Filter coffee

One of the first things I discovered in Helsinki was the dominance of filtered coffee over barista type of coffee. This was also the case in the Hakaniemen market hall (Hakaniemen kauppahalli) where I had my breakfast filtered coffee with a Karjalanpiiratat (Karelian pasty) and a cabbage puff pastry. A good entry into the Finnish cuisine.

It was my first time to be in the Nordics and I was looking forward to get to now the local cuisine. My expectations were partly set by the Helsinki edition of the Fare magazine which covers cities from a culinary perspective. It certainly was different to the hype around Copenhagen. Nordic means also some kind of cool and calm to me. I found this cliché kind of true for Helsinki but without the hipster stuff. And this means focus on good, old filtered coffee.

The Hakaniemen market hall

The Hakaniemen or Hakaniemi market hall was my entry point to the Helsinki cuisine. The red brick building dates from 1914. The two floors had just been renovated and everything was white and clean. Very white and clean, a contrast to its brick shell outside. The whiteness promoted a minimalist, concentrated ambiance which helped to bring more light into the hall and let the produce shine.

The ground floor had all the produce and streetfood, whereas the top floor all sorts of hardware and souvenirs in stock.

Difference

Discovering the unfamiliar in a market is what gets my attention. That meant that I had to calibrate my eyes to the merchandise. At first sight I saw only seemingly familiar meat, fish, vegetables, flowers and delicacies. Then I dug deeper and discovered the unfamiliar.

It started with the small breakfast where the bakery was not overloaded with croissants and sweet baked goods, but served a lot of rustic ones filled with meat, cabbage, egg and similar. I had never seen Karelian pasty before, so I took one. It is a rye based oval shaped pasty of roughly 12 cm open at the top and often filled with some sort of rice pudding. A classic topping is a mixture of butter and hard boiled egg called “munavoi“. I liked it, even though I would not call it a breath taking experience. The filtered coffee was filtered coffee.

Walking through the aisles it seemed that the market hall was mainly about meat and fish, not surprisingly when you consider that Helsinki is close to the sea, has thousands of lakes and quite a lot of surface for so little people in a rather colder climate. How did I get this wrong impression? Probably because I saw only one vegetable and fruit vendor amongst the 25 or so food stalls. At second sight I found also a few bakeries, spices, delicacies from Italy etc.

In contrast to the market halls I know in Germany, I did not see traders with a Turkish, Arabic, Persian etc. family history, something I surely missed. But it is hard to tell just looking at people. Having traders with such cultural heritage creates a different layer of ambiance, style of displays and conversations, meaning more variety in the market, something I appreciate.

What caught my attention?

Sandwiches

I like bread. A lot. I love baking bread as well. And I love open-faced sandwiches. Helsinki is a feast for those, especially in the Hakaniemen market hall. I am used to little variety in Germany: mozarella with tomato, gouda cheese, Gouda with ham or salami or similar. Sometimes there are a few more “Italian” looking ones. Here the variety was large variety based on Finnish (?) ingredients. Different spreads, fish, seafood, meat and more garnished with dill or other herbs. Not so much cheese.All very nicely placed on a slice of rye or wheat bread or half a roll. Different style and different tastes to what I am used to. I liked it.

Bread

Did I mention that I love bread?

I was aware that rye is often used in Finnish breads, but I was surprised that it did not really dominate. And I did not find a lot of sourdough based rye bread. I learned from a waitress that quick breads are more common. I looked at three bakeries in the market hall, but was not really observant enough to dig deeper into the existing variety. I bought a flat rye bread wheel wrapped in plastic which was more satisfying and with a longer shelf life than I expected. It was even appreciated at home. So i had to correct a little bit my assumptions.

In sourdough oriented bakeries outside the market hall, I also could not find the dense type of rye breads I am used to in Germany.

Game meat

Bear & reindeer!

I had never seen it before. And I had never tasted it before. And it was easy to buy both in the Hakaniemen market hall. Not only at one stall. It was mostly cured or smoked and not cheap. I shared a small piece of smoked reindeer with my Croatian friend at home. We both liked it. It had a smooth, almost elegant game taste, was salty in a pleasant way and lean. Good for visitors: it is vacuumed packed.

I had tried bear on 10€ slice of bread a couple days earlier in the Vanha Kauppahalli (Old Market Hall), but was not overwhelmed. The very lean meat had the taste of a slightly gamy beef tartar. I did not see the need to bring it back home. Probably a mistake not giving it a second chance.

Fish

When a city faces the sea and has plenty of lakes in the “backyard”, fish should be common place. It was. And in a nice variety. A lot of it was smoked, cured or graved. I could not resist to sample a little and eat it in the hotel to get first hand experience. The choice was overwhelming and my stomach finite. I still have good memories of what I bought.

Of course herring, a common fish in the Baltic region was abundant in the market hall, but also salmon in a large variety of preparations. A small sweet water fish maybe twice as big as anchovies seemed to be a staple food which I also saw at the Kauppatori streetfood market. As I am not a fish expert and reading Finnish labels proved difficult to me – too lazy for a digital translator, I could not identify all of them, but I was impressed.

Else

Other stalls had also a very nice display of their goods, the owners put a lot of effort in pleasing the eyes of customers by displaying what I would call an orderly abundance. Abundance because the stalls were full of produce, no empty spaces, every square centimeter used, always the signal: there is plenty. Orderly because nothing got in the way on providing focus on the goods. No scale, other equipment or empty boxes were visible.

