Went to the Central Market today. This time we were prepared to bring food home. It's an incredible experience: it's a joint stock market company housed in 5 pavilions formerly used as Zeppelin hangars.
(Paul just said open and then slid some slimy goodness into my mouth - no, this is not a regression into soft porn; well maybe. We picked up a little bit of smoked giant calamari seasoned to absolute perfection, melting on the tongue).
I digress... armed with plastic bottles to fill with fresh unpasteurized milk (4% fat and lovely) we then shyly asked for tastes of cheese. Purchased a bit of a dill wedge and then a small caraway/tumeric wedge, then a moderate slab of fresh, smooth cottage cheese (this one was nice and tangy).
Next we made our way past the smoked meats. This time we picked up a small quantity of locally smoked pork Karbonade (pork loin smoked with a mustard glaze, I think). More heaven in the mouth. Walking further, we hit the produce hangar. So many varieties of potatoes, greens and fresh, vibrant dill. Beautiful kohlrabi, more carrots and sweet beets.
We also picked up a third of a loaf of yet another dark bread. These breads are hearty, rich, moist, sweet and bitter at the same time. So many varieties to choose from - recipes I have yet to master at home.
Oh, did I mention we started out our little foodie adventure by stopping at Martins Bekereja for pastries and espresso? Each time we've been we try new ones: mushroom, potato, cheese, chocolate, peanut, poppy seed, cream, caramel, chicken - P said he had a cabbage one yesterday (sneaking in the pastries without me!).
Back to the Central Market:
After picking up bread, cheese and vegetables, we were looking for the fresh fish and rounding the corner was the tap booth where you can fill your other plastic containers with fresh, local beer and wine. We have now sampled a very tasty ginger beer at 7.0% and a pale ale at 5.8% (still some in the fridge); now we are tasting local wine-first the cab and now the merlot. Each are very fine quality. Buying local fresh brews and vintages is promoted here - you can stop into any tap room and fill your plastic bottles. Very inexpensive and delightfully varied.
So after our liquid purchases, we continued our foodie hike, finishing up at the fish hangar. Standing in line while a Russian woman was loading up on a variety of fresh fish eggs (champagne and caviar are undoubtedly on our to-do list). As she was spending a large amount of money (and time) on this purchase, we slipped over to another counter that was selling equally beautiful fish at the same price. Picked up a handsome fillet of a rainbow trout (particular to this area) - looks and tastes very similar to salmon, just not as fatty. Walking past the smoked fish glass displays, we decided to pick up the smoked calamari and some smoked salmon (different than the one we tried before). Finally, we stopped off at the bread oven, this time picking up a different round that turned out to be a very hearty rye flatbread with a lovely flower pattern on it.
It doesn't make sense to buy large quantities of food at any one time. We buy just enough for a day or two. This way we get to go out, see more sights, have more experiences and practice our Latvian.