The Dirt: What To Get At The Farmers Market This Weekend

Despite the heat, you should probably plan to bake something for your Labor Day festivities this weekend, because even though the cherries and berries are done for the year (except for raspberries! you might see some late season raspberries around!), this week the farmer’s markets are all about fruit. The glut of fruit at the moment is actually crazy because nectarines, plums, and peaches are still going strong, but fall flavors are rolling in, no holds barred. Best choose your pie-orities wisely…

Pears – Yellow bartlett and other juicy varieties of pears are starting to show up. Look for them at the Rittenhouse market from Frecon and at the Overbrook market from Walnut Spring Orchard.

Mirabelle Plums – These tiny plums are unlike anything you’ve seen before–sweet little yellow grape-sized beauties that pop between the teeth. Careful, though: like all plums, they do have pits. Widely cultivated in the region of France called Lorraine, we most often find them in the US distilled into brandy or eau de vie. The fruit geniuses from North Star Orchard have them at Headhouse.

Apple Cider – It’s back! Get ready to whet your whistle because there are enough apples around that some of the fruit growers are pressing a blend of fruit into the first of this season’s fresh apple cider!

Asian Pears – Juicy, crunchy and bright, Queen’s Farm and North Star Orchards have the first Asian pears of the year at Headhouse. Don’t bother cooking these beauties, they’re best right out of the fridge, fresh and cold.

Pink Pearl Apples – A specialized heirloom variety that Three Springs is growing, these apples have light green skin, but this is a clear case of not being able to judge a fruit by its cover because the flesh of these apples is marbled white and bright pink. Prepare for some serious side eye when you give them to your children.