Happy greetings from all us here at LCMG!  We’ve been on our travels, discovering new food markets in Thailand and Madeira, plus re-visiting a much-loved friend in London, Borough Market.  We’ve been comparing the different types of fruit and veg, including variations of similar products we eat at home.  First to Thailand, which included visits to the city of Chiang Mai and the island of Ko Lanta.   Markets in Thailand are usually a mix of everything, from household items to fruit, veg and staples like locally grown rice.   Vegan and vegetarian dishes are widely available, but not as a processed food as they are marketed in the UK (i.e., ‘plant based’ as a slogan), but just naturally and with more choice.  Vegetables such as broccoli or asparagus are there for example, but different types and all enticing.   Lovely healthy breakfasts too, including a dark red fruit compote combining black currants, red currants and raspberries, but we also tried local apples, pineapple, mango, grapes, granola and chia seeds.  Typical crops of the region include bamboo shoots, angled luffa – which looks like a courgette but is closer to a gourd – and amaranth, a versatile leafy green, to name but a few.  The main thing we noticed was the sheer diversity of crops and types of each veg. 

One of our colleagues found a similar story on the beautiful island of Madeira, where there are also lots of small, local markets, which tend to be food specialist, rather than a general mix, offering both locally grown foods and imported (e.g.,  from mainland Portugal and Europe).  Many of the markets are open daily in designated food market halls, like the one in the picture and where you meet the growers directly.  What was significant was there are so many different types of locally grown tomatoes, salads and root veg, for example, exceeding anything you’d find in the UK and all so beautiful and full of flavour.   The main crop of the island is bananas; around 27 different types of banana are grown on Madeira alone.  In cooking, it’s paired with fish for example (delicious!) as well as sweet dishes, or used in soft and alcoholic drinks.  The bananas sold in the UK are usually unripe when picked and ripened artificially using a gas called ethylene, so if you only buy one organic product that is not part of our indigenous foods, make it banana!

Recently on a trip to London we couldn’t resist returning to Borough Market.  Here you really can celebrate the best of UK produce and meet the people who love and revere good quality food from the UK, from fish, to cheese specialists such as Neal’s Yard, fruit and veg farmers and traditional bakers, as well as specialist European growers and importers, offering e.g., olives and olive oils, but equally, who really care about what they do. 

….but back to the beloved Sheepscombe valley and Stroud Farmers’ Market.  We never take for granted the wonderful surroundings here, the amazing growers and producers in the area trying to promote a more natural and harmonious way of growing food in line with nature.  We’re so fortunate to be able to work with them and meet our supporters, everyday food lovers like you, all the people trying to keep our food system in balance.  We are at Stroud Farmers’ Market on the first Saturday of each month, so please come and say “hi” when you’re next there, or visit us in Sheepscombe at Beeches Lane any Thursday morning.  Enjoy!