CUESA volunteer orientation ~ February 7

Have you always wanted to know more about farmers' markets, farming practices, or seasonality? CUESA's small staff is seeking volunteers to help us with everything from staffing our information booth at the farmers' market, to updating our website, to assisting with our Market to Table programming. If you are interested in lending us some of your time and talent while gaining new skills and meeting others who are passionate about food and farming, please consider attending CUESA's next volunteer orientation on Thursday, February 7, at 6:30 pm. You'll learn the ins and outs of volunteering, meet our dedicated staff, and enjoy fresh local snacks from the Ferry Plaza Farmers Market. To find out more and RSVP, stop by the farmers' market information booth or email our volunteer coordinator, Ashleigh Collier, at ashleigh@cuesa.org. Click here to learn more about our volunteer program >

Seller news

Two Ferry Plaza Farmers Market sellers have opened new retail locations. Blue Bottle Café opened its doors last week in San Francisco's Mint Paza and The Fatted Calf now has a retail location at Oxbow Market in Napa.

The state of salmon

Wednesday's San Francisco Chronicle had a sobering article about the state of Chinook salmon in California. This year's salmon season, it seems, will be even worse than in years past. Click here to read the article >

Agriculture in a Warmer World ~ February 28

What will happen to local farms as the effects of climate change become more pronounced, and what will it mean for Bay Area consumers? How will climate change impact food supply, food distribution, and food security around the world? Join CUESA on Thursday, February 28, from 6:30 to 8:30 pm (reception at 6:30, discussion at 7) as two researchers present their perspectives on these questions. Click here for more information >

Food from the Heart ~ February 8

On Friday, February 8, the Ferry Building's fifth annual Food from the Heart festival kicks off with a benefit for Slow Food from 5:00 - 8:00 pm. The public is invited to stroll the candlelit Grand Nave where the merchants and restaurateurs of the Marketplace will offer seasonal hors d'oeuvres and Slow Food will pour wine from several wine bars. CUESA will set up an informational table. Click here to learn more >

February 2 ~ Citrus Celebration

On Saturday, February 2, CUESA kicks off the 2008 season of Market to Table programs. Come enjoy a variety of sweet and tangy fruits grown in the California sunshine.

10:00 am to 1:00 pm ~ Citrus tasting challenge
Taste over a dozen citrus varieties and challenge yourself to guess which is which.

10:30 am ~ Meet the farmer
Yuk Hamada of Hamada Farms will be interviewed by CUESA staff member Julie Cummins.

11:00 am ~ Seasonal cooking demonstration & book signing
Stephanie Rosenbaum, food writer and author (titles include Honey: From Flower to Table and Williams-Sonoma Kids in the Kitchen: Fun Food)

Saturday, February 9 ~ Market to Table

10:30 am ~ Farmhouse cooks
David Little of Little Organic Farm will talk about his farm and demonstrate some of his favorite recipes for preparing the many varieties of potatoes that he grows in Marin County.

11:15 am ~ Seasonal cooking demonstration & book signing
Eric Tucker of Millennium and author of The Artful Vegan and the Millenium Cookbook

All programs will take place in front of the Ferry Building on the north side.

Botanists think that fewer than eight ancient species are the ancestors of all modern citrus varieties. The evergreen trees are native to East Asia and Australia, where various forms have been cultivated for more than 4000 years. Citrus first reached America in the 1500s, but was not grown widely in California until our state’s major water projects were constructed, bringing an ample supply of irrigation water to the Central Valley. In 2005, there were more than 270,000 acres planted in citrus fruits in California.

Following is a guide to the citrus fruits you’ll find at the Ferry Plaza Farmers Market. We’ll be savoring them this Saturday at our Citrus Celebration. Thanks to our culinary intern Julia Allenby for her help with the guide.

Oranges (Citrus sinensis) are thought to be a hybrid of pomelos and mandarins. Types include Valencia (often used for juice and generally available starting in April), navel (distinctive “belly button” on the blossom end) and blood (deeply red flesh with sweet juice). Cara Cara is a variety of navel orange with salmon-colored flesh. Orange trees produce three essential oils used in perfumery and aromatherapy: oil of orange from the rind, petitgrain oil from the twigs and branches, and neroli from the flowers. Orange blossom water is commonly used in Middle Eastern cooking.

