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Default Fabulous Farmers' Markets

Fabulous Farmers' Markets

04-09-2013 12:26 AM

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Address:
United Kingdom

See map: Google Maps





Cuisine:
European




Fabulous Farmers' Markets



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United Kingdom

See map: Google Maps



Cuisine: European


By:
www.localsecrets.com
Strolling along the riverside between Hemingford Grey and Hemingford Abbots, you might well see James Winter’s beef cattle, grazing. You can meet the man himself and talk to him at the Farmers’ Markets in St Ives or Huntingdon. He explains that the horse meat scandal was no surprise, given that beef fetches about £3,000 per tonne, whereas horsemeat costs about £700 for the same amount. You will also hear about his Aberdeen Angus cross bred animals and the quest to balance the meat/ fat ratio, so that people who are wary of beef fat (and its wonderful flavour) are not too frightened to buy. Anyway, his 28-day-hung rump steak is some of the best (and most tender) meat we know.

In last month’s column I looked at buying meat direct from farms where you can usually see the animals and their living conditions. Continuing the theme of buying meat from a verifiable source, this month I have been researching our local Farmers’ Markets. Since the first Farmers’ Market in Britain opened in Bath in 1997, the idea and the name has spread rapidly. The general idea was to put the consumer in direct touch with producers of local, fresh, high quality food, but different interpretations of this developed, some strict and others quite lax. The National Farmers’ Retail & Markets Association (FARMA), a co-operative, developed a set of rules and requirements, specifying that primary produce (such as meat, fruit and eggs) must be grown, reared and caught etc within a defined local area (normally 30 miles); that secondary produce, (such as bakery or preserves) must use at least one ingredient originating from the locality; and finally that all stalls should be manned by the principal producer, a family member, or someone directly involved in the production.

Markets can apply to FARMA for certification, but success depends on an independent verification of all stall holders by an arm of the Soil Association.* This should give some confidence in the quality and provenance of the produce. But times are tough, and there are signs that some towns, with an eye to the continuing viability of their markets, are relaxing the 30 mile rule for 'local' produce and the 50 mile rule for occasional guest producers. But you can still talk to and question the producer.

Our local Farmers’ Markets, which are FARMA certified, are in Ely, Huntingdon, St Neots, and the celebrated St Ives, which has just, for the second year running, been named as the runner up in the national FARMA competition for the best Farmers’ Market. It is not always easy to pin down exactly which producer is appearing at which market and when. The seasons change, family circumstances change, there are occasional flounce-outs, and then there is the lure of London. As one ex-Impington / St Ives stall holder said, why struggle to persuade people that free-range, dry-plucked, four-day hung chickens are worth more than bog standard supermarket chooks? If you go to London, people queue to pay up without a murmur. Given the fluidity of markets, I hope, but cannot swear, that the following information is still accurate.

Ely and St Ives share many of the same stall holders and run in tandem on the 1st and 3rd Saturdays (St Ives) and the 2nd and 4th Saturdays (Ely). Both markets have Cambria Farm selling rare breeds pork, lamb and mutton, Grasmere Farm selling pork and sausages including terrific, smoked Rutland sausages and Fen Farm Venison (a friend whispers that her reputation as a cook actually rests on the quality of their meat). Additionally St Ives sees Bowers Beef, free-range duck, turkey and chicken from Pastures Farm, and James Winter’s Springfield Beef - as mentioned above. Beyond its core list of meat stalls, Ely is very well served for beef, with Woodwards Farm, Jeary’s Aberdeen Angus and Green Poultry’s Dexter beef and chickens.

St Neots market (2nd and 4th Saturdays) is somewhat smaller, but has some very good things. Franklins chickens, geese (yes – not just at Christmas) and ducks are free range and dry plucked (very important for flavour, quality of the cooked skin, and the hygiene) and probably the best you can buy hereabouts. All the chickens (there are some hefty ones too) come with giblets and make the most excellent jellied stock, packed with flavour. Morgan Pell Meats exude an air of plenty – not for them little cling film packs but hulking great beef ribs and chunky steaks. Robins’ Lamb concentrates on just that, but also carries their own hand-raised pork pies. Brown’s Gourmet sausages provide an imaginative and substantial highlight. Sadly the web site is undergoing reorganisation just now but rest assured that their extensive range goes far beyond pork and leek, to include Super Haloumi, Lebanese Dream (cous cous, borlotti beans, mint, parsley and lemon juice), Mango Salsa and Butternut Kiss with coconut and coriander.

