As I decided to visit the greenmarket during the fall at Union Square in NYC, I had made some simple observations on the different cultures and backgrounds around me. Additionally, the way people would make conversation with the farmer was intriguing because when you go to a simple supermarket you just pick and go about your day but instead you get to talk and even find out different ways to cook your product or vegetables. The greenmarkets can be found anywhere depending on the area that you are in, most can be found during the morning or afternoon but will be gone by the evening. Greenmarkets are beneficial to low-income families because they have the liberty to ask questions go to another market is one doesn’t meet their expectations. As I kept walking around and having to pass by people, I stopped at a stand checked out Wheatgrass, it’s something I’m not used to seeing at the supermarket or really looked out for, I usually eat Cilantro. As I observed wheatgrass some more, it is simply just fresh sprouted leaves from the wheat plants. They come in either cut or still in the soil to continue growing them. They are naturally beneficial for one’s health, either if you’re sick, trying to lose weight, or to be remain healthy overall. You can eat them but will mostly taste better in your drinks, smoothies, juices. Even sometimes substitute as a meal because it can remove appetite to some. Wheatgrass in even used as a primary ingredient in a global brand called, “BLOOM”. Which demonstrates how impactful wheatgrass is to many people.

Greenmarkets mainly exist to support farmers and preserve farmland by providing farmers with the privilege to sell their produce at markets throughout New York. The green market I visited was the Flushing Greenmarket and I do not really visit green markets that often, but when I did, I witnessed so many distinct colors that I did not expect to see. Some produces currently in season that I enjoy eating are persimmons, Asian pears, oranges, and pineapples. Surprisingly, there were many variants of fruits that I have never seen before when I visited the green market. There were many different variants of pear and apple that I have never seen before. There were some products that had higher prices than those in grocery stores. An example of a product that had a higher price in my grocery store was a banana. The bananas at my greenmarket would cost 76 cents for a pound while at my closet grocery store, they would cost $1.29 for a pound.  

Recently, I have enjoyed eating persimmons. I enjoy eating my persimmons when they are soft and have more liquid in them. Persimmons are a fruit that can be light-yellow to red orange. They can look like an orange tomato and when ripe they have an orange jelly-like texture. People mainly use persimmons for jams, pies, puddings, and jellies. Persimmons come from China, Northeast India, and Northern Indochina. Persimmons are a type of berries that provide vitamins A, C, and manganese, which helps the blood clot. 

The Apple Pear also known as the Shinseiki Asian Pear, Nashi, and the Chinese / Japanese / Korean Pear. Native to Japan, the Asian pear made its way west when Chinese and Japanese Immigrants were making their way to the US around the 1800s. Cultivated for more than 3,000 years, the Asian Pear is not a cross breed of an apple and a pear despite its name and physical look. The Asian Pear is a cross bread of the Chinese Sand Pear and Pyrus Pyrifolia. In some regions Asian Pears are available during the Summer, but the fruits peak season is early Fall through Winter. Unlike a lot of fruits and vegetables were familiar with today, Asian Pears ripen while still on the tree and are ready to eat upon harvest. Most popular for its storage life, Asian Pears last an incredibly long time. At room temperature, they last 10 – 14 days, in a refrigerator three to four weeks, and in a commercial refrigerator three to four months! For this reason, Apple Pears would be the most logical fruit to buy if looking to purchase pears. Although expensive because of the cultivation requirements, Asian Pears are also very rich in vitamins and nutrients. 

Well, the greenmarket we went to was located in 103^rd St Roosevelt Avenue on a Friday, around 12:00pm. “We?”, Yes “we”, I asked my friend if he can come with me to see what this is and let me tell you, it wasn’t what I had in mind. I expect a greenhouse for some reason, but it ended up being those little houses and vegetables underneath them. You would see lots of greens and other colors too, even vegetables with different colors rather than their usual original colors. For example, purple carrots and purple potatoes, I don’t know about you but that to me was new to see. Based on sophisticatedgourmet.com, the carrots, apples, beets, onions, peppers, and so much more, was in season, which explains why I saw most of what’s on the list, at the greenmarket. I forgot to mention, there was about maybe 2 stands just for apples. Apples that were green, red, and mixed between yellow-ish orange. There was even some drink called Apple Cider, which we bought a pint of. The taste was pretty much Apple Juice, but it was more organic, if that makes sense. I was familiar with mostly everything there but just the newly colored vegetables that I mentioned before. The prices seemed reasonable, with it being fresh and all. As in, it wasn’t packaged in a plastic bag but brought in by a box, “what’s the difference?” I’m not sure but when I worked in a market, distributing produce, the ones from the box seemed better and real, rather than going to get something fast and simple in a supermarket. The whole thing was great and something I would look forward to go to when buying produce for some recipe. One thing I loved was the Apple Cider, even though I never tried it, it was good and really fresh, like if you can taste the skin of the apple.
    Also, I’ll be using Peppers as a vegetable I will be focusing on, it’s just something about the different colors and how it’s used it almost most Spanish dishes for flavor. By the way, I mean all peppers, meaning from Bell Peppers to Chili Peppers. There’s not much in the brochure but when searching online “where do peppers come from?”, the results that come up is Tropical America. The fact that you may see it diced or strips, sometimes used in a dip, or even charred if you want to, I think peppers deserve a little bit of recognition in this culinary game.