In Hakaniemen market hall meat, fish and bread were in focus meaning represented by more than one stall. Other produce categories were represented by single stalls only, thus clearly showing the focus here. Fruit, Mediterranean specialties, pasta, cheese, coffee, tea, flowers etc. ensured that pantries could be sufficiently filled.

All in all

I went a few days in a row to experience the Hakaniemen market hall. The hall is new and has a touch of class but somehow grounded, offering tourists a nice spot to enjoy Finnish food culture without being a souvenir place. With its produce it has a distinct character, I would not find something similar in Germany or France. I did not see extravagant offerings, but an own good quality which may represent the country pretty well. I had more fun with this market hall than with the more tourist oriented Vanha Kauppahalli (Old Market Hall).

When in Helsinki, it is definitely worth making a detour and visiting it.

A little link list

• Hakaniemi market hall on Wikipedia
• The official website and on Instagram
• A blog post from travel and lifestyle diaries
• An old post from eat-drink-man-woman-blog

The post White & bright – Hakaniemen Market Hall, Helsinki / Finland appeared first on Food & Farmers' Markets.

Scroll down for the map including directions

A colleague of mine told me to visit the old wholesale produce market in the outskirts of Zagreb which caters for small retailers. So Davorin my all time favorite taxi driver brought me there in the morning before office hours.

On the way he showed me the new wholesale market full of large trucks catering for the big supermarket chains. But our goal was the traditional one further down the road. In front of the big gate he dropped me off and I felt like entering something which was not made for consumers & tourists. I expected to be asked for an ID or similar but everything was laid back.

Despite being there relatively early, it was not packed with traders and produce, I guess more than half of the space was underutilized. I was a little disappointed, but Davorin had already told me that the big business was done elsewhere.

I made my round to get an overview. The wholesale dealers were coming from Croatia but also as far as Albania and Bosnia Herzegovina. And most of the produce were grown in this region as well, even though I saw some larger bags of carrots, strawberries and apples from France, Italy etc.

From time to time a van stopped at one of the stalls, the driver got out looked at the produce, some words were exchanged, the boxes with produce were weighted on the big scales and then disappeared in the van. I was wondering where those small retailers had their shops as I never had seen them in the Zagreb city center.

I continued to make my round for good photos and to start talking with the traders. A few were able to speak English and I had some friendly exchanges. Most were curious about me, trying to understand why I was taking pictures. After some explanations they were even willing to “pose” a bit.

The ambiance at the market seemed cordial, it seemed less about competition, more about having some fun before any customer came over to do some business. Nobody looked rich, nobody had a large lorry. It seemed to come from a time when food production and distribution had not gained today’s scale and intensity. Somehow I felt sad that this type of small scale business had become a niche thus loosing more space for “true” personalities who shape a public place.

Davorin, my taxi driver picked me up and I started my office day.

I still feel a bit sad about the decline

All in all: Visit this traditional wholesale market in Zagreb before it will probably disappear. It gives you an impression on how small trade – wholesale & retail – works to feed Croatias capital

A little link list:

• The official website from Zagreb Holdings on this market
• My other posts on Zagreb markets

The post Traditional wholesale market – Zelena Tržnica, Zagreb / Croatia appeared first on Food & Farmers' Markets.

Scroll down for the map including directions

Business was done, the sun was shining, I needed a walk to refresh before heading back to the airport. I had been told that the visit of the fairly new Fresh Market in Bratislava is a must for any serious market and food lover.

Architecture

So I walked down a very busy road with my luggage which kind of swallowed the annoying sounds of the wheels of my trolley case. I arrived in a commercial neighborhood, an area where one mainly come with a car, and yes underground parking was widely available. A rather unusual place for a market hall but making it easier to established new architecture. This market hall has an industrial look: high ceilings, large glass fronts, concrete floors and columns, chip boards as temporary separators. The spacious feeling is accentuated with a large plaza on the ground floor and wide, a wide stairway leads to the upper floor. A generous setup.

The plaza on the ground floor is reserved for the vegetables, fruit, pickles (it is autumn) and the like. Big wooden boxes placed on pallets cover the floor adding even more to the industrial flair. There is no clear separation between the different traders, it is not even clear if they are independent ones or employees of the market hall. So I am not sure how a relationship between individual traders and customers are being built up. Nevertheless the choice is wide.

Next to these movable structures the shops on the ground floor form kind of two circles. The setup reminds a bit a mall, the structures are standardized and allow a quick change in case a new shop needs to replace an old one. The signs with the shop name are all standardized in terms of size and colors, no extravaganza, individualism is expressed in font and name.

The upper floor which is reached through the wide stairway or elevator, is basically a food court. It allows to easily look down at the market scenery while eating and drinking. The large glass front provides a lot of sunshine, the artistically arranged neon lights add to it.

So there is generous space to present all the goodness of this area and the planet in this market hall.

Hipster place?

After having tried to decipher the architecture I focused a bit more on the content, meaning food. The Fresh Market has been described by my friends as a hipster place, well I would not get that far but there is certainly more than good coffee and a great selection of craft beer. And since I do not know where to write about it in this post, I’ll do it here: in the market hall there is also a Bitcoin ATM (see photo gallery). I have never seen it before, I don’t know how it works, but I think it is not only hip but also very interesting. For any hints please: https://twitter.com/askans.

