Farmers' Market: All Kinds of Heirlooms

The melon that Americans call cantaloupe is truly a muskmelon. True cantaloupes are mainly grown in Europe and have a rough, warty surface quite different from the melons grown in the U.S.

The cantaloupe is the featured fruit at the this Sunday. To select a tasty melon, growers say look for a shallow indent where the stem was attached, a yellow color underneath the thick network of veins, and a strong fragrance.

This week’s market also features Art Walk, a cluster of eight artisans who will be selling hand-crafted works.

Andinas Cosmo will play panpipe music from the Andes. The weather is expected to be a shopper-friendly 68 degrees, with the sun burning off early morning clouds.

Growers will be selling fruits, vegetables, prepared foods and more, including:

• Grapes: green, (sometimes called white), red, and blue-black
• Peppers, from sweet to hot
• Heirloom tomatoes
• Unfiltered honey, honeycomb and bee pollen from the San Mateo Beekeepers Co-Op
• Stone fruits (apricots, peaches, plums and nectarines)
• Strawberries
• Blackberries
• Artichokes
• Avocados
• Orchids
• Dried almonds

The enter-to-win backpack drawing continues through the end of the month.

“Extra 5″ offers farmers’ market customers an extra $5 when they spend at least $10 on their CalFresh (food stamp) cards at selected farmers’ markets operated by partners at the Pacific Coast Farmers’ Market Association. The goal of this project is to encourage CalFresh recipients to take advantage of fresh, locally-grown fruits and vegetables.