On a recent work trip to Madison, Wis., we extended our visit by a few days for the sole purpose of attending the Dane County Farmers' Market, reported to be one of the biggest and best farmers' markets in the country. Would the market really live up to the hype?
Absolutely. But the greatest thing about the DCFM isn't its size. It's the warmth and personality of its people that makes this the most enjoyable farmers' market we have ever visited. All items sold at the market must be produced by the vendors at the tables, meaning there are no resellers and each person has an intimate knowledge of how the products were grown and harvested.
With about 150 vendors stretched across the grounds of the state capitol building (the market moves to an indoor location in winter), the DCFM attracts hoards of locals and tourists. We were advised to get there early and arrived at 6 am – potato buttermilk doughnut in hand – to watch the market unfold. As the sun rose and we made our way around the square, we listened to farmers' personal stories, learned about wild Wisconsin foods, and tasted local cheese, horseradish, and maple syrup. It was a delicious and educational morning that we will remember for a long time.
TOP ROW
1 Shoppers move counter-clockwise to visit stalls set up around the capitol square.
2 There were dozens of apple varieties, with Honeycrisp, Sonata, and Swiss Gourmet among the most highly recommended this week.
3 Shoppers can learn anything they ever wanted to know (and more!) about hardneck garlic at Gunderson's Great Garlic stand.
4 Beautiful shapes and colors of the fall harvest.
5 Francisco Dremsa and his wife sell honey, herbs, mushrooms, wild ginseng, and other products. He told us that in recent years colony collapse disorder has reduced his honey harvest from 150 pounds a year to just 30.
MIDDLE ROW
6 Mini pumpkins for decor or eating.
7 A trip to Wisconsin wouldn't be complete without a bag of cheese curds!
8 More autumn colors.
9 Juicy Moonglow pears from Ela Orchard, a three-generation family farm.
10 Soft wool yarn and wreaths from Wisconsin Highlands Farms.
BOTTOM ROW
11 Organic produce at JenEhr Family Farm.
12 The Gourd Guy has been selling at DCFM for 17 years.
13 Pretty winter squashes.
14 Potatoes are a specialty of Wisconsin growers.
15 Crystal Barnard (in her husband Jim's apron) with the last Concord grapes of the season.
For more information, visit the Dane County Farmers' Market website. And if you're in the area, be sure to visit Fromagination, too!
Related: Midwest Harvest at the Farmers' Market: Dane County, Wisconsin
(Images: Emily Ho)
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Comments (14)
Oh, this post warms my heart! I went to school in Madison and my last two years lived close enough to the Capitol Square to head up to the market on the weekends. Nothing better to bring back to share with your roommates than a bag full of cheese curds, apples, local honey, and cider donuts!!
Yay for the Madison Farmers Market! You missed my favorite vendor though... Driftless Organics are always worth a visit. Also, props for getting Cisco Dremsa on the page! I grew up with him!
I miss this market so much. I'm in Boulder now, where there is also a huge, incredibly popular farmers' market, but it just isn't the same. Madison's really is a friendly market, and the circular setup makes for a great traffic flow (unlike the cluster&*$% in Boulder, complete with 2 dogs for every 3 people....)
I used to think that the Dane County Farmer's Market was the best...and for awhile it was. However, the Union Square Farmer's Market in NYC has caught-up to DCFM, and may have even surpassed it. I was in Madison two weekends ago and I was disappointed with the number of pies I saw. I agree that the people are warm and setting is great, but Union Square is better. Sorry Madison.
Yes, thank you for posting about the best farmer's market in the country! I live a few blocks from the capitol, so it's where we do most of our weekly shopping on Saturdays. Such great variety and excellent prices.
Eastern Market, Detroit.
Disappointed by the number of pies!?!?!?! You had better stay in New York, buddy. We don't like that kind of anti-pie talk in the Midwest.
We moved to Madison about 6 weeks ago, and we adore this market! Beautiful midwest produce, fun baked goods and prepared foods, the best cheese anywhere, amazing honey and maple syrup. It does get crowded, though, so get there early!
I miss the Madison farmer's market so much. It was the highlight of my summer's there to go walk to the capitol and get armloads of produce and a crusty loaf of bread for the week. If you're a late sleeper on the weekends like me, I never got to watch the market set up but I would get there as people were taking down and getting rid of their produce at ridiculous prices just so they wouldn't have to load it up and take it back with them.
I now live just over the state line in IL and go to the Woodstock farmers market (where they filmed Groundhog Day). It's got a super cute square, so it's kinda like the Madison market only really small. I like it though because it's not crowded and I can actually talk shop to all the vendors.
I'm originally from NYC, but moved to Madison 2 years ago with my family of 5. I love the shopping here. Madison is very dedicated to local growers and vendors. CSAs are one of the best too.
Hot spicy cheese bread from Stella's. OK, discuss.
More info on #7, Farmer John, can be found at his website or the short video about him here.
I actually was not that impressed with the Madison farmers' market. I thought it was going to be a lot better in quality and selection than it actually was. Maybe I am just spoiled by the St. Paul and various Mpls farmers' market though.
i do, however, love Driftless Organics and am doing a CSA with them this year. So great!
The DCFM was my favorite thing from the two years I spent in Madison!! We couldn't take the cold, but we'd take that farmer's market ANY TIME! ;)