Huntingdon market is held on alternate Fridays – so the next dates will be April 19, May 3, 17 and 31. It is the smallest of the certified markets and although it has some excellent stalls, seems to be fading. Use it or lose it. Some of the stalls have already been mentioned above – Franklins Poultry, James Winter’s Springfield Beef, Fen Farm Venison and Grasmere Farm. An additional stall is sometimes provided by Mytton Meats with their pork, goat meat and Aylesbury ducks.

Cambridge’s Farmers’ Market was originally an afterthought to the Sunday craft market, as there were some vacant stalls on row G, by Great St Mary’s. It is not FARMA certified, but officially referred to as a local produce market although it features olives, German sausage hot dogs* and the splendid Spanish stall Azahar. The market is weak on meat, but then a number of producers reckon it is not worth attending, as people planning a Sunday joint will want to buy it beforehand, not mid-morning on the day itself. However, CamCattle sells its Red Poll beef, Hawthorn Farm has chickens and Bisbrooke Farm provides ostrich steaks, burgers and sausages.

Next month I will discover more about asparagus and report on the remaining local farmers’ markets.

Read the original review on the Local Secrets website.


Tags: European, Farmers Markets, Fresh Food, Meat, Produce, RAF Alconbury, RAF Croughton, RAF Fairford, RAF Lakenheath, RAF Mildenhall, RAF Molesworth, Restaurant Guide












Fabulous Farmers' Markets



Tweet
0 Comments
Email
Print

Price: n/a
Review: n/a


United Kingdom

See map: Google Maps



Cuisine: European


By: Kate Paterson, Local Secrets
www.localsecrets.com
Strolling along the riverside between Hemingford Grey and Hemingford Abbots, you might well see James Winter’s beef cattle, grazing. You can meet the man himself and talk to him at the Farmers’ Markets in St Ives or Huntingdon. He explains that the horse meat scandal was no surprise, given that beef fetches about £3,000 per tonne, whereas horsemeat costs about £700 for the same amount. You will also hear about his Aberdeen Angus cross bred animals and the quest to balance the meat/ fat ratio, so that people who are wary of beef fat (and its wonderful flavour) are not too frightened to buy. Anyway, his 28-day-hung rump steak is some of the best (and most tender) meat we know.

In last month’s column I looked at buying meat direct from farms where you can usually see the animals and their living conditions. Continuing the theme of buying meat from a verifiable source, this month I have been researching our local Farmers’ Markets. Since the first Farmers’ Market in Britain opened in Bath in 1997, the idea and the name has spread rapidly. The general idea was to put the consumer in direct touch with producers of local, fresh, high quality food, but different interpretations of this developed, some strict and others quite lax. The National Farmers’ Retail & Markets Association (FARMA), a co-operative, developed a set of rules and requirements, specifying that primary produce (such as meat, fruit and eggs) must be grown, reared and caught etc within a defined local area (normally 30 miles); that secondary produce, (such as bakery or preserves) must use at least one ingredient originating from the locality; and finally that all stalls should be manned by the principal producer, a family member, or someone directly involved in the production.

Markets can apply to FARMA for certification, but success depends on an independent verification of all stall holders by an arm of the Soil Association.* This should give some confidence in the quality and provenance of the produce. But times are tough, and there are signs that some towns, with an eye to the continuing viability of their markets, are relaxing the 30 mile rule for 'local' produce and the 50 mile rule for occasional guest producers. But you can still talk to and question the producer.

Our local Farmers’ Markets, which are FARMA certified, are in Ely, Huntingdon, St Neots, and the celebrated St Ives, which has just, for the second year running, been named as the runner up in the national FARMA competition for the best Farmers’ Market. It is not always easy to pin down exactly which producer is appearing at which market and when. The seasons change, family circumstances change, there are occasional flounce-outs, and then there is the lure of London. As one ex-Impington / St Ives stall holder said, why struggle to persuade people that free-range, dry-plucked, four-day hung chickens are worth more than bog standard supermarket chooks? If you go to London, people queue to pay up without a murmur. Given the fluidity of markets, I hope, but cannot swear, that the following information is still accurate.

