Farmers Market Update: Montreal

I’m so psyched to have a farmers market update this week from Montreal, Canada. Thanks to Roman Korol for today’s guide.

From Roman:

Retired. All food matters interest me keenly, as they have a direct impact on my quality of life. This interest encompasses knowledge of the farmers’ markets in my area as sources of the best food within reach. It’s therefore a rare pleasure for me to present this little introduction to Jean Talon Market which happens to be right close by my home.

Farmers Market Update: Montreal

by Roman Korol

To help situate the reader, I should mention that this market is located at a northerly latitude, in Montreal about 500 road miles or a 6-hour drive due north of New York City.

Montreal is the second-largest city in Canada and seventh-largest in North America. The city is on a boomerang-shaped island in the St. Lawrence River, accessible by a number of bridges, and the city proper has a population of two million. There are numerous suburbs beyond city limits and off-island: for Canada, this is densely-populated land.

Montreal’s most characteristic geographical feature is a triple-peaked hill in the heart of the city, Mount Royal, which gave the city and the island its name. French is the city’s official language and one sees this reflected in the public signage. Montreal is the second-largest primarily French-speaking city in the world, second only to Paris.  It is home to seven French-speaking and two English-speaking universities.

Its climate is humid continental. Summers are warm, hot and humid, which is what we’ve been having until Hurricane Irene plowed through. Winters are very cold, snowy and windy: they are generally more severe than what I experienced while living for several years in Canada’s northwest, north of the 60th parallel right up near Skagway, Alaska.

There are (perhaps surprisingly, because of their number) 14 farmers markets in Montreal as shown by the red pinheads on the map.  The biggest of them all is Jean-Talon Market. Its location is marked by the north-westernmost red pin that we find directly north of Mount Royal.

The market operates year-round on a 7-days-per-week basis. It first came into being in 1932 during the Great Depression by taking over the then-existing Shamrock Stadium, that had been built in 1914 for the game of lacrosse. It now covers an area in the order of 20 acres and includes private buildings, while its central permanent building provides about 3 acres of indoor space and underground parking.

The market lies in the middle of the Little Italy district, which kicks the general ambiance up considerably. I have the good fortune to be living just on the edge of that area.

On the day of my visit on Aug. 27, 2011, I traveled by bike to Shamrock Street which leads straight into the market’s center. This street is of course a remnant from the days of the old lacrosse stadium. How odd, to see that Irish symbol still preserved in the middle of Little Italy, and not an Irishman in sight.

A livelier introduction to the market cannot be conceived of than this captivating opera-fest performed at that very place by the Opera of Montreal one year ago. The video is well worth the viewing for its music and its glimpse into the market’s soul in such high relief, in all of only 6 minutes.

While the market has its own bilingual website, the part in English is (as yet) an incomplete translation of the fuller French version: it is a work-in-progress. Missing on the English side are interesting video chats with some of the farmers from the local area who bring their produce to market, that are featured on the French-language side of the website.

These videos can also be found on You Tube. Even for readers without a knowledge of French, it is perhaps of interest to peek in and see the views and the action (and hear the folksy music, too).

Here are the links:

• Jacques and Diane Rémillard have a farm 32 miles east of Montreal at Napierville, Quebec, where they produce a wide range of vegetables as well as herbs and spices that they bring to market.
• Serge and Diane Trottier have a farm 30 miles northwest of Montreal at Oka, Quebec where they grow strawberries, raspberries and apples. They also tend beehives. The bees of course play a key role in cross-pollination. Diane explains how much more labor-intensive is the harvesting of strawberries as compared to their other fruits.
• Aline and Daniel Racine have a farm 20 miles north of Montreal at Ste-Anne-des-Plaines, Quebec. Daniel explains that his farm provides employment for local residents.  They own a bus that does a daily circuit  gathering up workers, mostly local teenagers, drives them to the fields, and then returns them home at day’s end. They report having no shortage of labor.
• Thérèse and Conrad Pitre have a farm 18 miles south-east of Montreal at St-Jean-Baptiste, Quebec, producing with their family a range of fruit and vegetables. Holding a huge ripe tomato in the palm of his hand Conrad chortles, “one slice, one sandwich”.
• Louise Marc-Aurèle and Gilbert Jodoin have a farm 27 miles south of Montreal at St-Damase, Quebec and bring their produce here and also to another farmers market in Montreal, the Atwater Market.

Like farmers everywhere, these are hardy folk. For them, attending the market is a serious and very tough livelihood.  It is nourished by time-tested knowhow that is aligned to human needs and the environment. These video interviews give a tangible sense to the value of the term “locally produced.”  No genetic manipulation need be apprehended here.  The marvelous flavor of their fresh produce at the market, harvested usually the day before, certainly proves out their worth.

On the day of my visit the weather was bright and sunny—a wonderful summer day, just one of many others like it, with the temperature edging up to 90ºF by lunchtime, and giving no inkling of the approach of Hurricane Irene the very next day.