International orientation

I was also told that the market is probably one of the most internationally oriented food places in the city. And indeed, Turkey, Croatia, France, Indian, Thais, Arab, Italian and more are well represented, not only in the food court part. In the produce section there is clearly an orientation towards quality, also organic. Be it cheese, meat, sausages, vegetables or some processed food.

The coffee shop showed solid barista skills and quality, and of course I could not resist the craft beer shop. The owner was very helpful in finding me some very good local craft beer and explaining me a bit about the beer situation in Slovakia. The raspberry and lime gose from Unorthodox Brewing was particularly well balanced and worth more than one bottle.

A little confusion came up when passing by a stall looking at a familiar cheese, not from Slovakia, but from Croatia. It was the Paški Sir, a truly good Croatian cheese I had bought at the Dolac market hall in Zagreb. I looked up, and it was indeed a stall full of Croatian goodies. I was very tempted to buy it, but I was here for the local stuff.

Continuing the walk

As autumn started, lots of pumpkins were on display, but also pickles and fermented vegetables aka sauerkraut. The choice of dried beans was really great. I crossed a few meat, dairy, fish and organic stalls but did not find a noticeable bakery (but there is one, I am sure). Basically it was easy to find a lot of things for good cooking, unfortunately not all suitable for cabin luggage transportation.

My shopping

Before doing my little shopping I ate at the food court. Most stalls were already closed and only a few people had appetite at this time of day. And indeed the whole market hall was not really busy, which surprised me, especially considering the many fans on Facebook. Google is indicates that the main traffic is around lunch, probably coming from the neighboring offices & businesses. And according to one of the vendors, Christmas and Easter are the peak times as well. So I had a free choice for seats and could enjoy my Slovak pulled pork with mashed potatoes in a calm environment.

Just before leaving it was time to do shopping. I got some funny looking organic wheat puffs – my curiosity was bigger than my expectations. Slovak cheeses found a place in my luggage, the organic cow milk one was really good. And I could not resist to get some local salami and bacon. I should rethink a little bit my choices and go beyond cheese and sausage, but it is convenient and most of the times really good.

Epilogue

I have hard times to judge the Bratislava Fresh Market. I am more used to the old fashioned markets not so much to such modern concepts. I have to admit that they cater for fairly good quality produce in a convenient way especially for truly urban people. It is certainly easier this way to do some good marketing and attract crowds who feel uncomfortable at old fashion markets. Still this market hall needs a bit more time to get what I would call a soul and personality to become a true urban public space. Nevertheless it seems there is a trend towards such market halls or food halls as the New York Times can observe it in the US.

All in all: The Fresh Market in Bratislava embraces local and international produce and food in a modern concept, a contrast to old fashion markets.

A little link list:

• The original website of the market
• On Facebook and Instagram
• A nice Youtube video
• My other posts on Bratislava markets
• A collection of Bratislava markets from The Culture Trip

The post Food mall – Fresh Market in Bratislava / Slovakia appeared first on Food & Farmers' Markets.

The three sections of Dolac market

Dolac market is the most famous one in Zagreb and consists of three sections:

• the outdoor market – see post
• the fish market – see post
• and the “underground” market which is situated below the outdoor market and is basically a market hall

To my embarrassment I missed the “underground” section of the market which is indeed a market hall. I only got to know about it as I watched a documentary on Dolac. The entrance is indeed not obvious enough for me, but the many customers show that this is not a true barrier.

The market hall is a bit dark when you enter it giving it a slightly spooky touch. While the outdoor market above is more focused on fresh produce, in the market hall meat and cheese lovers will find here all the Croatian specialties. Still fresh produce and pickles are available as well.

The offering

The offering is focused on the local population but culinary tourists can make discoveries as well and bring back home some goodies.

The many butchers offer mainly pork cuts and adhere to the nose to tail philosophy. Besides traditional cuts whole pork heads are available, dried/smoked pig ears etc. Fat is not seen as unnecessary bi-product but is presented in many ways to be used for cooking. Popular is the Čvarci, basically pork fat crisps with a very pleasant taste – certainly not the healthiest food but good to bring back home. All the meat makes you feel that it is easy to survive a cold winter, with hearty tasteful dishes.

The cheeses are mainly fresh or harder cheeses, soft cheeses are not really available. There is a lot of sheep and cow milk cheeses available, I had not seen goat milk ones. One stall sells an award winning sheep cheese from the Island of Pag sold as Paški sir (see also photo gallery above). As this cheese is available vacuumed packages of different sizes, I can only recommend to bring it back home as a souvenir or to eat it on the go. Fortunately enough some vendors speak English and are willing to share their knowledge.

Next to the fresh produce were the pickles as they may be found elsewhere in central Europe, e.g. in Bratislava or Tirana. Those are always great to look at and it would have been worth to grab a portion and eat them on the spot. The pickles were made out of any kind of veggies: peppers, cauliflower, onion, cucumbers and more, often mixed all together. I was very much impressed by the fermented cabbage leaves which are put together to make them look almost like whole heads of cabbage.

All in all: A nice market hall to discover ingredients of the hearty part of the Croatian cuisine and to get culinary souvenirs.

A little link list:

• How to make Croatian Čvarci
• The markets in Zagreb – in Croatian but easy to grasp
• Comments welcome on Twitter

The post Dolac underground market, Zagreb / Croatia appeared first on Food & Farmers' Markets.

