©Wendy Gan 2025

Farmers' Markets

Wendy Gan

How can anyone resist a farmers’ market?

You get to meet the people who grow your fruit and vegetables, who know well what they sell. They can tell you how each apple tastes; the difference between each intriguingly named citrus. They can guide you through the choices till you find just what suits your mood or cooking needs.

Some of the vendors are entertainers and they reel you in with a spiel that mesmerises. A bearded man named Joshua hands out a flight of blueberry, Russian olive, and clover honey on ice cream sticks for you to taste, then whips out a bottle of raw milk. With impeccable timing, he ends his pitch with a tongue-in-cheek biblical allusion to the land of milk and honey. All hail Joshua, leading us into the Promised Land!

Others are passionate educators and, as you converse, you will learn how agriculture and organic farming stand in the land.

Then there are the samples. You get to taste before you buy and often what you try is so good that you start to go into a buying frenzy: how can I wake up each morning without that raspberry and maple syrup granola? Won’t that delicious smoked chili hummus just make my day a little bit better?

There is something about eating a vegetable or fruit or a lovingly made, prepared food that tastes as it should and, even more, simply sends serotonin spikes through my brain. Pleasure as God intended indeed.