, and amaryllis. The farm offers vases of flowers as well as bulbs, which means your gift will last longer than a traditional cut-flower bouquet. Enduring living-plant gifts can also be procured from Finally Farm, which has an assortment of potted succulents in many sizes.

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Fresh at Farmers Markets This Week

Fermented foods from Sweet Brine'd

As winter sets in and people around you fall prey to colds, flu, and other ailments, you might be thinking about ways to shore up your immune system. Besides giving you a chance to stock up on fresh, local fruits and vegetables—always a health booster—winter farmers markets are an opportunity to explore a variety of fermented foods.

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Fresh at Farmers Markets This Week

crowd at Asheville City Market-Winter

It pays to be an early bird at Asheville City Market-Winter, which often sees a line forming outside the doors of the Asheville Masonic Temple on Saturdays before the 9am opening. Some specialty or sought-after products are in short supply, and often sell out before market’s end.

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Fresh at Farmers Markets This Week

mizuna

The belief that the winter months are a time of culinary asceticism has certainly been debunked by the early markets of 2019. An abundance of produce has lined the booths, including assorted lettuces and salad greens; darker greens like Chinese broccoli, spinach, kale, collards, and bok choy; jewel-toned radishes and sweet potatoes; buckets of apples; and more. With such a wealth of options, there is opportunity to branch out and try a few meal-time variations.

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Fresh at Farmers Markets This Week

The winter season is fully upon us and most year-round farmers tailgate markets have moved indoors. You’ll find an abundance of storage crops, such as potatoes, sweet potatoes, beets, carrots, turnips, winter squash, cabbage, and apples. Farms with greenhouses and tunnels will have salad mixes and other lettuces, radishes, and dark leafy greens. And you’ll find meats, eggs, bread, cheese, baked goods, artisan crafts, and more!

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