Everything is red at the Britanski square outdoor market in Zagreb. The umbrellas of the stalls and those of the large café watching over the market. The historic buildings around it serve as a nice frame of this relaxing market where locals buy their food.

Many tourists know the Dolac market next to the city square. In less than 10 minutes walking distance Britanski market is less busy but has the charm of a neighbourhood meeting place. In the evening hours, when the market has closed, the huge café at the square is still open, adding life and local flavour to the then empty square.

Buy

In the early morning hours, just after breakfast, the market has a constant flow of buyers wandering from stall to stall looking for deals on vegetables and fruit. The offer is seasonal and gives an impression on what people are going to cook. Looks pretty vegetarian, but a couple carts were selling meat and sausages as well.

Some of the vendors had a very small offering, barely covering the table of their stall. It seemed that they had a small plot at home and wanted to increase their meagre pension.

Eye catching were the plastic bags filled with chopped mixed vegetables (see photo gallery). Slices of carrots, zucchini, cabbage and more were mixed ready to be used for a soup or so.

As this market, like all the others in Zagreb is managed by the city company Zagrebački Holding. The setup of the market is standardized: the stalls all have the same type tables reminding of German Beer Fest ones and a red umbrella – all helping to set up and dismantle very quickly. Stalls which need refrigeration, e.g. the cheese mongers have simple, stainless steel covered stalls with power supply. All the stalls stay overnight at the square in a proper order, only the umbrellas are stored somewhere. I assume this standardization assures fairness amongst vendors and some promotes basic hygiene.

Relax

The café along the quare is a winner. Not only that the red sunshades match those ones of the market, but it allows to observe all the market activities from the comfort of a chair. In the early evening parents come and share a drink while their little kids are playing on the then empty square. Later when the kids are in bed, people are still sitting together, enjoying conversations and life. No hustle and bustle as in the close city centre. And for your date there is an open flower shop next to the café.

All in all: a very relaxing ambiance – observe locals and guess what they are going to cook with their purchases

A little link list:

• A post on the weekend flea market at Bristanski square by Rangan Datta
• My photos of the Britanski market
• My posts on markets in Zagreb: Dolac, Kvatric, & the fish market

The post Red sunshades – Britanski market, Zagreb / Croatia appeared first on Food & Farmers' Markets.

I love lists, all sorts of lists, no idea why. And I like good blog posts on food & farmers’ markets. An ideal combination to publish a list of the European capitals and their markets. Why European capitals? Well, I live on this continent and this way I get to know it a bit better.

This list will grow and get better over time. I am happy about any suggestion or hint – contact me on Twitter: @askans

Enjoy!

The European countries, their capitals & markets

Albania – Tirana

• I did not find a lot, therefore I have to promote my own post: the new Bazaar in Tirana – I was impressed that they were selling open tobacco just like any veggie

Andorra – Andorra la Vella

• Not yet

Austria – Vienna

• The Naschmarkt on this site during daytime & nighttime – during the day for shopping at night for entertainment and dining – a cool combination
• The Naschmarkt by epicures with lots of pictures- a little bit of history and a wide choice of produce and artisan products – from exotic to local
• The official English website
• The Rochus Market which has a great wine pub at night

Belarus – Minsk

• The Komarovski – market hall seems to be the place of attraction. The post from food.artkopilka.ru is in Cyrillic but has many good pictures. Like in many Eastern European countries there is clear structure and order in this market hall.

Belgium – Brussels

• Why waste annual leave, the blog with an overview on the Brussels weekend markets
• ottsworld.com gives a portrait of the Midi market, which has lots of Arabic influences – incl. a video

Bosnia & Herzegovina – Sarajevo

• From adventures in Bosnia an overview on food & markets in Sarajevo
• And here a short post on the Markale market & market hall from greengopost.com

Bulgaria – Sofia

• A panaroma picture from 360cities.net
• The Women’s market (Jenski Pazar) by Sofia Travel Guide

Croatia – Zagreb

• The markets of Zagreb are very well organized and have almost a “branded” appearance as they all use standardized umbrellas etc. The Dolac market is the most known one and has also a great fish market.
• Dolac market, the Dolac fish market, Kvatric market and the Trešnjevka one on this site
• Dutched Pinay travels a lot and takes nice pictures from markets – in this case Dolac market
• tatjanapasalic.com is a well known personality in Croatia: model, TV presenter & more – here she blogged on Kvatric market

Cyprus – Nicosia

• An overview with nice pictures on farmers’ markets in Cyprus incl. Nicosia by Afrodites kitchen

Czech Republic – Prague

• In the the touristic city of Prague farmers’ markets are supposed to be on the rise.
• An overview of the markets from prague.tv
• Past, present & future of the big Holešovice market from expats.cz
• My own post

Denmark – Copenhagen

• From eatyourcity.ca an introduction & pictures on the Torvehallerne & Israels Plads markets
• An introduction for tourists to the Torvehallerne food market by a food awakening
• The official site of the Tervehallerne market

Estonia – Talinn

• A list of the markets in the city from @VisitTallinn

Finland – Helsinki

• Pearlspotting describes the Market Square by the sea and the old Market Hall
• Dutched Pinay is always a good source – Kauppatori Market Square – Hietalahti Market Square – Hakaniemi Market Square

France – Paris

• There is one favourite source for me: Marjorie R. Williams, who wrote a book on the Paris markets and blogs about them
• A nice post on the famous wholesale market Rungis International Market by Cody C. Delistraty

