Central New York Regional Market, Syracuse

We made our traditional trip to the Central New York Regional Market in Syracuse on Saturday morning. It’s a large, fun market with several rows of sheds and tents, and I always depart with the wish that we had something of this scale in Northern Virginia. You can find great local organic produce, flowers, plants, fresh maple syrup, wines, honey, eggs, cheese, and butter, as well as crafts and flea market type items. The Amish community brings in lovely baked goods, which seem to go very quickly. The place gets busy early in the day, so arriving close to the 7 am opening time is a good idea.

I wandered around taking photos of some of the produce stands. The boys were very excited by all the fresh fruits and vegetables, especially when they got to help purchase the items and helped Grandma and Papa carry the bags.

I thought these donut peaches had a beautiful color and fun shape.

Corn is now in season, and we bought a bunch of ears of the popular bicolored butter & sugar variety. This is a good variety for home gardens, with just 75 days to harvest.

We’d never seen Ishtar squash before, and had to ask about it. The vendor told us it’s similar to zucchini squash, only sweeter. We’re already scouring online trying to find seeds for next year.

Carrots and beets and other root vegetables are starting to come in. I really liked the colorful varieties in this display.

The flowers were especially pretty this time.

Always Looking for a Good Market

A good market will always get my attention. I think it goes back to my childhood when my parents and grandparents would take us to flea markets and we would walk all over, seeing the wares for sale. When we were young we would get tired and cranky, but as I grew older I started to appreciate the market and the bargain hunting, and I learned the fun of the negotiation by watching my dad. Then later when I was off on my own, some of my favorite and most vivid memories of my travels would include visiting indoor and outdoor markets and bazaars, such as the Qingping Market in Guangzhou; the Ladies Market and Stanley Market in Hong Kong; the outdoor markets in Bali; the little market that would set up on Sunday mornings just outside my apartment in Bogotá, where I could get great fresh meats, fruits, vegetables, and flowers, as well as the mercado de las pulgas (flea market), where I could stroll around and find all sorts of neat things; the Grand Bazaar and Spice Bazaar in Istanbul; and the flower market in Amsterdam.

Here in the U.S. there are many markets I would like to visit, and since I have a couple trips planned this summer, I want to do some market hunting. When Michael and I lived in Southern Maryland we frequented the market in Charlotte Hall, which had become quite vibrant, and I loved getting the fresh Amish eggs and butter. I’ve enjoyed the Central New York Regional Market in Syracuse, the Market Hall and Sheds in Charleston, and Eastern Market in DC, and I hope to take in some market action in Hawaii and San Francisco this summer! (Please leave me some good market tips for HI and SF in the comments! Perhaps I should bring along an empty suitcase on those trips…) Read more