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Does Aberdeen have a Farmer's Market?


Lemonade

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Where I can get fresh fruit and vegetables and farm products (eggs, meat etc)? I'd much prefer to go and buy some fresh produce off a ruddy cheeked farmer's wife in green wellies than lining Asda's pockets for days-old bashed up fruit and veg, but I don't know where to find it. Any ideas?

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The Green. Every.....Sunday!? (I think that's it)

Chris Edit: Once a month there's a farmers market on Belmont Street.

Aberdeen Country Fair - Market Dates

I've never noticed the one on the Green. I'll have to check that out. The monthly one isn't so handy. Veg tends not to keep for a month....

There's used to be one at the car boot sale at the Exhibition Centre every Sunday but since they stopped the boot sale I've never been able to find another. It was great for fresh veg, eggs and meat.

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Guest treader.
There's a farmers market thing on the green every friday.

This is what I meant, but thanks for editing my post, Hitler.

EDIT: Hitler reference was for Chris, not Sharon.

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There's a farmers market thing on the green every friday. However, the selection is quite limited. If you're stuck any other day, there's also a greengrocers in the market next to the little japanese place.

I can't stand fruit and veg from ASDA/Tesco. I do online shopping so they always give you the most pathetic stuff they have.

Really? I didn't even know you still got greengrocers...

It's a shame really that huge Asdas and Tescos all over the city put all the little businesses like butchers, bakers, greengrocers, fishmongers etc. out of business. I guess the low prices combined with the convenience of being able to do all your shopping under one roof is more important these days than getting good quality food.

Maybe I just long for the days when you could go into the butchers and the smiling jolly man at the counter would say "Morning Mr Higgins! The usual is it?" and then chat with you about football or the weather while he linked your sausages. *

In 100 years every shop on Union Street is going to be a Tesco :down:

*My name isn't actually Higgins, but it's my fantasy so don't spoil it OK?!

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There's a farmers market thing on the green every friday. However, the selection is quite limited. If you're stuck any other day, there's also a greengrocers in the market next to the little japanese place.

I can't stand fruit and veg from ASDA/Tesco. I do online shopping so they always give you the most pathetic stuff they have.

I heard from a Tesco employee that they deliberately pick the best fruit/veg nowadays because in the early days of Tesco Online, they were getting loads of complaints from customers about bashed fruit/veg being delivered.

Obviously not singing from their own hymn sheet.

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laidlows is very very good, the range of steak pies and stuff is amazing!!

I wouldnt say meat from tesco/asda is rancid, if you pay a bit extra it is perfectly good, but nothing beats meat from a butcher that is cut in front of you and not packaged and left sitting for a day or two.

Just so you know as well, freezing reduces the quality of the meat.

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Chris Edit: Once a month there's a farmers market on Belmont Street.

Aberdeen Country Fair - Market Dates

That is more of an upmarket shopping event, run by a commercial entertainment company. Not what I'd call a farmers market in the OP's sense.

Besides, you need very deep pockets & probably a stomach of iron if you planned to live of stuff bought there. For the occasional luxury, it would be fine though.

Dundee has a good weekly one & there is an excellent one in Edinburgh somewhere but the round trip is a bit much.

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Funnily enough, there's a fishmonger next to the greengrocers in the market. Sadly due to obscene rent on the prominent streets of Aberdeen, small businesses like these are forced into places that people dont tend to venture too often (like the market). However, you can still get decent meat, veg and fish if you look for it.

Ive used the farmers market a few times and you just get the basics plus eggs and I have to say that the quality of the veg is brilliant - its also really cheap. If you can spare an extra few minutes then its definitely worth it.

I simply wont buy meat from tescos etc anymore. Its rancid. I just go to the butchers once a month and stock up my freezer. Theres a decent one round the back of markies in that little lane that goes to Union Street (Laidlaws). I think theres another Laidlaws up on Rosemount Place, near the cheesemongers (yes, theres a cheesemonger in Aberdeen!). If youre in the west end then I recommend the butcher on Chattan Place just off Great Western Road. Thats now my local and its ace.

Fantastic post, thanks. All good info.