Germany – Berlin

• The past, current status and future of the Berlin Market Halls by @slowberlin. They also posted on the very popular Markthalle IX
• A listing of the Berlin markets by angloinfo.com

Greece – Athens

• As an introduction my post on the Central Market – A must see for meat & fish lovers
• Matt Barrett has written several picture intense posts – The Central Market – an overview on some markets

Hungary – Budapest

• My post on the Central Market Hall, which has a splendid architecture
• A post on the Central Market Hall with many pictures from alwaystravelicious.com

Iceland – Reykjavík

• Not yet

Ireland – Dublin

• The Dublin Diary has a post on the Honest 2 Goodness Farmers Market
• And here my post on the Moore Street Market

Italy – Rome

• A blog specialized on the markets of Rome alone: marketsofrome.com
• The post yourguidetoitaly.com gives an overview in pictures of the markets in Rome
• Forbestravelguide.com is more decriptive

Kosovo – Pristina

• Not yet

Latvia – Riga

•  From Paris Paysanne a nice little post on the Riga Central Market
• And here a big fan of the Riga central market on Pinterest

Lichtenstein – Vaduz

• Not yet

Lithuania – Vilnius

• A little post with pictures on the Kalvarijų turgus market from Ravinder Sehgal

Luxembourg – Luxembourg

• My post
• A list of farmers’ markets

Macedonia – Skopje

• From Macedonia in 91 days a post with tons of pictures and a video giving great insights on the Bit Pazar

Malta – Valletta

•  The Ta’ Qali farmer’s market by Kristin Winet

Moldova – Chișinău

• Moldovan Life describes the Piata Centrala – the main market
• Foodperestroika, a great blog with focus on Central and Eastern European food & cuisine is highly recommended – also the post on Moldovan food

Monaco – Monaco

• Not yet

Montenegro – Podgorica

• A tiny friendly post on Podgorica’s Green Market from Wandering Educators

Netherlands – The Hague

• My own post on the Haagse Markt
• It is supposed to be the largest outdoor market in Europe with 500 stalls: the Haagse Markt as per Theleidener.com
• Local Heart, Global Soul finds the Haagse Markt impressive as well

Norway – Oslo

• From Nordic Nibbler a friendly introduction into the Bondens Marked
• And Oslo has also a market hall – Mathallen – the post from soldrom.com

Poland – Warsaw

• Warsaw’s Saturday Market in Zoliborz by My Travelling Joys
• A short overview on the Hale Mirowskie – the central market hall – from polandculinaryvacations.com

Portugal – Lisbon

• travel.sketch.write posts about the Mercado da Ribeira, which seems to be the most famous market in Lisbon
• The Mercado de Campo de Ourique is described by Portugal confidential as hip and urban

Romania – Bucharest

• My post on the Piata Domenii market
• Beautiful pictures from Oana Hogrefe on a unknown market

Russia – Moscow

• A nice introduction into the Moscow markets by The Moscovore
• A photo essay in Russian on Preobrazhensky Rynok farmers market by DaryaDarya – courtesy of where.cheap-moscow.com

San Marino – San Marino

• Not yet

Serbia – Belgrade

• A small post with nice pictures on a farmer’s market from Stellar Perspectives
• The Belgrade Green Market by Serbian Culture Shock
• Nataša von Wunderland made an extensive photo tour of the markets in Belgrade

Slovakia – Bratislava

• I had the chance to visit 2 markets: the Trhovisko Miletičova central market & the Nová Tržnica market hall
• Basic information about the markets in Bratislava from bratislava.info
• A post from daytripper.sk which characterizes the market hall very well
• A post with many pictures from 52 weeks in Slovakia
• Different: a fashion shooting at the market from Donna Iveh Fashion Blog

Slovenia – Ljubljana

• The Farmers Market on the Vodnik Square by photojoseph.com
• Meet the Ljubljana market enthusiast on Twitter: @JanaSvenska

Spain – Madrid

• Mercamadrid is the second largest fish market in the world and the largest and the biggest perishable foods market in Europe according to spanishsabores.com She writes also on the Cámera Agraria farmer’s market
• From Citylife Madrid a quick overview on the markets in Madrid
• Wanderwings has some nice pictures on the known Mercado de San Miguel

Sweden – Stockholm

• An overview on the market halls in Stockholm by Real Scandinavia
• A small post on a farmer’s market by Bunny in Stockholm

Switzerland – Bern

• The markets and their opening times by the City of Bern
• From Swiss Mirabelle an overview and some pictures

UK – London

• Of course: Borough market is leading the pack and there is a fairly large number of posts on this market. My current favourite is kind of a love letter to the market from Eat Out of the Box
• A good overview on the London farmers’ markets from the organization called London farmers’ markets
• An overview on the markets in general by the Londonist
• From WhatAWonderfulWorld a nice one on a small market: Maltby Street Market
• Westminster News Online promotes the Food Market at Southbank

Ukraine – Kiev

• From Life in Kiev a nice post on the Besarabsky Market Hall
• From akihart an extensive photo post on Besarabsky market hall
• An extensive overview on the markets by BestOfUkraine

That should be it Europe!?

The post Food & farmers’ markets of the European capitals appeared first on Food & Farmers' Markets.

Surprise: winter is cold

It is cold, it is grey on this winter day in Zagreb, but suddenly there are bright summer colours popping up. Piles of oranges, mandarines, apples, kiwis and the abundant red umbrellas pop up when approaching the Kvatric market (or Kvaternikov Trg). A friendly touch to this day.

