Do you believe organic is best? I do. I also believe in sourcing local produce so, when the organic beans have been flown in from Kenya and our local produce have been liberally coated with pesticides what to choose? Unfortunately being organic is also expensive. But it need not be. I always buy organic milk,carrots corn and tomatoes. With milk it is because of the oestrogen levels in non-organic milk, the high pesticide absorption rate in non-organic carrots and the fact that I am never convinced that non-organic corn and tomatoes are not genetically modified. With everything else I try and buy local where I can or I just grow my own.
Every year I grow salad ( SO easy to grow and supermarket salad is so expensive, courgettes ( for the flowers as much as anything – they taste fabulous),potatoes ( a good way of getting value out of all the seeded potatoes you find in the vegetable drawer),tomatoes, beans and chard (my favourite). I tend to avoid cabbages,lettuces,root vegetables- too fiddly or sluggy. Life’s too short and I like my vegetables to be vegetarian.
Buying offcuts or unfashionable cuts of meat is another way of buying organic without dying at th price. Don’t be fooled by organic honey,salt and watercress. Local honey is best, it can help alleviate hayfever and allergy symptoms so you won’t need to shell out for anti-histamines, if your’re lucky and organic salt? purleeeese!! As for watercress, you can pick it for free as you can samphire, blackberries…… but that is going to be lesson 10.
I love Farmers’ Markets and farm shops. To be sure, some are better than others but it is a great way of finding local produce under one roof. Many of the farm shops now are almost mini-supermarkets with everything including pet-food and detergents under one roof. A word of warning though, remember, we are buying quality and value,make sure that what you buy really is local and not just re-packaged tat with a premium price attached to attract the fashionably eco-conscious. A local farm shop should be cheaper than buying at the supermarket, though not as cheap as their budget ranges. It should not make you feel you have just come out of the Harrods’ Food Hall!
Around here some of the really good local producers are:
Hillcrest Farm Shop in Stanton, near Bury St Edmunds
Wyken Hall Saturday Farmers’ Market near Stanton
Longwood Organic Farm in Tuddenham St.Mary
La Hogue, near Newmarket
Sometimes you will also come across little individual table stalls by the road side, where individual gardeners sell their home produce. These are not necessarily organic but have been produced (locally!) with love and are usually very inexpensive.
