The weather outside may be frightful, but January’s greenmarket offerings are delightful!
Winter is a great time for dried legumes. While many beans and seeds are planted in the early spring, it can take some time after harvest for them to dry. By the winter months, many varieties of dried beans are widely available, and at their cheapest pricepoint. Plus, beans are one of the most climate-friendly foods you can eat. Dried black beans, dried corn, cornmeal, and many seeds and nuts are available now.
Sunchokes, or Jerusalem Artichokes, are in season. They are the roots of a native plant and are often compared to water chestnuts in flavor. Sunchokes are a good source of potassium and iron. Look for wrinkle-free sunchokes for the best product, and enjoy raw or roasted.
Salsify, available now, is also referred to as the oyster plant because some say it tastes similar to oysters. Folks also say it tastes like asparagus or sunchokes. The root’s flavor is mild, which lends to a variety of cooking methods.
Vegetables are mostly available from storage. Offerings include root vegetables such as beets, carrots, parsnips, potatoes, and turnips. Heartier vegetables such as cabbage, onions, and winter squash are also in season.
Apples and pears are two fruits that can be harvested in the fall and, when properly stored by farmers, are still fresh until the end of February. “From storage” is not a concept to shy away from: Many root vegetables can be stored in sand for months without showing signs of age, and they still taste great! This guy on TikTok shows us how, and because the sand mimics the conditions of being in the ground, they stay dormant like they would in the winter.
Greenhouses keep food growing all year long, and hydroponic greenhouses, like Two Guys From Woodbridge who will be at the McCarren Park greenmarket on Saturdays, can produce delicious fresh produce year-round.
Winter is also a great time of year for fermented and pickled vegetables. Sauerkraut, kimchi, and gherkins all need time to ferment once their growing season is over, making winter an ideal time to find these fermented treasures. Divine Brine, who will be at the Grand Army Plaza greenmarket on Saturdays, offers a large variety of brined and pickled vegetables.
To learn more about greenmarkets, or to find one near you, check out GrowNYC.com.