Located next to a larger street (Ulica Pavla Šubića), the iron fence around the market gives a feeling of being a protected school yard. And it is busy indeed, despite being smaller than the more famous Dolac market.

Structure & order are everything

The city of Zagreb has a very clear idea on how a market has to be like: it has to look very, very organized and structured. All stalls in the centre have the same tables of the same size of the same shape. Against sun, rain and maybe bad luck the stalls are all protected by the same umbrellas, the ones beach cafés might use as well. There is a section with open stalls which need refrigeration and a glass protected display. Also here the same size, shape and style. The open space is surrounded by permanent structures which look also similar to one another.

The vendors

The vendors, mainly ladies, gave this rigid structure and organization a nice charm. To my relief some of them spoke English. The cheese stands operated by old ladies throughout, my lack of Croatian by big smiles and body language for great conversations.

I don’t know how they made it throughout the day in this cold weather as not everyone had an outdoor heater to get at least some warmth. And the cafés at the market helped as well. The weather did not stop people from leaving the market with their hands full of large bags with merchandise.

The offering – quite local

The offering was seasonal for sure. Oranges, apples everywhere. Cabbage, beets, potatoes, carrots, dried beans of all kinds were the common vegetables. Pickles, open sauerkraut, and whole fermented cabbages were unique and interesting to discover.

Strange to me was the set of egg shops, maybe half a dozen all in permanent structures. So many eggs on one single market. No idea why.

The old ladies of the cheese stalls offered only local ones, no Camembert or so.

The butcher had a shop on the side of the market with classic cuts of beef and pork and some dried sausages. As he allowed me to take some pictures, he took away the tray of sweetbreads as he deemed it as not esthetic enough. What a pity.

One my way out I was surprised to discover the small fish market hall: beautiful selection of Mediterranean fishes like sea devil, calamari and live shrimps. It is almost as living at the sea. Not too many customers were on a shopping spree, an easy time to take some pictures. One fish monger even posed some seafood to get better pictures.

All in all: a typical Zagreb market, a little bit hidden, worth a visit for market lovers who want to experience charming vendors

A little link list:

• A blog post on the market from tatjanapasalic.com
• The official/administrative site for all Zagreb markets from Zagrebački Holding – trznice-zg.hr  with the listing of all the vendors

The post Kvatric outdoor market, Zagreb / Croatia appeared first on Food & Farmers' Markets.

When in Zagreb I like to stay in Hotel Dubrovnik. It is not the most fantastic hotel, but it’s location is hard to beat: in the very heart of Zagreb, where people have coffee outside even in winter time when there is snow. Great! It is also located next to some spots I like for my well being: the Pinguin fast food sandwich bar (they do not talk a lot, but they do a great job), the great ice cream parlour Vincek, and at last the micro brewery Pivnica Medvedgrad after having visited the Upper Town and listened to some free (!) live music outdoors at the so called Strossmayer Promenade. It is almost a ritual when I have time in Zagreb.

Hotel Dubrovnik has another advantage: before the work day starts you just walk about 100 meters across the main square, climb up the stairs and you are welcomed by the great Dolac market! It is a fairly big square surrounded by buildings of mixed architectural styles and a fish market. The Zagreb Cathedral is overlooking the market from a distance, also a way to assure fair trade.

From my point of view Zagreb which has lots of architecture from the Austro-Hungarian empire shows a nice mix of Mediterranean & Eastern European lifestyles. And the market reflects this to a certain degree. It is a very well “disciplined market”: the tables for the stalls are nicely standardized including their umbrellas, there is a section with small permanent stalls without shades which come with their own refrigeration. And in the evenings everything is properly put together and piled up.

And when the vendors have prepared their part in the morning, the market offers all its splendour: fruit & vegetables in abundance! It is a feast for the eyes and the locals come here in plenty. Even in winter time the merchants sell fresh produce (more cabbage and alike) while standing in the snow! That is Mediterranean feeling even when it is cold. Besides all the fresh produce there is also honey, cheese etc. But the fruit and vegetables are dominating.

A good place to observe the scenery are the cafes on the Eastern side of the market where you may sit outside and have a coffee or a Rakija.

All in all: Dolac market combines Mediterranean & Eastern European savoir vivre and is worth more than one visit.

A little link list:

• A blog post with great descriptive pictures from Travel & Lifestyle Diaries – highly recommended!
• Frank about Croatia with a post on Dolac market
• Dolac market on trip advisor

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The question what about the favourite market is a one frequently asked. Be it the one when you look back on your own experiences or the one you ask as a tourist. But what do we have media for? They compile lists, top lists, best lists (from 5 to more than 100 or so, depending on the effort), some of them are related to only one city, some to a country and others to the whole globe. Now trying to make a best of the best lists would be a bit pretentious but why not?

But all the lists are an invitation for discussions and hopefully charming arguments. I always wonder how Pike Place Market in Seattle is on some lists, I think the market is quite overrated, but … And of course everybody has its own hidden gems or huge sympathy for smaller markets which are not to be found at traditional tourist destinations. There are some small markets which will never make it to the top, but which have something unique, a stall or two with fantastic products, e.g. the sensational cheese stall at Siegburg market, a small town in Western Germany.

When looking at the selections there are a few areas which are consistently left out: Sub-Saharan Africa, despite its sometimes huge and vibrant markets – Oceania, maybe with the exception of Australia – Eastern Europe, except Croatia – Central Asia. There must be something to discover there, isn’t it? So any hint is more than welcomed.