Ely and St Ives share many of the same stall holders and run in tandem on the 1st and 3rd Saturdays (St Ives) and the 2nd and 4th Saturdays (Ely). Both markets have Cambria Farm selling rare breeds pork, lamb and mutton, Grasmere Farm selling pork and sausages including terrific, smoked Rutland sausages and Fen Farm Venison (a friend whispers that her reputation as a cook actually rests on the quality of their meat). Additionally St Ives sees Bowers Beef, free-range duck, turkey and chicken from Pastures Farm, and James Winter’s Springfield Beef - as mentioned above. Beyond its core list of meat stalls, Ely is very well served for beef, with Woodwards Farm, Jeary’s Aberdeen Angus and Green Poultry’s Dexter beef and chickens.

St Neots market (2nd and 4th Saturdays) is somewhat smaller, but has some very good things. Franklins chickens, geese (yes – not just at Christmas) and ducks are free range and dry plucked (very important for flavour, quality of the cooked skin, and the hygiene) and probably the best you can buy hereabouts. All the chickens (there are some hefty ones too) come with giblets and make the most excellent jellied stock, packed with flavour. Morgan Pell Meats exude an air of plenty – not for them little cling film packs but hulking great beef ribs and chunky steaks. Robins’ Lamb concentrates on just that, but also carries their own hand-raised pork pies. Brown’s Gourmet sausages provide an imaginative and substantial highlight. Sadly the web site is undergoing reorganisation just now but rest assured that their extensive range goes far beyond pork and leek, to include Super Haloumi, Lebanese Dream (cous cous, borlotti beans, mint, parsley and lemon juice), Mango Salsa and Butternut Kiss with coconut and coriander.

Huntingdon market is held on alternate Fridays – so the next dates will be April 19, May 3, 17 and 31. It is the smallest of the certified markets and although it has some excellent stalls, seems to be fading. Use it or lose it. Some of the stalls have already been mentioned above – Franklins Poultry, James Winter’s Springfield Beef, Fen Farm Venison and Grasmere Farm. An additional stall is sometimes provided by Mytton Meats with their pork, goat meat and Aylesbury ducks.

Cambridge’s Farmers’ Market was originally an afterthought to the Sunday craft market, as there were some vacant stalls on row G, by Great St Mary’s. It is not FARMA certified, but officially referred to as a local produce market although it features olives, German sausage hot dogs* and the splendid Spanish stall Azahar. The market is weak on meat, but then a number of producers reckon it is not worth attending, as people planning a Sunday joint will want to buy it beforehand, not mid-morning on the day itself. However, CamCattle sells its Red Poll beef, Hawthorn Farm has chickens and Bisbrooke Farm provides ostrich steaks, burgers and sausages.

Next month I will discover more about asparagus and report on the remaining local farmers’ markets.

Read the original review on the Local Secrets website.


Tags: European, Farmers Markets, Fresh Food, Meat, Produce, RAF Alconbury, RAF Croughton, RAF Fairford, RAF Lakenheath, RAF Mildenhall, RAF Molesworth, Restaurant Guide









Fabulous Farmers' Markets



Tweet
0 Comments
Email
Print

Price: n/a
Review: n/a


United Kingdom

See map: Google Maps



Cuisine: European


By: Kate Paterson, Local Secrets
www.localsecrets.com
Strolling along the riverside between Hemingford Grey and Hemingford Abbots, you might well see James Winter’s beef cattle, grazing. You can meet the man himself and talk to him at the Farmers’ Markets in St Ives or Huntingdon. He explains that the horse meat scandal was no surprise, given that beef fetches about £3,000 per tonne, whereas horsemeat costs about £700 for the same amount. You will also hear about his Aberdeen Angus cross bred animals and the quest to balance the meat/ fat ratio, so that people who are wary of beef fat (and its wonderful flavour) are not too frightened to buy. Anyway, his 28-day-hung rump steak is some of the best (and most tender) meat we know.

In last month’s column I looked at buying meat direct from farms where you can usually see the animals and their living conditions. Continuing the theme of buying meat from a verifiable source, this month I have been researching our local Farmers’ Markets. Since the first Farmers’ Market in Britain opened in Bath in 1997, the idea and the name has spread rapidly. The general idea was to put the consumer in direct touch with producers of local, fresh, high quality food, but different interpretations of this developed, some strict and others quite lax. The National Farmers’ Retail & Markets Association (FARMA), a co-operative, developed a set of rules and requirements, specifying that primary produce (such as meat, fruit and eggs) must be grown, reared and caught etc within a defined local area (normally 30 miles); that secondary produce, (such as bakery or preserves) must use at least one ingredient originating from the locality; and finally that all stalls should be manned by the principal producer, a family member, or someone directly involved in the production.

