Marsh Produce stall at the Old Town Market
We all have a romantic view of markets: stalls loaded with fresh produce, people drifting past in the sunshine, cheerful stallholders with a bit of backchat. The reality is a little different, particularly in the coldest March since 1962. Snowflakes were drifting in the air as the first Old Town market opened on the Stade. A series of covered stalls had been erected, peddling a variety of goodies: cider from Battle, freshly baked bread and cakes, hand-made soaps. Then there were the others who always seem to be in markets these days, selling craft ornaments in anything from spun glass to macramé or specialising in technicoloured toys.
Although it was Good Friday and a Bank Holiday, attendance seemed a little thin on the ground. There's another small market in the town centre on Thursdays, which arguably does better on the food front. But these are early days, and we can but hope that as the weather improves some more people appear.
There's certainly an opening for fresh produce. After the horsemeat scandal, I took to looking more closely at food labels. I recently purchased a pack of "ready-to-eat prunes" - stoned and soaked. The reverse of the packet gave a breakdown of the contents: only 84% was prunes, the balance comprising water and potassium sorbate.
Potassium sorbate is the most frequently used preservative, inhibiting mould. It appears generally to be harmless, but on reflection I think I'd prefer not to be eating it when what I want are the prunes. Mould can be avoided by eating them quickly! Memories took me back to stalls in Ribérac, where you could find prunes from Agen, which were bought loose: glistening and beautiful. That's the sort of thing I want to find in a market. With a bit of luck we'll get them one day on the Stade.
Antony Mair
No comments:
Post a Comment