Mandarins (Citrus reticulata) are small pumpkin-shaped fruits with thin skin and easily peeled segments. Satsuma mandarins have loose, leathery skin, while Clementines have thinner, tighter skin. Certain varieties of mandarins are marketed as tangerines, and some people consider the two names synonymous. Pages are often called mandarins, but are actually a cross between a tangelo (a mandarin-grapefruit hybrid) and a Clementine. Canned mandarins are usually bathed in lye after they are peeled and segmented, in order to remove their membranes—a good reason to buy them fresh at the farmers’ market.

Citrons (Citrus medica) look like huge, lumpy lemons. They have sour pulp, very little juice, and extremely fragrant skin. Citron peels are often candied, and fingered citrons, also called “Buddha’s Hands,” are sometimes used as an offering on household altars.

Limes (Citrus hystrix, Citrus aurantifolia, Citrus latifolia) have thin green (sometimes yellow) rinds and green flesh. Lime juice and zest are widely used in cooking and beverages. The common “bartender’s lime” or Bearss lime may be a hybrid of the Key lime and citron.

Lemons (Citrus limon) have been widely used medicinally for thousands of years, as an antidote and as an antiseptic. Lemon juice is used to prevent oxidation of foods that brown after being peeled or sliced, such as apples, avocados, and bananas. Meyer lemons are likely a hybrid of lemon and orange. They have a thinner skin and sweet/tart flesh, and are more perishable than other lemon varieties.

Grapefruits (Citrus paradise) are large with whitish or (more commonly) pink pulp. They are the result of a natural cross between sweet orange and pomelo. In America, grapefruits were popularized in the early 20th century as a “breakfast fruit,” even inspiring their own special spoon. Besides the sour flavor in all citrus fruits (the result of citric acid), they contain a flavonoid that gives them a bitter flavor. This substance, called naringin, can also interact with certain drugs in the human body, resulting in excessively high drug levels. Though sometimes called grapefruits, Oro Blancos and Cocktail “grapefruits” are crosses between a pomelo and a mandarin.

Pomelos/pummelos (Citrus maxima) have thick, soft rinds and juicy interiors. They are the largest (and perhaps the oldest) of the cultivated citrus fruits. They are not particularly sweet, but don’t have the characteristic bitterness of grapefruits. Some varieties still have green skin when they are ripe.

Kumquats are usually not technically considered citrus fruits, though their genus, Fortunella, is sometimes listed a subgenus of Citrus. Kumquats are often eaten fresh, with their skin on. They have very sour flesh, but their rinds are sweet.

Think you know your citrus? Come test your citrus knowledge at our citrus tasting tomorrow, February 2.

This is the most up-to-date information about which sellers will and won't be attending the market as of Friday, when we send this letter. If there are no changes to a seller's status, they will not be listed. To find out which farmers regularly attend each market, click here. Please understand that there are often last-minute changes--it's the nature of farming!

Saturday, February 2

In/Returning: Knoll Farms, Blossom Bluff Orchard, Lagier Ranches, Little Organic Farm, Allstar Organics, Downtown Bakery, Devoto Gardens, Bella Viva Orchards, Hayes St. Grill/Viccolo Pizza, Cap'n Mike's Holy Smoke, Achadinha Cheese Co., Pt. Reyes Farmstead Cheese Co., Bariani Olive Oil, Frog Hollow Farm, Prather Ranch, Rose Pistola, Hare Hollow
Out: June Taylor Co., Short Night Farm, Fatted Calf, Niman Ranch, Capay Canyon Ranch

Tuesday, February 5

In: Snyders Honey, Cap'n Mike's Holy Smoke, McGinnis Ranch
Out: Blossom Bluff Orchard

Returning this month:
Asparagus!
Abundant avocados
Hot house tomatoes
Ranunculus
Plant starts
Spring garlic
Cippolini onions

Plentiful:
Nettles, leafy greens, chicories, crucifers, carrots, tulips, Narcisscus, mushrooms, Meyer lemons, fresh herbs, leeks, grapefruit, kumquats, fennel, leeks, eggs, beef, goat, lamb, and pork

Winding down/limited supply:
Mandarins, pomelos, winter squash, kiwi, persimmons

To see what products are available throughout the year and the seasons, please visit our seasonality charts >

Recipes for February

Wild Nettle & Green Garlic Soup with Smoked Almonds & Olio Nuovo ~ James Ormsby, formerly of Jack Falstaff & Plump Jack Café

Asparagus Frittata from Jessica Prentice of Three Stone Hearth and author of Full Moon Feast: Food and the Hunger for Connection

Winter Chicory Salad from Patrick Clark of Sutro’s Restaurant at the Cliff House

Sautéed White Beans with Greens from Heidi Swanson, author of Supernatural Cooking