Touring the organic market

I am lucky that in the village where I live there is an organic market.  This is an organic farm kept right next to the home of a local family.  The whole family is involved, but the grandfather type runs the cash register and his son in law is the farmer.  The man who runs this was a conventional farmer, but decided to go organic.  The farm opens up on Saturdays as a market and anyone can stop by to purchase produce, bread and even honey.
Here are some shots of the greenhouses next to their house.
This is inside one of the greenhouses.  They grow many varieties of leafy greens here and even pick, wash and make an organic mixed salad right in front of you while you wait.  These salads are also sold at some restaurants on the island.  The owner took me, Ryan and Marie on a tour that lasted somewhere between 1-2 hours, and explained his whole process, concepts of farming, and the varieties of greens he was growing.  He even would explain one, pick some and give it to us.  I had no idea that arugla can produce flowers.  He gave Marie one of these flowers to try.
Here are some of the items they had for sale.  We got there late in the day so most things were already purchased.  I have seen this before but never tried it.  This is a cherimoya. 
If you are unfamiliar with this fruit, here is some info:
Cherimoyas have an unusual, multi-faceted, almost pre-historic appearance that belies their exquisite and sophisticated flavor. The velvety flesh is a delicious, custardy blend of banana, pineapple and strawberry notes.
Cherimoyas are like an avocado, in that they are quick to ripen at room temperature and are ready to eat when they are slightly soft to the touch. Check them frequently to avoid over-ripening. A ripe cherimoya that is not eaten immediately is best stored in the refrigerator. Ripe fruits are black-green and give to slight pressure, like an avocado or peach.
Cherimoyas are ripe to eat when they are slightly soft like a ripe avocado. Slice the fruit in wedges or in halves and scoop out the flesh with a spoon. Some cherimoya aficionados add a few drops of lime to the flesh to embellish the sweetness. Do NOT eat the skin or the seeds.

Here is what it looked like inside.  It was fleshy like a pear in my opinion.  Yes, those are big seeds, and you don't want to accidently eat them.  They are apparently poisonous.
Other goods on the table for sale.
We saw these growing all over the place.  We were told they were not currently ripe or in season, but we could try them if we wanted.  They are in the guava family and are known here as lemon guavas.  The guy 
thought they have a different name, but when I searched online I can locate information on the lemon guava.
 
After tasting one I see why these are known as lemon guavas.  Wow, they were sour, and BOY OH BOY did I like these.  Ripe or not, they were tasty.
Here are some shots of a favorite island flower.  This is a bird of paradise flower.  They are Marie's favorite so I was glad she could enjoy them here.
They had roses too.
This may look like an ordinary bare tree...
but it is really a chesnut tree.
They had an orchard type area too on the other side of the greenhouses.  These are some orange trees.
I was not aware little hot peppers grow on little bushes.  But I guess they do.  I thought these were sooooo cute.
They even had a banana tree.
Close up with the nanners.
Yep, they offered us samples of these too.
Last up, I took some shots of the greens in the green house.  This was where he was letting us taste everything as we walked through.
This is an herb, but I really can't remember now which one.  I am so bad with recognizing herbs.
Well, that was it for our tour.  We did other things after that, but I will save those pictures for my next post.  Happy Friday everyone!

QUESTIONS:  Have you ever toured an organic farm?  What is your favorite exotic fruit (or veggie)?

14 comments:

Astra Libris said...

I am so jealous! In a good way, of course... :-) How awesome to live near such a beautiful farm and market! The cherimoyas sound incredible!! The little hot peppers are SO adorable!! :-) My favorite unusual fruit is definitely breadfruit, which might actually be a veggie? Soooo yummy - like the best baked potato ever! :-)

eatingRD said...

How cool!!!! I'm so jealous, I would have been running around giddy with excitement. It all looks so nice. I've never tried cherimoyas and I love birds of paradise. Star fruit is also really neat :)

FoodFitnessFreshair said...

That's a beautiful greenhouse! I love when places are family owned and operated. I actually live on a several acre organic garden, but I can't say it quite qualifies as a farm, but we do have a small greenhouse and fruit trees. Favorite exotic fruit: Mango!!

Unknown said...

matts distant cousin owns an organic beef farm - LOL! side note, paint yur nails...u always have all these "hand photos" and that's all i can think about! LOL! i will personally give u a manicure when UR here next month :)

Nicole, RD said...

Cherimoya -- huh! I've never heard of this fruit! The organic farm...wow, everything looks delicious! Those sour lemon things look awesome! I wish we lived near an organic farm. Seems like the south is a lover of pesticides and such, sadly. I do still try to buy local, though!

I'll post my abstract soon -- it's research only nutrition students and professionals would find interesting. Maybe ;)

Have a great weekend, Melinda! I need to catch up with some of your other posts -- work has been insane this week!! Hate that!

Abby (Abbys Vegan Eats) said...

Wow, this farm looks amazing.. what great pics, thanks for sharing!!
My brother used to work on an organic farm in Eugene OR, so when I was a tad younger we visited him there. I believe I was only 15 or 16 so the whole experience was totally wasted on me, but if you took me to one now, Id probably pass out. lol.

Enjoy your weekend, Melinda!! :)

Mari said...

That is so beautiful!

Simply Life said...

wow, what a great tour! thanks for all the new info!

Gina; The Candid RD said...

Neat. What a fun place to work! Seriously, that would be my drema job, owning an organic farm, talking with customers and taking them on tours of the farm, letting them sample and enjoy the food, and learn about new foods, how fun! I have never been to an organic farm, crazy. I know the local farmer's markets have many organic farmers who live not too far, and I really should go visit sometime. As far as exotic fruits, I guess mango would be my favorite (is that exotic?!) I just don't get into fruit as much as veggies because of my GI issues, sadly. Thanks for taking us on this fun tour Melinda!

Have a great weekend.

chow and chatter said...

wow what a great farm thanks or taking us with you, I want to tour one now for sure, have a great weekend

Julie said...

hmmm i wonder if you can make cherimoya guacamole...that would be amaze i bet!

love the free samps they dished out to you :) everything looks so fresh and delicious!

Megan said...

Delightful blog! Can't wait to keep reading it!

Maggie

Shannon, Tropical Eats said...

that is so neat! and yay for free samples :) My favorite exotic fruit is dragon fruit (i think that's what it was called).. when u cut into it, the inside is white and it has tiny black seeds.

And also i know this probably isnt exotic, but Star fruit are really good too!

Ameena said...

What a beautiful farm and gorgeous pictures. Everything looks SO fresh and delicious. Just found your blog and love your clean, simple layout.

My favorite exotic veggie is beets...not sure if that classifies as exotic but I'm not super adventurous!

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