I meant to compose this when the Yakima Fruit Market (YFM) in Bothell was still open. It is closed from November to March because the weather is too frigid to sell produce outside.
But let me minute-rave about YFM.
Just as you round the Bothell-Everett Highway on the north end of Lake Washington, almost out of nowhere, Yakima Fruit Market appears like an oasis. It is difficult to find good parking because it's right next to the road, but any space will do. There are two parts to the market: an uncovered portion and a covered portion. The uncovered space usually displays the market's seasonal items, including locally grown prize pumpkins, Washington Christmas trees, Easter decorations, and the like. It is an airy foyer to the main goods of the place. The products advertise themselves.
Then you venture into the covered part of YFM where there are rows and rows of local apples, berries, garlic, squash, fennel, leeks, etc. The whole panoply of produce is on the display, of course, in local quantities and without much of the wax that is used in grocery stores. Candy logs, honey sticks, and the usual dried fruit and canned goods are located further back. And the entire place has the faint sweet smell of a waking orchard. These are free range fruits and vegetables, uncaged and vegetarian-fed.
But what I appreciate most about the market is the people who work there. I cannot remember their names, but their presence is a familiar and comforting one. They have the presence of nurses in a, well, nursery ward: incredibly knowledgeable about each of their patients, busy, but never too busy to stop and tell you a good story or joke. I remember this one young lady with strong arms, tattoos fading, who shared that her favorite apple variety was Jonagold. It was she who informed me that Jonagolds have the color and tartness of a Jonathan apple and the starchiness and sweetness of a Golden Delicious. Hence, Jonagold! I didn't even know Jonathan apples existed. (And where, then, are the David apples? They need to make a cameo appearance...) She knew what she was talking about, and by her frame, I could tell that she probably had picked many of these apples herself.
YFM is one reason why I love local. They're so connected to what they do, from starch to finish. They have a rootedness, and they give life to those who come. When you buy from YFM, you're not just bringing home delicious produce at decent prices. You've entered a context. You know what has come before. You know where you are. You know where it's going. You bring home more of what it is: home.