Let’s start with the world

World: The smallest list is from Wild Junket and has a selection of 7 markets.  CNN presents 10 places on this planet, perfectly demonstrating my hyper empiric observation of left behind areas. Travel & Leisure is also a bit stingy, only 10 markets! National Geographic has also only 10 to offer without any major surprise in the selection. The number 10 seems to be very popular as Lonely Planet is also focused on it, Pike Place market is mentioned here as well, not to my delight. Eyeflare chose 11 markets with some sure bets included, but also a surprise with Sonoma farmers’ market in California. Fodor’s travel has a nice slide show with 15 markets and some uncommon like the fish market in Bergen / Norway. The Telegraph offers around 20 markets with a nice interactive map (and I love maps) and has a few unusual selection like Amsterdam & Dubai. Rough guides have beautiful slide show – best view on large screens of 20 markets.  Food & Wine comes with a list of 25 markets is a little bit more descriptive but without pictures – to add the Berlin KaDeWe department store is a bit odd, despite the legendary food section. The Daily Meal could either not decide or wanted to be more fair: they offer a selection of 45! They cover also some markets from the areas which are usually left out. Kudos!

Was this a list of 10?

A little different approach has the eDreams blog which covers 10 markets around the Mediterranean Sea. Unfortunately the bazaar of Aleppo in Syria will probably not be a good travel destination these days, which is sad. And Travel & Leisure also presents the top 12 night markets, very helpful you have jet lag or so.

And now to individual regions

North America: This is mainly about the USA.

Well not quite. Canada has also its own selections. Better Health Magazine cannot decide if they want to present 5 or 10, but why not, they have more than one author. The city of Toronto seems to be very very big, as Hunffingtonpost found the 26 best farmers markets of this city.

In the US lets start with a big list, which is apparently an annual one: the 101 Best Farmers’ Markets in America from Daily Meal. They offer also one for 2013 as well, but I did not see a comparison between the two years. But now lets start with the small numbers: 9 – it is from Shermans travel blog and does not contain Pike Place Market. CNN sticks with 10, and easy to scroll through and is focused on travellers. US News comes with 11 ans some nice tips on what to look for. Fodor’s travel seems to have the rule of 15, as this is what they chose for the world as well. And because I want to have a list where Soulard Market in St. Louis is mentioned, you have to check the list of 16 from Gadling. And if you look at the top 25 US cities Travel to Wellness will help you.

Europe

Using search engines with English terms only, will hardly lead you to best of lists from countries outside the UK, but let’s give it a try. Nevertheless UK is the starting point.

UK: So the lovefood blog selected 6 based on a Twitter poll, in 2011! The Independent selected the 10 best farmers’ markets without mentioning the Borough market in London, interesting. The Ecologist, who sets the environmental agenda since 1970, chose 10 in 2011, not via Twitter I suppose. The Visit Britain Super Blog selected 10 as well and did not forget Northern Ireland. Country Farm Lifestyles chose 12 of them, a better layout would certainly help to read the page as they are promoting markets with local food.

France: Here we have to switch a little bit to French. Topito found the 10 most beautiful markets, all outside Paris! So then we have to search for Paris in this list of 10 from Paris Zigzag blog with nice descriptions.

Netherlands: We need to focus on Amsterdam for the time being. About travel finds 3 food markets worth mentioning, that is not a lot. But also Holland.com finds only 3!

The search engines worked hard, they need a break.

And if you are travelling outside classic “best of areas”, check my database to find a market at your destination.

I would like to point out to an article in the British  Guardian, which handles the question of best markets in the world very nicely.

The post The best list of lists of best food markets of the world, or so … appeared first on Food & Farmers' Markets.

Posts by country in alphabetical order

Albania

• New Bazaar in Tirana / Albania

Austria

• Rochus market, Vienna / Austria
• The Naschmarkt in Vienna / Austria
• Food market, Bregenz / Austria
• Naschmarkt by night, Vienna / Austria

Belgium

• A Sunday city stroll – La Batte market, Liège / Belgium
• Sunday market La Batte in Liège / Belgium

Canada

• Hearty – St. Lawrence market hall, Toronto / Canada
• Well balanced – Granville Island Public Market, Vancouver / Canada

Croatia

• Traditional wholesale market – Zelena Tržnica, Zagreb / Croatia
• Dolac underground market, Zagreb / Croatia
• Red sunshades – Britanski market, Zagreb / Croatia
• Kvatric outdoor market, Zagreb / Croatia
• Dolac market in Zagreb / Croatia – Outdoors even in winter time
• Fish market in Zagreb / Croatia
• Trešnjevka market in Osaljska street, Zagreb / Croatia

Czech Republic

• Eager – Jiřák farmers’ market, Prague / Czech Republic
• Holesovice market in Prague / Czech Republic

Finland

• White & bright – Hakaniemen Market Hall, Helsinki / Finland

France

• Simple but tasty – Halles de Wazemmes, Lille / France
• A few years later – Marché Edgar Quinet, Montparnasse / Paris
• Heroines on the wall – Market hall in Douarnenez, Bretagne / France
• Little cows – Market in Quimper, Bretagne / France
• First things first – Market in Pont l’Abbé, Bretagne / France
• Gigantic – Rungis Wholesale Market, Paris / France
• Eternal summer – Provençal market, Cassis / France
• Divine – Market hall Paul Bocuse, Lyon / France
• Live animals – Monday market, Louhans, Burgundy / France
• Saturday market in Manosque / France
• Marché des Capucins, Marseille / France
• Town square market in Manosque, Provence / France
• Fish market in the old port, Marseille / France

