Farm shop directory

[Saracen]

I found the veg and fruit from the local market and farm shops seems to taste much better. A lot of the stuff in supermarkets is just not ripened properly and seems to be selected more on appearance.

That could be because time from ground to store is much less, so some of the techniques supermarkets need aren't required, like cold-storage at near zero.

Of course, getting a locally-grown banana in the UK in December might be ..... challenging.

In conjunction with using farm shops (generally a good idea, at least for taste) the other thing is to get used to season products, and concentrate on using what's in-season. It seems obvious to me, mainly 'cos in my youf we had no choice - fruit and veg came from the green-grocers (in paper bags, not plastic, I might add) and supermarkets didn't exist. For all the convenience, product range and often price-advantage of supermarkets, part of the price we pay is the implications of a storage/dustribution system that can see products taking several days, or a week, to get to store.

Also, of course, shop small and often, not weekly and keeping stuff in your own fridge for days.

If you really want taste, nothing beats coming from garden to pan, to plate, on-demand ..... providing the slugs, snails, hedgehogs, various hordes of birds, or bugs, disease and pestilence don't get to them before you do.

[Fab Farm Shops]

Exactly right! We'll be covering all of the U.K just as soon as we have all farm shops in England listed...

[peterb]

Exactly right! We'll be covering all of the U.K just as soon as we have all farm shops in England listed...

I assume this is a response to these...

Wonder why it's only England, and not UK-wide? I've been using farm shops and "proper" butchers a lot more recently, would be nice to discover a few more round here.

I suppose they have to start somewhere - might be extended later if its a success.

[donnajones778]

I love the Borough one...

[Pouchey2]

If there's one benefit of Covid, it's that I've been using my local farm shops a lot more (specifically Alder Carr Farm in Suffolk). Yes it's more expensive but the quality is superior. I never bit the bullet before due to the cost but I'm glad I now have.