Every Saturday from June to October, Pioneer Park turns into a gathering place and harvest celebration. The Downtown Farmers Market is more than just local food and fresh goods; it is where farmers and producers unite with the consuming community, food is exchanged, and friends are made.
If you’re a regular at the market, you have your spots, like the farmer who grows lemon spinach and won’t let you leave without a taste of his peaches, the stand with never-ending tastes of homemade jams, the guys making hummus so smooth you want to eat it by the spoonful, and the dried cherry guy whose cherries are perfectly tart and sweet. You find your favorites, and you visit them all summer long, stocking up your fridge with the best and freshest food in the land.
What you may not expect are the relationships you make along the way. You may find that the couple making the jam you love lives right around the block from you or that the guy making hummus loves his dog as much as you love yours. You may run into a coworker or old friend, and you’ll certainly meet a few farmers who can tell you so much about their produce that you feel like you’ve been introduced to their child.
That’s the beauty of the Downtown Farmers Market, or of any farmers’ market for that matter. Relationships between producers and consumers cultivate and grow weekly, starting with just the exchange of a few dollars.
On hot days we like to cool off with a limeade from Sweet Salt Lake Fresh Mint Limeade. While the crew shakes up a limeade to go for you, buy some fresh mint limeade salsa.
Popsicles from Lick’d are also a good fit for late afternoon market-goers looking to cool off. Their flavors are unique and interesting, like plum basil or avocado pistachio.
For a snack, grab a bag of warm Pao de Quiju from Cheese Bread Mania. If you see a smiling cheerful lady working the booth, it’s probably the owner, Deborah Hammond, showing her Brazilian pride.
For jam talk to Casee and John from Amour Spreads, and let them woo you with several silver-spooned samples.
For sorrel go to Chad Tagge Produce. Their sorrel makes a great potato soup and brightens up any salad.
Crumb Brothers makes the trek to the market with a truck full of bread. Get the baguette made fresh that morning.
Knight Family Honey brings a creamed honey to sample. Nearly all who sample leave with a jar in their bag.
Of course tomatoes are prevalent in late summer, and Tifi Ranch always has some colorful cherry-sized ones worth taking home.
For coffee the hot and cold brews coming from the Charming Beard Coffee booth satisfy in cool mornings and blazing hot afternoons.
Laziz Foods puts out the best spreads, from hummus to mahummara to garlic toum.
Slide Ridge makes a honey wine vinegar that now transcends Utah in popularity and demand. Pick up a bottle to make dressings, marinades, or sauces.
More to look for: fresh-made pasta, local bagels, olive oils, boiled peanuts, salami, kettle corn, local cheese, fresh meats, fresh fish, biscuits and gravy, and dried cherries.
Other than food you’ll find jewelry, artisan crafts, dog food, plants, clothing, knife sharpening, soaps, and gifts abundant on the south side of the market.
The Downtown Farmers Market (slcfarmersmarket.org), sponsored by the Downtown Alliance, popped up about two decades ago and still somehow continues to be larger every year. Fight through the crowds and taste the best Utah has to offer.
HOMEMADE COLD BREW
If you walk around the Downtown Farmers Market, you’ll find two or three booths serving cold brew coffee to hot, thirsty farmers’ marketers. If it’s the middle of the week and you find yourself wanting some cold brew, here are some tips from the gang at Charming Beard Coffee. There are a few ways to prepare cold brew coffee at home. If you don’t have a Toddy Cold Brew coffeemaker, here is another way.
2 cups coarsely ground coffee (Blue Copper or Charming Beard is recommended)
4 cups cold water
Place the coffee grounds into a 4-quart pitcher, add the water, and stir until adequately combined. Cover with plastic wrap and steep at room temperature for 12–24 hours.
Line a strainer with a coffee filter and slowly pour the steeped coffee mixture through the strainer and into another pitcher or large bowl. Once you reach the coffee grounds at the bottom of the pitcher, stop pouring.
Discard the wet grounds, clean out the pitcher, and pour the cold brew back into the original pitcher. Cover the brew and chill in the refrigerator.
To serve: Fill cup with ice, pour two-thirds full with cold brew concentrate and one-third with water. Stir and serve.