Germany

• Diversity at Its Best – Market at the Maybachufer, Berlin / Germany
• How Corona “helped” me to start a business – Interview with Baptiste at the Oberkassel Farmers’ Market
• Coming from far – Market in Gunzenhausen, Franconia / Germany
• A handful – Farmers’ market bloggers around the world
• Together or next to each other? Daily market in Cologne-Nippes / Germany
• Sometimes hearty, sometimes quick – Interview with Tim from Cookit at the Bonn Farmers’ Market
• Learning curve – Markthalle Belgisches Viertel, Cologne / Germany
• Cheese, bread & horse meat – Sachsenmarkt in Dresden / Germany
• Discoveries – Shopping at the farmers’ market
• Cozy – Beuel market, Bonn / Germany
• Helping people discover the markets in Bonn
• Pop Up – Markthalle 9, Berlin / Germany
• Slow decline – Duisdorf market, Bonn / Germany
• Very tasty – Street food market at Rudolfplatz, Cologne / Germany
• Traveling circus – Italian theme market, Bonn / Germany
• Tiny – St. Josef market, Bonn-Beuel / Germany
• Chit-chat – Rüttenscheider market, Essen / Germany
• Innovation at the market: Cookit, Bonn / Germany
• #LYLM2015 event at Apostelnkloster market, Cologne / Germany
• Location, location – Main market in Bonn / Germany
• Small & eclectic – Wuppertal outdoor market / Germany
• A bit of luxury – Carlsplatz market, Düsseldorf / Germany
• Outdoor market in Schlebusch, Leverkusen / Germany
• Rodenkirchen Saturday market, Cologne / Germany
• Relaxing market in Bad Godesberg, Bonn / Germany
• Porz Saturday market, Cologne / Germany
• Organic market in Bonn / Germany
• Market in Würzburg, Lower Franconia / Germany
• Market in Chemnitz, Saxony / Germany
• Market hall in Frankfurt / Germany
• Market hall Stuttgart / Germany
• Market in Siegburg, Nordrhein-Westfalen / Germany

Greece

• Traditional in the city – Thursday market in Rethimno, Crete / Greece
• Central Market, Athens / Greece
• Market hall Chania, Island of Crete / Greece

Hungary

• Morning coffee – Market hall in Kecskemét / Hungary
• Central market hall in Budapest / Hungary

Ireland

• For tourists – Howth Market, Howth / Ireland
• Puzzled – Moore Street Market, Dublin / Ireland
• Irish icon – English Market, Cork / Ireland

Italy

• Feeling joyful like a kid – Catania, Sicily / Italy
• Robust – Fish market in Catania, Sicily / Italy
• A handful – Farmers’ market bloggers around the world

Kyrgyzstan

• Visiting markets – Sharing memories

Luxemburg

• Global city, local food – Place Guillaume II market, Luxembourg city

Morocoo

• Fish & meat – Marché Central de Poissons, Tanger / Morocco
• Feeding a city – Al Massar wholesale market, Marrakesh / Morocco
• Local in a tourist area – Covered market in Marrakesh / Morocco
• Order – Souk in Azilal / Morocco
• Aroma – Souk in Demnate / Morocco

Netherlands

• Not my cup of tea – Foodhallen, Amsterdam / Netherlands
• Show time – Cheese market in Alkmaar / Netherlands
• Popular – Albert Cuyp Market, Amsterdam / Netherlands
• Almost famous – Lindengracht market, Amsterdam / Netherlands
• Trendy – Organic Noordermarkt, Amsterdam / Netherlands
• Like a candy store – Rotterdam Markthal / Netherlands
• Good vibrations – Haagse Markt, The Hague / Netherlands
• The big one – Maastricht Friday market / Netherlands
• Market in Den Burg, Texel / Netherlands

Romania

• Piata Domenii market, Bucharest / Romania

Slovakia

• Food mall – Fresh Market in Bratislava / Slovakia
• Central market, Bratislava / Slovakia
• Nová Tržnica market hall in Bratislava / Slovakia

Spain

• Market hall in La Orotava, Tenerife / Spain

Switzerland

• Know your blogger – Market hall “Im Viadukt” in Zürich / Switzerland

Thailand

• Visiting markets – Sharing memories

Tunisia

• Visiting markets – Sharing memories

UK

• Borough market, London / UK

USA

• Tourist hub – Pike Place Market, SeatTle / USA
• Feel good – Queen Anne farmers market, Seattle / USA
• Amazon prime location – South Lake Union farmers’ market – Seattle, Washington / USA
• A handful – Farmers’ market bloggers around the world
• Kirkwood farmers’ market, Missouri / USA
• Soulard Market in St. Louis, Missouri / USA – revisited
• Eastern Market, Washington DC / USA
• Provincetown farmers’ market, Cape Cod / USA
• Boston Public Market (Dewey Square), Massachusetts / USA
• Farmers’ market in Orleans, Cape Cod / USA
• Quick tour of the Pike Place Market in Seattle, Washington / USA
• Red Barn, Bradenton, Florida / USA
• Soulard market, St. Louis, Missouri / USA

Yemen

• Market in Sana’a / Yemen

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