During my recent trip to Crete in Greece I had the amazing experience of visiting a farmers market in Chania, one of the major cities in Crete. It was the high point of my trip, as I got to mingle with the locals and truly understand the foundation of the Mediterranean diet. After all, Crete is the epicenter of the Mediterranean diet—it is on this island, known for its farms and plant foods, where scientists came to study the people who lived the longest.
The amazing thing at the farmers market was to see the locals fill entire carts with giant, stuffed bags of produce. Many older people made their way to the farm, walking with their carts on wheels. It’s no wonder they live to be such a ripe old age—they walk to the farmers market once a week for fresh produce, eat it all up, and then repeat this cycle every week!
My only problem visiting the farm is I pined for a kitchen—I wanted to buy everything I saw and cook it at home. Alas, I did get to sample all of these plants in all of the meals I feasted on in restaurants, cafes, and tavernas during my stay in Greece. Here are the highlights of the Chania, Crete farmers market.
A quick picture among the stalls of the bustling Chania farmers marketCorn, Green Beans, and Melons for saleLegumes are an important part of the Mediterranean diet—and check out these lovely colored ones!I ate olives three times a day in Greece—I could not get enough of them. Look at all of the amazing varieties!You don’t always think of stone fruit as part of the Mediterranean diet, but it certainly is. I saw ripe peach and cherry trees in my journeys through Crete, and these local apricots were delectable! Bundles of garlic fresh from the farm—soil still clinging to their roots! Some lovely green beansThese stems are actually chickpeas in the pod—I tasted one straight from the stem. I wished I had a kitchen so I could buy these and cook fresh chickpeas! Zucchini flowers and stems. Talk about root to stem eating! They famously use zucchini flowers in Greece—and they also use zucchini leaves! Zucchini with flowers and chardGreen leafies galore!Red onions fresh from the soil…Greek onions are so sweet and mild!Neat little stacks of grape leaves—ready to fill!Eggplant, from purple to white!Many vendors sold the classic greens—horta. People would fill entire shopping bags with this stuff! Here the vendor grabs a bunch to fill a bag. Only 1.50 Euro for the whole bag!
Have been on vacation recently on Crete island. Of course I had to visit the market hall in Chania, unfortunately missed an outdoor market there. But the experience in Rethimno on the Thursday market was similar as yours. Your photos definitely show the beauty of the Crete produce. How about the cheese?
Have been on vacation recently on Crete island. Of course I had to visit the market hall in Chania, unfortunately missed an outdoor market there. But the experience in Rethimno on the Thursday market was similar as yours. Your photos definitely show the beauty of the Crete produce. How about the cheese?
My post on the Rethimno market: https://askan.biz/2017/11/19/traditional-in-the-city-thursday-market-in-rethimno-crete-greece