I've been trying to find decent fish for ages (I'm from Fraserburgh so I'm used to good fish!), I'll def try that butcher as well. I didn't know they had all that stuff in the market like, I usually try to avoid the market whenever possible cos it smells and it's full of people who just look dejected. Like they've given up on life entirely.

thainstone will most likely do that kinda stuff on a sundays dont they?

I use the local butcher beside RS in bod because the meat is much better than tesco also he is very helpful and wont rip you off or talk you into buying more than you need, he has saved me money a few times now.

Aye they certainly do, but I don't know if I can be bothered getting up at 8.00 on a Sunday and driving all the way to Inverurie! The one at AECC was so handy because I worked at the hotel next door to it and I finished at 7am, so I could go and stock up on the way home.

2 months ago they subbed my bag off tatties for a pack of sweet potatoes. I had a 9pm delivery and the potatoes they subbed went off that day and had mould on them. I wasnt chuffed.

I actually used to buy some longer lasting fruit and veg off them (tatties, apples etc) but the rotten potatoes were the final straw on that front.

The thing they are worst for is fresh soup. You're almost guaranteed to get some soup either going off the day it's delivered to you or the day after. *shakes fist*

I've never done online shopping but this thread makes me not want to.

I don't buy soup, ever, it's such a rip off when you can make a massive pan of it for like 2. I've never bought anything from Asda or Tesco that's been off or mouldy, but you usually have to dig through the fruit and veg trying to find something that isn't all bashed or shrivelled up. Both are pretty poor in that respect. Morrison's are usually good for fruit and veg, but the rest of the shop is pretty crap.

Oh that's not strictly true actually, I bought some brie from Tesco a while ago and it was red rotten. It stank like old cabbages, like it had been left out of the fridge and left to sweat in the plastic. It was horrible, I had to take it right out of the flat and down to the wheelie bin just to gt the smell out of my kitchen....

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I know it does but when I'm working I wind up freezing whatever I've bought... I never freeze steaks though. I always try to buy them on the day I intend to use them.

I'm off tesco meat since I bought chicken and then opened the packet (they day I'd bought it, and it had maybe another 5 days left on the date) and it stank. Chicken shouldn't smell and the stuff from tesco/asda almost always does. You can usually spy a fair amount of pink marks from urine burns from when the chickens were rammed into a shed too... and I find that kind of off-putting. The dearer stuff is a bit better but then you're basically cheaper to go to the butcher anyway.

im the same, i tend to always have some stewing steak and mince in the freezer, you notice too much difference with those kinda things but steaks have to be bought in fresh, chicken for me is the same its such a pain to defrost properly before using.

Chicken will begin to smell within a few days of it being culled, although its not the nicest smell in the world it doesnt mean it is bad just that the juice of the chicken has been sitting in the pack. I used to question this when i worked as a chef but having spoken to the butcher at great lenghts about this i was happy with what he said, plus ive never gotten ill yet!!! As for the urine marks they are horrible i admit and yes it usualy does mean the chicken was rammed into a small cage.

Local butchers are def much better and better value for money if you have access to one regularly.

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Guest treader.
Just remembered, Mannofield, at the shops at Seafield. :up:

I wouldn't count on it lasting. That unit has been about 20 different businesses within my lifetime, including at one point...a fishmonger. So it has failed before.

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I wouldn't count on it lasting. That unit has been about 20 different businesses within my lifetime, including at one point...a fishmonger. So it has failed before.

Yes, but these types of shop do seem to be making a comeback, a new butchers opened in Banchory last year, so who knows?

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This is what I meant, but thanks for editing my post, Hitler.

EDIT: Hitler reference was for Chris, not Sharon.

I didn't touch anything you'd written, the edit was just because I wanted to reply to the thread and the facebook thing means I can't do that from work.

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Wirelessly posted (Vodafone/1.0/SEX1i/R1AA Opera/9.5 (Microsoft Windows; PPC; Opera Mobi/2141; U; UK) UP.Link/6.3.1.20.0 Profile/MIDP-2.0 Configuration/CLDC-1.1)

The Banchory butcher is a branch of Laidlaws but I think the guy in charge knows their meat better - I've never had anything not excellent from there. :)

Oh just to air it again - A steaming hot Laidlaw's macaroni pie, from Banchory:

3780596.a8d2536a.560.jpg

:)

That looks burnt!

Oh not again! :p

I like my macaroni& cheese with a nice crunchy crust. OK? :D

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