market research

a sensory feast...

I have been lucky enough to appreciate the real meaning of ‘market research’ recently, having been commissioned to write a feature for the June edition of delicious magazine.

Not wishing to give anything away until publication, my research took me to a number of local food markets, to delight in a sensory oasis of seasonal produce and local delicacies.

With the relentless rains over the past few weeks, that has just started to give way to some welcome spring sunshine, the winter produce is at its very best. Colourful arrays of fruit and vegetables are strategically arranged upon the stalls, as if the subject of a still life awaiting the artist’s brush.

Stalls, shops, bars and cafes line the cobbled streets mingling in between ancient architecture and quaint houses set back off the streets and decorated with ceramics and painted tin pots, filled with beautiful blooms. The markets are bustling with shoppers filling their bags with the staples required for soups, salads and main dishes to feed the family for the Sabbath and the coming weekend. Weighted down with meat, vegetables, breads and other much needed supplies, shoppers deviate into a corner shop for a sweet treat, before making their way home to start cooking.

Blocks of halva, the sesame seed confectionery flavoured with chocolate, vanilla and pistachio stand proudly next to the trays of paper wrapped, silver foiled or uncovered sweets, awaiting with bags by their side to be scooped up for the children and grandchildren. I make a beeline for the Arabic sweetmeat with a firm jelly consistency, filled with large pieces of pistachios and rolled in a covering of a ground nut crumb, carefully making sure it is not flavoured with floral waters such as rose, hibiscus or orange bergamot, which I find can be overpowering. It is known as lokum or ‘gan eden’, (the garden of Eden), a truly fitting name for such a delicacy.

The ancient food markets in Jerusalem, Acco and Nazareth are full of history, tradition and long-established customs or practices, as well as a characteristic familiarity that attracts the locals, foodies and bargain hunters to these iconic havens. Centuries of trading have taken place in these old, cobbled streets, once the home to peddlers of grain, spices, oil and dried legumes. The covered markets are now filled with everything you could want in the way of foodstuffs and household goods, as well as antiques, bric a brac and clothes, that you might not care for. The focus is seasonal produce, regional delicacies, freshly baked breads, locally caught fish, spices of every colour and fragrance, and sackfuls of legumes, nuts and dried fruits, inherent in these ancient cuisines, and a sensory feast.

Despite the vibrancy and energy of these ancient bazaars, there is a nostalgic waft of heady coffee and acrid tobacco through the streets that are littered with empty boxes and crates, which have become a sanctuary for the stray cats who wander the markets for fish heads and scraps of meat. There is the occasional domestic cat enjoying the spring sunshine perched in a box of veg, attracting the customers more for the photo opportunity than to buy the produce, as its owner appears engrossed in a game of cards behind him.

The markets are a mixture of work and play. The cafes, bars and hummus joints do a roaring trade, as friends meet for coffee and breakfast, before commencing their shopping. Tons of the traditional chickpea spread is prepared each day in food trucks, served in warm pitta breads with hot, freshly fried falafel balls, chopped salad and a dollop of extra tahini, to ensure it drips down your chin, a prerequisite when devouring the native street food.

I have never been a academic, yet have achieved great things in my more practical careers of nursing and catering. Over the past number of years since I embarked on food writing, I have gained a real interest in researching my subjects and gleaning information from papers, books, people and places, yet the most enjoyable form of any research is where the literal meaning comes to life through the eyes and palate, meandering through a treasure trove of flavours and aromas and cultural bites…

Enjoy!