Tour of the Markets-Lancaster Central Market, Lancaster, PA
Markets take on many different styles across the country, and this adventure is a testament to just that! Established in 1730, this fabulous market brings together more than 60 vendors each week, showcasing a wide range of handmade and grown goods year-round. While the market originated on a 120-acre plot of land designated for market use, this evolved in 1757 to a simple open-air, roofed structure. Later in 1889, this structure was replaced by the grand building still in use today.
What’s even more interesting about Lancaster Central Market, is this is the oldest continuously running public farmers market in the country. King George II designated Lancaster to be a market town, declaring that it should hold two markets each week. I couldn’t think of a better place to head on over and check out where it all began. Let the tour begin!
Walking in, I was immediately greeted with the wonderfully fragrant smells of herbs and spices. Many vendors had their own creations of mixed blends and were more than happy to share a taste or recipe tip.
Not only did they offer these mixed seasoning blends, but there were jars upon jars filled with loose leaf teas of more varieties than I’ve ever seen (and I’ve lived in England!). The scents coming from these jars as they scooped and weighed individual serving bags were incredible.
Because the soil is regionally a bit more clay and sand in parts of the East coast, there are many indoor growing areas, so the produce was further along and perfect for harvesting!
Table after table hosted the most luscious varieties of seasonal produce, and the sheer abundance of vendors and offerings reiterated the size of this market and importance to Lancaster County.
Many of these vendors traveled from other counties and have been regular vendors at their booth for multiple family generations. It was amazing to see the history behind the market and farming operations and how they’ve carrying on these traditions for so many years.
The produce was spectacular and all so fresh! Most of the market’s produce was not in bags, which was nice to have the ability to see everything laid out.
It also seemed fairly common practice for market goers to sample a piece of the produce to compare taste.
Due to the size of this market, the variety of greens available was amazing. Everything from microgreens to watercress, multiple kinds of kale to even specialty lettuces. It seemed to be an endless list of options and I found myself asking more questions than I thought I would ever ask regarding lettuce…
The goods never seemed to cease! Not only were the farmers bringing a vast array of fresh produce, the extent to which they made goods from their farm was extensive. I was quite impressed to see homemade soup bases and other consumables above and beyond what many markets typically offer.
This picture sadly does not do the craftsmanship of these beautifully sewn garments justice. The detail on the stitching alone was worthy of an entire blog. There were already sewn garments including bags, aprons, potholders, etc, and also fabric for purchase. And the quilting was second to none. Out of respect for the artist, they asked for no photography of their work, but I feel the need to at least give recognition of their talent.
Jams, chutneys, syrups, molasses, fruit butters, barbeque sauces….varieties I’ve never heard! And most people were more than excited to share cooking ideas and tips about each, suggesting a common pairing or family favorite.
With this market drawing vendors from such a large geography, it is no doubt that you will have some booths that utilize commercial kitchens. With that, what was quite impressive was that, even when sold in stores, typically the booth was tended by the person that originally makes the product and it is all locally sourced. It was a real tribute to how far they have taken their talent and the products were wonderful!
It never ceased to amaze me just how many things can be pickled until you come to a pickling stand! A creative way of offering your produce, there were many vendors that brought jars and jars of all sorts of pickled items, and it seemed to be the ongoing friendly competition of who used the best seasoning and technique. The proud stories and samples were worth the burning tongue and garlic breath!
True to a large market, this was becoming more and more of a ‘one stop shop’ Saturday adventure! As I turned the corner, the scents started to turn from scones and thyme to pastrami and seafood.
Cooler after cooler spread out before me of every kind of meat I could possibly need, and prepared in so many ways.
All locally raised and processed, each vendor showcased their special flavors with pride, as well as various cuts of meat.
I never thought I would have such overwhelmed senses of smells until you spend time around a display of smoked and seasoned bacon this well-seasoned! Beautifully thick cut meats cured and seasoned with the farmer’s special touch-this was clearly not your grocery store breakfast meat.
Not to be left out, to round out your grocery list, a farmers market would not be complete without the inside of the fence, and there was no shortage of dairy products available.
Not only were there your essentials of milk, eggs, and cheese, but a fair amount of vendors also made their own flavors and various variety of cheeses that were unique and fantastic!
Maybe I’m biased on this one…but in my opinion, wherever you have good cheeses, one must always have good olives to go with it. And while not a seasonal market challenge for me, I was not about to leave this market without goat cheese feta and a great assortment of olives! (although, spoiler alert…stay tuned for a really great eggplant recipe coming that uses the remaining olives!).
The layout of this market was quite impressive. High ceilings kept the place more cool than one would expect on a 90 degree day, and the competing smells to a minimum. There was a nice flow to the overall crowd, and while there likely are hundreds of people that come through here each day, it felt as if you had a pleasant stroll through the open aisles.
This was a welcomed treat for my tastebuds as I was nearing the end of the tour. As you can see, there are buckets upon buckets of various flavors, and using your imagination, three times that many panning to the left. These came in tons of flavors from garlic to hot peppers, and as a pickle connoisseur, I was not one to say no. Chatting with the nice gentleman that made these, he has been in the pickling industry most of his life, but in the last few years branched out to start this local family-owned business, having more than 20 varieties of pickles regularly offered. After this booth’s successful visit, I was becoming quite aware of the weight of my market bag… 🙂
As my deeply engrained sense of chivalry would confirm, a lovely date with a farmers market would just not be complete without the charming touch of chocolate and flowers 🙂 The smell alone would satisfy any sweet tooth from these beautiful handmade chocolates.
In my opinion, there is just no better way to end the day than walking out through the smells of flowers. Row after row of gorgeous flowers awaited me.
Waving and sending their glorious aroma as if to say ‘So long, farewell, auf wiedersehen, adieu
Adieu, adieu, to you and you and you’.
Ok, while I am not Maria nor taking care of any Von Trapp kids for the day, this was still a wonderful experience and adventure that I would highly recommend to anyone. Leave a little extra time to sit and enjoy a local sandwich or pastry on a bench outside before you leave.
With so many options at this market, and also having the ‘seasonal’ challenge ingredient be based off of a new region, I chose cherries to work with this week. It was a fun change of pace because I’ve never really cooked with cherries, shy of possibly adding a few to a pie. Check out these recipes and I’d love to hear thoughts, feedback, and recommendations on how you’ve used cherries!
Caramelized Onion and Cherry Bruschetta
Thank you for joining me on this adventure! As I’ve said before and I’m sure I will again, above and beyond beautiful produce, this has been a very rewarding experience to meet a lot of great people, learn more about agriculture, challenge myself culinarily, and be more educated on food in general. I love hearing feedback and welcome others to join in and chime along that I may not have had the pleasure to have met yet! All are welcome at my table 🙂
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Thanks again for tagging along on this journey!
Hannah (your fearless culinary visionnaire)