Markets can apply to FARMA for certification, but success depends on an independent verification of all stall holders by an arm of the Soil Association.* This should give some confidence in the quality and provenance of the produce. But times are tough, and there are signs that some towns, with an eye to the continuing viability of their markets, are relaxing the 30 mile rule for 'local' produce and the 50 mile rule for occasional guest producers. But you can still talk to and question the producer.

Our local Farmers’ Markets, which are FARMA certified, are in Ely, Huntingdon, St Neots, and the celebrated St Ives, which has just, for the second year running, been named as the runner up in the national FARMA competition for the best Farmers’ Market. It is not always easy to pin down exactly which producer is appearing at which market and when. The seasons change, family circumstances change, there are occasional flounce-outs, and then there is the lure of London. As one ex-Impington / St Ives stall holder said, why struggle to persuade people that free-range, dry-plucked, four-day hung chickens are worth more than bog standard supermarket chooks? If you go to London, people queue to pay up without a murmur. Given the fluidity of markets, I hope, but cannot swear, that the following information is still accurate.

Ely and St Ives share many of the same stall holders and run in tandem on the 1st and 3rd Saturdays (St Ives) and the 2nd and 4th Saturdays (Ely). Both markets have Cambria Farm selling rare breeds pork, lamb and mutton, Grasmere Farm selling pork and sausages including terrific, smoked Rutland sausages and Fen Farm Venison (a friend whispers that her reputation as a cook actually rests on the quality of their meat). Additionally St Ives sees Bowers Beef, free-range duck, turkey and chicken from Pastures Farm, and James Winter’s Springfield Beef - as mentioned above. Beyond its core list of meat stalls, Ely is very well served for beef, with Woodwards Farm, Jeary’s Aberdeen Angus and Green Poultry’s Dexter beef and chickens.

St Neots market (2nd and 4th Saturdays) is somewhat smaller, but has some very good things. Franklins chickens, geese (yes – not just at Christmas) and ducks are free range and dry plucked (very important for flavour, quality of the cooked skin, and the hygiene) and probably the best you can buy hereabouts. All the chickens (there are some hefty ones too) come with giblets and make the most excellent jellied stock, packed with flavour. Morgan Pell Meats exude an air of plenty – not for them little cling film packs but hulking great beef ribs and chunky steaks. Robins’ Lamb concentrates on just that, but also carries their own hand-raised pork pies. Brown’s Gourmet sausages provide an imaginative and substantial highlight. Sadly the web site is undergoing reorganisation just now but rest assured that their extensive range goes far beyond pork and leek, to include Super Haloumi, Lebanese Dream (cous cous, borlotti beans, mint, parsley and lemon juice), Mango Salsa and Butternut Kiss with coconut and coriander.

Huntingdon market is held on alternate Fridays – so the next dates will be April 19, May 3, 17 and 31. It is the smallest of the certified markets and although it has some excellent stalls, seems to be fading. Use it or lose it. Some of the stalls have already been mentioned above – Franklins Poultry, James Winter’s Springfield Beef, Fen Farm Venison and Grasmere Farm. An additional stall is sometimes provided by Mytton Meats with their pork, goat meat and Aylesbury ducks.

Cambridge’s Farmers’ Market was originally an afterthought to the Sunday craft market, as there were some vacant stalls on row G, by Great St Mary’s. It is not FARMA certified, but officially referred to as a local produce market although it features olives, German sausage hot dogs* and the splendid Spanish stall Azahar. The market is weak on meat, but then a number of producers reckon it is not worth attending, as people planning a Sunday joint will want to buy it beforehand, not mid-morning on the day itself. However, CamCattle sells its Red Poll beef, Hawthorn Farm has chickens and Bisbrooke Farm provides ostrich steaks, burgers and sausages.

Next month I will discover more about asparagus and report on the remaining local farmers’ markets.

Read the original review on the Local Secrets website.


Tags: European, Farmers Markets, Fresh Food, Meat, Produce, RAF Alconbury, RAF Croughton, RAF Fairford, RAF Lakenheath, RAF Mildenhall, RAF Molesworth, Restaurant Guide










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