Pennsylvania Markets Part I

I headed north for a market tour of southern PA last weekend. Friday afternoon was spent at the (new) Eastern Market in York. The place was bustling with people picking up their meats and sauerkraut and, yes, their potato chips. Both Martin’s and Utz have market stands there and for a potato chip lover like me, it is hard to walk by a stall and not buy a bag. (though not one as big as the one pictured here.) The Brethren ladies were manning many of the fresh produce stalls, and I came home with a real treat … locally grown celery which they had graded by size. I must say the flavor of local trenched celery is superb! It is a lot of work, but the flavor can make it all worthwhile. I also picked up fresh eggs while I was there. Perhaps some of you who raise chickens can explain to me what a rooster enhanced egg is?

One thing in the York meat cases that took my breath away was a local dish called hog maw. I try to be discreet with my camera, and so I was unable to photograph one in the case, but it is basically a pig stomach stuffed with sausage and potatoes and is roasted in a 350 degree oven for about 2 hours. Any local you ask about it will roll their eyes up into the back of their head and sigh “Oh I love my hog maw.”

The next morning I was at the Hanover Market before sunrise. Just inside the door was a woman making pretzel covered hot dogs. Pretzels are a food group unto themselves, and there are all kinds of ways to embellish them. At Christmas time pretzel sticks are frosted with red and green frosting. Again the Brethren ladies were in abundance and one in particular was selling all manner of canned goods and some chocolate confections that were extraordinary. Take a look at this! It is a box made of chocolate and decorated with a white chocolate ribbon. The top comes off the box and inside are handcrafted chocolates of poinsettias, snowflakes, holly leaves. Maybe 8 handcrafted chocolates in all.

Take a guess at how much I paid for it.