Estella Squash Arrive, and Gorgeous Frost Berries Make Brief Appearance
Watermelon and winter squash face off at the market this week: Summer melons will soon be a memory, but the earthy-sweet flavors of fall foods like squash and apples are coming into their own. And don’t forget the pumpkins.
At the Greenmarket
Concord Grapes Ripen, Summer Corn Lingers On
Thanks to the cool weather, the produce at Union Square looks perky this morning, as hardier lettuces and winter squash replace their delicate summer counterparts. Even late-afternoon visitors will find the stands looking fresh.
What to Look For
Purple-black Concord grapes are a flavor-packed fall phenomenon. Their sweet-tart intensity is easiest to appreciate once the seeds have been separated from the aromatic flesh. Try them in sorbets and gelées, or make them into Concord-grape ketchup (recipe) ($5 per quart at Cheerful Cherry Farm, available Friday and Saturday).
NewsFeed
Don’t Eat the Spinach! (Try These Greens Instead.)In a stunning rebuke to vegetarians everywhere, sinister germ E. coli, known for its frequent appearances in gnarly fast-food hamburgers, has appeared in spinach. The government has quarantined the nation’s supply, but demand hasn’t completely waned. Who besides Bluto (and possibly Wimpy) would be cheered by this crisis? From spanakopita to creamed spinach, it’s one vegetable everybody seems to love.
And so we turn to “At the Greenmarket” writer Zoe Singer, who suggests the following replacements:
At the Greenmarket
Fragrant Eggplants and Chiles That Don’t Sting
The Union Square Greenmarket celebrated its 30th birthday this past Saturday, and fall officially begins at the end of the week. While the forward-thinking are canning tomatoes and hedonists are gorging on peaches and corn, farmers are talking about the Frost. Upstate farms could experience a nighttime freeze by October, but until then, the late-summer parade continues.