Gibside Farmers Market

On Saturday I decided to go and visit the Farmers Market at Gibside. Partly this was because one of my readers (that makes it sound like I have loads when its really two humans and a cat) and friend was going to be exhibiting at another Farmers Market. As that one was several thousand miles away I thought I would offer support by going to a Farmers Market even if I was not prepared to walk to hers. I had been aware of the market when it first started, but as is often the case I was and have been to busy to attend. But I was really glad that I did.

While I am fully supportive of Organic food, in Britain Organic has effectively become a label that means high prices. While I realise that there are extra costs to organic production, far to often the prices charged by shops and the farmers when selling direct are over inflated. Personally I don't mind paying extra for quality, over the years I have found organic foods being sold for four and five times the price of a non organic equivalent. While those prices are at the extreme, far to often the prices are twice or three times the price, when there is no real justification for this other than profiteering on the Organic Label.

With the “Credit Crunch” and the recession the organic producers and sellers that were over inflating their prices or just producing mediocre product are now struggling. With food it really has to be the quality that is at the heart of the product they sell. Thus I was pleased to find that the Gibside Farmers Market was not dominated by organic producers pushing up the prices. But was a genuine mix of small farmers and producers who were selling local food.

I was glad that I had taken some extra money with me, I was also glad that there was not an ATM to close or I would have made myself broke, well fed but broke. It was fascinating to talk to and to be able to talk to the farmers directly. As no matter how good a supermarket is, they really do not know or care where the food they are selling comes from. While the fancy supermarket packaging may have a picture of a farmer on it, there is little chance that the product will have come from that exact farm or farmer. Here at the Farmers Market you at least get to meet the Farmer and can ask questions. Try taking the manager of the supermarket to one side and asking about any one of the products they sell. When the controversy was in the press regarding the welfare of Chickens, in one BBC programme at the time, they asked Tesco for the country of origin of the chicken in a particular ready meal. Tesco said it was British, but latter re contacted the BBC to admit it was Thailand. Even though the label said British too.

One surprise I had was one of the stalls was selling sausages made from rare breed pigs. I got some with cranberries, mm. I was able to discover that they were from a breed called the Berkshire, not one that I have tried before, but that my dinner for tonight sorted. But the real surprise was the farmer who was selling and making the sausages was the woman who had the Alpacas in the woods last year and had help with cutting the wild flower meadow. Therefore there was an instant trust with the products and that is what the consumer needs. As if the seller and buyer know each other there is a reason to ensure that a long term relationship is established.

While looking, talking and buying some lamb, I was shocked to hear another customer say that she did not realise that “Spring” Lamb was seasonal. This was not someone young either, she was older than me (That's saying something too). You hear stories of young people who don't know that milk comes from cows, or that Beef comes from Cattle reported in the media but I have never meet someone that uneducated. So I was really shocked to hear that someone can go through life not realising that lambs born in spring are seasonal.

In the past I have threatened (Oh my poor long suffering Reader) to produce a video pod cast on food and cooking, but I really worried that it could look as though I was being condescending, trying to help people to learn to cook. But when you hear people say how little they know, it really seems to show that there could be a need for this. So I am going to start keeping a new Blog related to Farming, Food and Cooking. I hope to have the first posting there by the end of this week.

Don't worry I will still be relating my (mis)adventures while watching wildlife. In fact I will probably need to do more wildlife watching to ensure that all the food and cooking does not add to my expanding waistline. And talking of wildlife watching, on Saturday when going to the Farmers Market I saw several Red Kites, the Farmers Market being in the centre of the Red Kites area. Also when leaving Gibside, I stopped on the Bridge over the river and saw a Kingfisher fishing.

Watching wildlife while getting the shopping, that's nearly a perfect day.

If I have a reader in the local area, and you want to attend the next Farmers Market at Gibside its on June 20^th 10am to 4pm and there is the additional benefit of being able to see the Red Kites for your self.