Hello, Spring!!
It’s finally here! My favorite season – Spring, along with everything that entails.
The trees are in bloom; crocuses are peeking out, as are the daffodils and tulips. The biggest part of spring is the resurgence of the Farmers’ Markets across the globe. I don’t care WHERE you live, there will be a farmers’ market within a short distance of you. There you will find all the great foods you need for a proper, reasonably priced diet.
The produce, as with most springs, is a mix of locally stored and imported, but the prices are usually very good because the farmers are wanting to move the products out to make way for the upcoming growing season and the abundance of new product. This is also a great time to restock your freezer with the things you need to tide you over for the last of the previous year’s winter slowdown. By the time the new produce is at the markets, you will have gone through the stock you have.
Before you proceed to restock the freezers at home with all those excellent pieces of produce, do what I do, and remove any and all stuff from the freezer, wash it down with a good detergent and a scrub brush. You don’t need a lot of water to do this, just enough to get the residue from the previous produce off the walls and to leave the freezer smelling good. NOW you’re ready to shop.
Here’s the best plan for produce shopping. As each comes into seasonal maturity, buy what you can and prep it, then freeze it. By purchasing at the start of the season or the end of a growing season, you get better pricing from the farmers. Always rinse and bag everything, squeeze out the air and seal the bags. Certain things need moisture to prevent freezer burn. Items like salmon or other seafood are best frozen, then dipped in cold water, refrozen and dipped again. This will save the flavor for another day and prevent freezer burn.
As the growing season moves on, so should you. Always look for the best there is in your eyes and what the price is. Farmers will give a discount for larger purchase amounts. So, let’s get out there, talk to the farmers and see what’s available when you are there. If you like it, then grab it. Fill that freezer and don’t spare the car. The more you can get into the freezer early, the better. Later in the year, you will find it hard to get some produce locally, so it’s always better to get it when it’s newly grown. Certain produce, such as fruits and the harder veggies, come between June and September here in the Fraser Valley. So we make a point of going and talking to the farmers early, ordering what we want or need, in the amounts we need. Most farmers will grant you the advantage when you order like that. It’s like money in the bank for them.
If there are meat farmers around your area, talk to them as well, because they often have some animals available for the general public. Now, I’m not saying that people on limited budgets need to go and blow everything on a whole steer or pig, but I’m sure there are other like-minded individuals who would love to ‘go-in’ with you to purchase cow or pig. Your average pig can cost between $650 to $700 dressed and hung. A side of beef, at the time of this writing has been going up and sits about $400 to $600 dressed and hung. With beef you can also order the whole carcass, the side as shown, or in quarters (front or hind). The prices vary when ordering the different sizes.
Where I live in B.C., we have many meat farmers available to us. My wife is Jamaican and just loves her curry goat. Goat meat, like lamb, is priced at a premium in the stores. We have found a farmer who raises both and sells us a lamb on the hoof for $125 and we get to pick the one we want. He also sells goats on the hoof for $150 and, again, we get to pick our own meat.
I know that there are the same types of deals in your areas, especially if you live in the American Midwest from the Dakotas south to Arkansas, Central Europe and Great Britain. Other areas I’m not sure about, as my research ran into a snag trying to find out this information.
But there are my spring guidelines for your freezer refills. Again, also watch for marked down meats and produce that can be frozen immediately. That will be a great source for you and your family. Stay healthy.