Market Report – Wittenbergplatz – Thursday, 2 August 2007
Man, I am so happy that I took up a friend’s invitation to check out the Wittenbergplatz market today. What a color explosion! Pink tomatoes, purple beans, yellow/white/green squash, red radishes, tan potatoes, the aptly named rainbow chard…and on and on. This is a fantastic market (at least in this season). One: the food comes straight from the farms of Brandenburg. Second: it is all about food. There are no souvenirs to be found; just amazing meat, cheese, hot food, and produce vendors. And people with some serious dirt under there fingers.
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The tomatoes were out of sight. There were so many varieties, shapes, and shades. I waited in line for a long time to get my hand on some, but man was it worth it. Three kilos of just gorgeous tomatoes for a little more than €6! That is incredible. I brought them home and made a cold tomato sauce pasta (from here), and it was just unbeatably fresh tasting. If you cook the recipe, make sure to let them sit and really let the flavors meld.
Berries – and good looking, unmushy ones – were in full abundance, but the prices seemed about 20% higher than I’ve seen them elsewhere.
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Summer squash was ubiquitous in amazing numbers and types, the most beautiful of which were the green- and white-striped pattypans.
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A couple things caught my eye for their beauty, but I need to go research them more. For example, what are these purple beans all about? And these things called Mirabellen? My little helper book
Two more things: (1) the vendors were extremely nice. Special gratitude to the potato guy who really spent some time educating me about some of the different potato types (see future post). (2) The prepared food was very German, but good. 
There was a large selection of sausages, potatoes, rotisserie chicken, Kartoffelnpuffer (potato pancakes with dips, such as apple sauce), etc. And they seemed very fairly priced, unlike a few other places I know. Here’s a nice shot of a Schmalzbrötchen for you!
(jw)
Tags: book, fruit, market, recipeRelated posts
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August 3rd, 2007 at 2:21 pm
I can’t tell from the photo, but those would appear to be purple runner beans. I also can’t tell the condition of the pods. If they’re young and tender, you can use them just like green beans, although the flavor’s different. If the pods have become older and fibrous, the beans have to be shelled, at which point you have pea beans or, as they’re called in Tennessee, cream peas.
And congratulations for noticing one of the big differences between east and west Berlin: the wider variety of food available over there. But that’s another story, and another post.
August 4th, 2007 at 3:19 pm
Do get your hands on the Mirabelle plums - they disappear quickly. They are quite lovely eaten raw; lightly plummy with a just-ripe apricot finish. And they are super-yum when cooked, too. Grab yourself some frozen blatterteig, slice in half and pit said Mirabellen and place cut side up on said teig, sprinkle with cinnamon and sugar, and bake. Easy-peasy.
August 7th, 2007 at 11:12 am
Mirabelle are known as Grengages in the UK, they’re one of my favouite fruits but they are only in season for a short time. Thee BBC site has some info if you’re interested.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/food/in_season/august.shtml
I eat them raw like plums, when they have a little bit of give but haven’t gone too sqishy. You can use them in pretty much any plum recipe though.
Not sure about the beans, but they may be a type of Borlotti?
kaird
PS I’m moving to Berlin next week, any top tips for a foody/keen chef?
August 7th, 2007 at 7:27 pm
Keep reading us, kaird; that’s what we’re all about!
August 25th, 2007 at 1:37 pm
Hi Josh!
You have to visit the Market at Winterfeldplatz on Saturdays - close to Nollendorfplatz. That is my favorite once. It is the biggest market I know and still has got the athmosphere of the former West-Berlin. The hole area is interesting: many gay bars, turkish folks - living there for over 30 years, a big children playground with contruktions of iron and rubber. There is a schoolbuilding that looks like a ship. And to get the old progressiv athmosphere of the 70th and 80the oft West Berlin you can have a walk up the Akazienstraße with many very nice relaxed cafés, little food shops and so on. It really is a counter part of the now sooo hip Prenzlauer Berg. Get there and enjoy!
EW
August 25th, 2007 at 10:04 pm
What days is that market going? (We really should have a list of the more prominent ones somewhere on this blog…)