Approaching Catania

The fish market in Catania on Sicily island in Italy is quite known and was part of our last destination on this trip.

We came from the North Coast via Bronte on the slopes of the Etna volcano to Catania. It wasn’t exactly a pleasant day. The rain did not make things better.

The start was promising. We left Cefalu on a Sunday drove up a beautiful mountainous landscape where I was unhappy not to have enough time for a hike. The stop at a local bakery Biscottificio Miraglia in San Fratello with the most beautiful sandwiches one can imagine. Wonderful thinly sliced mortadella, prosciutto and cheese in tasty wheat rolls. Basic food in perfection.

Then the rain started and everything got truly gray. Bronte is famous for its pistachios, but nothings seemed open on this rainy Sunday. Only at the outskirts one old guy sold them out of his little old car.

And then the “trash highway” started, trash everywhere, as if the garbage collection was on strike. All the way from Bronte to Catania. I have been living or working in poor countries on the African continent but I had never seen something like that before.

On top of that we had to take a detour on the highway as the right exit was closed, leading us through not so nice industrial and commercial areas.

We finally arrived just before darkness at the hotel in downtown next to the fish market.

While it was still raining, we made a walk through town, the old architecture made the city look nicer than at the beginning. Unfortunately the fish restaurant where we wanted to eat was fully booked. I texted back home to a chef friend and got a good recommendation. Peace of mind was back.

Starting early at fish market day

We started early on Monday. At 8 o’clock we stepped out of the hotel, passing the beautiful “Fontana dell’Amenano”to enter the fish market and saw:

Nothing

Well almost.

Just a few improvised stalls and a few people.

It was so quiet that an octopus had the chance to jump out of his box full with his comrades to start moving a bit on the ground. This was probably the most lively scene yet.

What was supposed to be stalls was still empty. Was this the fish-less season? Are fish mongers getting up late? I never found out.

So we decided to stroll over to the main market to come back later. This was the right decision. The main market was very lively, big and worth a visit but this is for another post.

A couple hours or so later we came back and the stall had filled up.

The octopus was of course back in his box, and we saw many other fishes and creatures of the sea. I am not too familiar with this type of food, but it was easy to identify the mighty swordfishes, remarkable animals and to my surprise plenty at the market.

Being a tourist at a fish market

Being a tourist is a disadvantage when you are interested in fresh produce hence farmers’ markets. Some produce cannot be eaten fresh so easily, and sometimes the transport time without cooling is too long for an unspoiled produce experience.

So I feel rather like a spectator of a sea world zoo or a streetfood festival visitor than a fully embedded market visitor, especially as I am not speaking Italian or Sicilian (yes this is considered to be a separate language).

Opening my eyes, observe, trying to get good shots, this is what I am aiming for then.

What the fish market exudes

It is worth opening those eyes as I do not experience that many open fish markets in my life.

This market exudes robustness. We are not in a hipster world here. No fancy signage or displays. Lots of ice to cool down the produce. Surprisingly no shouting. Many people coming by without buying.

As the market is not one single plaza but is spread around various spaces under or next to the surrounding buildings and alleys, each corner has its own distinct set of merchants. The stalls were some times only a camping table with a few boxes, giving the impression that the gradient from hobby fishermen to commercial trader was rather fluid.

I loved the unpretentious ambiance of the market, despite being a tourist attraction life seemed normal and I did not spot any market souvenirs, neither bags nor mugs or stickers.

What the fish market offers

I have hard times remembering names. Even after decades of eating lots of great cheeses, I cannot remember their names. Okay Parmesan and mozzarella are fairly easy. But how does a Vacherin again look like? Embarrassing. Now imagine that with fish. No way. Especially as I almost only see fish filet and not whole ones.

Still it seemed that the variety was not very large, I doubt that there were more than 20 different species being sold. But all sorts of mussels and shrimps added diversity to the offering.

King of the market was the swordfish. A big fish. Some of them longer than my arm span. Its head with sword were on display quite frequently, almost like a show-off: who has the biggest. But it is also a great signage when your eyes are wandering around.

