Cruising the farmers markets one learns that eggplant is more varied than can be imagined from hanging out in the average supermarket. Indian, Chinese, Japanese - along with Italian, of course, which comes in more colors than eggplant. White, mauve and bicolor, too. And then, one learns, watermelons also come in yellow. The International market carries 17 varieties.
Mushrooms go beyond buttons, cremini, portobello and shiitake.
The fungiphile can also choose among wonderful wild things like morels, black trumpets, oyster, woodear, enoki, chanterelles and porcini - fresh or dried. Tasty memories Many delicacies that might have remained mere haunting geographic memories show up in the Atlanta markets. You needn't sigh for Pike Place Market if you're anywhere near Atlanta. For my own Italian nostalgia, I find, among the rich variety of dried beans, cannellini, the white kidney beans so intimately associated with Tuscan cooking. And, among many precious baby vegetables, tiny artichokes to fry and eat whole in the typically Roman dish, carciofi alla giudia.