TRYING NEW TASTES
at the Farmers Market Liz French applies the “Do Something New, New Zealand” mantra to her weekly market experience. WORDS LIZ FRENCH | IMAGES ALEX SPODYNEIKO
We go to the market most Saturdays and buy the same products. Having embraced the wonderful new things to do within our shores, it was time I applied that attitude to my taste buds. Time to treat our market visit as a voyage of discovery rather than a stock up stop. Instead of buying the usual herbs at Liberty Growers, I discovered shiso, a member of the mint family. As the name suggests, it enhances Japanese cuisine, salads, soups and stews while delivering a healthy dose of antioxidants and goodies. Liberty also sell Pinoli, otherwise known as pine nuts, and I learnt that not all pine trees produce edible nuts and that pine nuts probably originated here from the seeds of the Mediterranean pine brought back by soldiers from Gallipoli. At Mount Eliza Cheese I was given a sample of a deliciously sharpish, nutty, slightly Parmesan Farmhouse Cheddar. Its exceptional flavour is due to Eliza’s skill and the raw milk. I had no idea that Mount Eliza is the only cheese producer in New Zealand with a licence to make cheese with unpasteurised milk. The cheese we took home is supplied to top restaurants, not supermarkets. Six Toed Fox Organics 2021 had a pile of that mysterious (to me!) white bulbous daikon. One was slipped into my basket, and I was informed it is an Asian form of radish which can be grated in salads, eaten in strips with dips, roasted, added to stews. Who knew! PAGE 38 | WWW.NOURISHMAGAZINE.CO.NZ