It was mostly sold as slices looking like round steaks, just that the meat was not as red, rather whitish with red tones. The muscles formed often a four leaved clover around the fish’s spine, and each “leaf” with several rings reminding of growth rings from trees.

Other fish were eel like (they looked a bit sad), some had the sizes of sardines, others were tiger like striped or looked like gilt-head breams. But as said, I am pretty bad at recognizing fish varieties and even worse at remembering their names.

Some of the mussels made us smile: in one box, covered with water the mussels seemed to burp as the infrequent air bubbles coming up to the surface indicated.

It was not clear to me where all the fish and seafood came from. Where they captured in the Mediterranean Sea or did they come from further away? Were they captured by small scale fishermen or by large fleets?

Some of the frozen fish in boxes for sale, indicating a diversity of origins. Next time I will look at the individual labels to get a better understanding of the market.

The other side of the market

imagine an inner circle for fish and an outer ring with vegetable shops, butchers, cheese mongers and a few rather unusual stalls. This outer ring complements the fish market in a very nice way. And it is worth exploring the beautiful produce!

Being October the fruits and vegetables were still very colorful almost summer like, not so many tomatoes, but prickly pears all around.

The butchers were of the rustic kind, cutting the animal parts in front of the customers, something I do not see this that often anymore. Nose to tail was not a trend, tripe, liver, pork feet seemed to be part of the local cuisine. I really love to see the animal being used in his whole entity and not being so abstract as in the plastic wrapped Styrofoam boxes in supermarkets.

The cheese mongers made it easy on me, they vacuumed some of my purchases, especially the smoked mozzarella was still great at home.

The local street food experience was great (no burgers!) and deserves another post.

Was it worth the visit?

Open fish markets are always fascinating to me, so far the most impressive one was in Athens but I also experienced one in Marseille.

When I see all the fishes I am always asking myself: how were the fish killed, how much did they have to suffer? Are the areas where the fishes came from over-fished? I never properly researched on those questions, probably of fear that I would not accept the way these animals are treated and eaten.

It is hard not to be sucked in into the beauty of the Catania fish market.

All in all: The Catania fish market is worth a little detour, its rustic ambiance and the fascinating offering and surroundings being the reasons.

The post Robust – Fish market in Catania, Sicily / Italy 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.

The market hall  in Stuttgart / Germany reminds rather a gourmet department store than a classic farmers market. It is certainly due that Stuttgart is a rich city where people (despite their reputation) are willing in that place to spend money for good food. The market hall is located in downtown Stuttgart in the pedestrian zone and constitutes an own block in this area.

The market hall has a strong section of international food from Italy, Greece, Spain & Hungary for example. Still local products play an important role often in a very refined way. Be it Swabian (that’s the “tribe” of the area) ravioli called Maultaschen, regional whisky, meat from local pig breeds etc. This mix of international and local products produces nice contrasts.

It is also easy to find some little treasures: superb filled dates, Kobe beef, dried berberis, whisky based on spelt. And all the other products are usually of high quality so it becomes easy to do shopping when you want to surprise your guest with a gourmet meal full of surprises. Well not all choices are great I have to admit, the cheese selection is nice but not particular.

The stands present their products in a very appealing way, and the very friendly service leads you to spend more than you had anticipated. Well, the reward at home is usually great.

The whole setup of the market hall is focused towards a well-off crowd with a high willingness to pay for good to excellent quality. And some stands have transformed themselves from rustic stands to structures which are much more speciality shop like with a lot of “bling bling”. And therefore the market hall detaches itself from the weekly market outside the building in a drastic way. Not everybody welcomes that move.

The highlights: the stand with the dates, Swabian Whisky, international specialities, local Swabian products of high quality

All in all: a great place for buying food and a feast for the eyes. Worth more than one visit.

A little link list:

• The official site – in German
• A blog entry from the US Army in Stuttgart – obviously in English
• Beautiful pictures from “a cook’s canvas” blog
• A nice panoramic 360 degree photo

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