One would think an establishment that is more two and half centuries old would be showing signs of age and wear in 2015, but that is just not the case with Easton’s famous Farmer’s Market. The market is stronger today than ever, and still growing, with more than 35 vendors setting up shop each Saturday morning, and 20 vendors offering their goods at the Weyerbacher Brewery-sponsored Wednesday evening market. The market is a vibrant gathering of people and products, with live music, children’s activities and weekly events. Who wouldn’t want to shop there?
Standing by the notion “Buy Fresh, Buy Local” the market only sells products that are locally grown and produced. Additionally, to sell produce at the market, produce must be GMO-free, and meat and dairy products must be pasture-raised and antibiotic and hormone-free. With so many vendors offering fantastic products to choose from, we offer up a snapshot of some of our favorites to give you a taste and get you started.
Fieldstone Coffee Roasters
Start your shopping adventure off with a hot or cold cup of locally roasted coffee from Fieldstone Roasters. The Milford, NJ, small-batch roastery produces a variety of fair-trade, organic hot and cold brews with flavors such as tropical vanilla and coconut. The beans are ground and brewed on-site at the market, creating an extremely fresh, flavorful cup every time. Also available to purchase is iced tea made from their loose-leaf teas. Non-dairy milks are available for your coffee and tea.
Salvaterra’s Gardens
The Easton Farmer’s Market is certainly not lacking in the produce department. With eight farms providing a wide variety of fresh fruit and vegetables every week, you can find almost any in-season produce you need, and with each stand arranging their goods in baskets and tables of every color of the rainbow, it’s rather hard to not stop at every one. We eagerly made our way over to Salvaterra’s Garden seeking out a true rainbow of vegetables like purple carrots, golden zucchini, bright pink radishes and ruby-red tomatoes. Although the line to purchase your basket of goodies may be long, the second you taste one of their Parisian-style garden gems, you’ll realize it was worth the wait.
Primordia Mushroom Farm
Quite frankly, we can’t leave the market without purchasing something from Primordia Mushroom Farm. The mushrooms easily catch your eye as you stroll past their stand, as the colors of mushrooms they produce almost seem unreal. Primordia produces colorful varieties of Oyster mushrooms, like blue, pink and gold, as well as indoor and outdoor Shiitakes, Maitake, Lion’s Mane and others. Their products are quite sought after and can be found in many restaurants in the Valley, including one of our favorites: Bolete.
Valley Milkhouse
Conveniently located right next to Primordia Farms you’ll find our favorite cheesemonger, Valley Milkhouse. Stefanie Angstadt, the lovely lady behind the cheese, kindly offers you tastes of any of her cheese and butter varieties. Our favorite is her superbly fresh-tasting Fromage Blanc, made with grass-fed cow’s milk from a local Berks County dairy. For something with a little more aged flavor, try the seasonal Witchgrass, made with a blend of cow and sheep’s milk with an extremely earthy flavor and ultra-creamy texture.
Terra Café
By now you’ve finished your tasty Fieldstone coffee and need something else to sip while you continue your shopping around the square. Stop by the Terra Café’s table for a sample of one of their many fresh fruit smoothies. The Easton-based establishment brings in-season fruits and vegetables as well as dairy to the market every Saturday to blend up fresh smoothies to order.
The Flour Shop
It’s extremely difficult to pass the Flour Shop’s stand without inhaling the sweet and savory smells of freshly baked breads, pastries, cookies and other goodies. It’s even harder to resist buying something as soon as you arrive at the market. We tend to wait until our shopping is complete and we can concentrate all efforts on savoring one of their fruit and cheese Danish pastries or one of their savory filled pastries loaded with olives, spinach and cheese. And, if there are any loaves left, be sure to grab a crusty French baguette or our favorite, the seeded sourdough, before they run out.
Find the Easton Farmer’s Market in Easton’s Center Square. For GPS users, enter 30 Center Square, Easton, PA.
Market hours are Wednesday, 5 p.m.-Dusk; Saturday, 9 a.m.-1 p.m.
- Market photos: Nina Lea Photography
- Bread photo: Alexandra Whitney Photography
- Fieldstone Roasters, Valley Milkhouse, Primordia photos: Cheryl Doll