The extensive central building at the market is identified with a discreet sign and contains many indoor shops and restaurants. The bulk of the action takes place beyond the building in a great expanse of sheltered outdoor stalls (which is where the Opera of Montreal performed). These are accessible on foot or by bike. It is easy to lose one’s bearings here if one is not paying attention, because the stalls extend outwards quite a ways. Here and there during peak periods musicians are often playing solo, or in small groups of two or three.

Leek flowers, the seeds of which are used as flavoring in many recipes. These flowers, I was told, first appear only two years after the leek is planted, if even then.

The commonplace garlic, with its extraordinary flavor and healthful nutrients, will keep for as long as three months at room temperature, without need of refrigeration. Those harvested in the fall keep even longer and will stay good through the winter. Amazing.

I noted with interest that the little Patty Pan squash that Kristin DeKay identified earlier in her report on Omaha, Nebraska, also makes an appearance here at Jean Talon Market under the French name of pâtissons, and these were available in both miniature and larger versions. Intriguing question, how did that name come to be? I found pâtisson in a French dictionary, and pattypan in an English one. Wikipedia marries up the two terms but does not suggest an etymology.

Moving along, not too far away I pause at an attractive stall offering locally-made apple cider vinegar, and buy some. It is run by master vinegar-maker Pierre Gingras.

Pierre makes available an informative leaflet that explains the healthful uses of ACV, some of which I had not known before.

Right nearby I make another unusual (for me) find: flowers of zucchini, the buds of which can be used to make a delicate and attractive appetizer. The lady at the stall kindly provides a recipe along with enthusiastic explanations on how to do it.

At this stage in summer (late August) sweet corn begins to make an ephemeral appearance. Its season doesn’t last very long and it is always a popular item. This corn is grown for eating, of course, not for industrial applications, and farmers have no problem selling huge quantities of it.

Locally-grown potatoes are also beginning to make an appearance, and they will shortly take center-stage at all the markets here and will be sold even in bags of 50 and 100 lbs. Even with such a banal plant as a potato, when obtained at the market, I notice a real difference in taste when compared to the store-bought kind.

In a passageway I encounter an exhibit from the island of Ile aux Grues (Crane Island).  This small island is several hundred miles downstream from Montreal, has less than 200 families, has no link to the mainland, and its only industry is a dairy and cheese farm.  The young lady with the charming smile and the large wheel of cheese was offering samples of it, the cheese being the sole and unique produce they bring to market (it was delicious and I wish them huge success with their marketing).

Wandering back to the main building one finds an impressive organic butcher shop that is a coop enterprise of numerous farms adhering to organic farming standards under the collective name of Ferme Saint-Vincent.

They offer organic beef, veal, lamb, pork, turkey, duck, and game birds such as pheasant and quail. A prominent sign over the entryway reads: “Thanks to your patronage, 35 farmers can keep and work their farms and bring fresh produce for your table three times daily.” Their pork bacon (free of nitrites) is outstanding and I avail myself of that luxury on occasion.

Directly across the way from them is a competitor, a smaller shop under the name of “Viande Naturelle Nordest” (“Northeastern Natural Meat”). In chatting with this merchant, I learn that he demurs from paying the hefty annual fee that would give him the right to use the “Organic” designation and instead, he passes on the saving in the form of lower prices. This works, because he is well-known in the area and has a high reputation and the trust of his customers.

Further along inside this building is an impeccably clean and fresh-smelling fish market, the Aqua Mare. Aqua Mare was offering among its snacks my favorite for a hot summer day, an appetizing selection of fresh oysters on ice in which I happily indulged.

Some farms in the region have earned their spurs in the art of making cheese from raw milk, and their products are available at this market. The dairy case contains cheeses made from raw cow’s milk or goat’s milk, the makers being mainly local but also from France. The cheese is highly prized but it is hard to find on our continent outside of the province of Quebec. As a quality indicator, an imported Parmigiano Reggiano which is made from raw milk is seen (by me at least) as a gold standard for quality cheese. Many of the cheeses here measure up to that standard. On the other hand, cheeses from pasteurized milk fall into quite another category, one that generally fails to make the grade.

To round out my account, here is a typical view of one of the streets surrounding the market. Not a single one of the usual fast-food joints to be seen! But this does not mean an absence of fast-food; what’s there is simply different and (possibly) less destructive of one’s health, like, for instance, the ubiquitous and irresistible merguez, the North African answer to the hot dog.

Today’s purchases:

• fresh strawberries and wild blueberries from S&D Trottier Farm
• tomatoes
• apples
• celery
• bell peppers
• green string beans
• Apple cider vinegar from master vinegar-maker Pierre Gingras
• cheese made from raw milk
• Organic bacon
• bison steak
• free range chicken breast
• Fresh brown eggs from free range hens
• fresh Malpeque oysters
• sachets of dried lavender (to interleave with my folded laundry)

Traveling by bike I am limited as to what I can carry so I buy small quantities. For years I’ve been promising myself to build a trailer and have even found free detailed drawings for a light model in bamboo (if anyone wants a copy, let me know). But in any case I can always go back for more stuff which is in itself a pleasure and this, in fact, is what I keep on doing.

Arriving home, I found the streets closed to traffic (but not to bikes) and a neighborhood fiesta under way: one of many that spring up in my hood in summertime. Nice.