The Adelaide Central Market - a South Australian food hub

In the middle of the Central Business District (CBD) of Adelaide there is an amazing place to visit. It is surrounded by China Town and restaurants serving food from all corners of the world. It is THE place to be for the best fruit of the season, the freshest fish and meat, the greatest range of veggies, the most delicious cheeses, freshly baked breads and cakes and every other special ingredient that you could possibly need for your dinner party or daily home-cooked meal. I am talking about the Adelaide Central Market, a 'South Australian icon with 140 years of experience and more than 80 stalls under one roof' (Adelaide Central Market).

The Drover told me about this great market when he was with me in the Netherlands, shortly after we met in the autumn of 2010. He had just been traveling through Europe for quite a few months and was almost ready to go back home to Australia. One of the things that he was looking forward to back home, was the possibility to go and do his shopping at the Central Market again where he would be able to find all the best quality food products in one place. Having heard many good stories about this covered market, I went to check it out soon after I arrived in Adelaide last year...

Wow!

I had created an idea in my head about what the market might look like, but it turned out to be much better than my own imagination.

Whatever you are looking for, you can find it at the market. I was really impressed with the cheeses in the two beautiful cheese stalls that are situated next to each other - Say Cheese and The Smelly Cheese Shop. What a great range of locally produced and imported cheeses! I was also a bit shocked with the prices, I have to admit.. No 18 euro's a kilo parmigiano reggiano in these shops but 45 dollars a kilo. Ai! No small fresh French goats cheeses for 1 euro a piece, but at least 5 or 6 dollars each. Ai! I do believe that it is much better to support the local and regional cheese makers than to import all the best and most delicious cheeses from France, Italy and the Netherlands (of course!), but unfortunately the local cheeses are often even more expensive than the imported ones. Anyway, expensive or not, these cheese shops have a beautiful range of products and even the Australian made Gouda cheese gained my approval for a good copy - even though it is not exactly the same as the real thing. I might just have to start making some good artisanal aged raw milk Gouda cheese myself since there are strict rules to importing or commercially producing raw milk cheeses (only five cheeses are currently allowed to be imported)...

Dough is a beautiful bread stall. Here you can find the most crispy sourdough breads and the finest French style pastries. Just passing the stall and smelling the bread makes you feel like biting in one of their baguettes or bread rolls! I loved all the breads that I tasted form Dough when I was around last year and even while I have my private baker baking beautiful breads at home for me on a regular basis, when I pass Dough I am still tempted to buy something - just because it's there, and it smells and looks so good!

When looking for vegetables and fruits you just do not know where to start. The amount of traders at the market that sell fresh and mainly South Australian produce is impressive. You could spend a long time looking around, comparing products and prices and finely go back home with the best selection of juicy mangoes (my new favourite fruit!), organically grown bananas, super sweet stone fruit and a range of beautiful, fresh, seasonal veggies. Are you planning to make something Thai, Chinese, Vietnamese or Japanese, to name a few Asian cuisines, than you can find anything you need in the Lien Heng Asian Grocery. Do you prefer Moroccan, Turkish or Lebanese? You can find your ingredients or pre-made salads and dips at Taste of Marrakech or Jagger Fine Foods. Craving for a German dinner? The Mettwurst Shop has all you are looking for!

Yoghurt, coffee, olives, mushrooms, tea, nuts, sweets (candy's or in Australian English lolly's)... For all the things that you might like you can find a dedicated stall. But what impressed me probably most of all when I first visited the Adelaide Central Market is Wild Oz. A stall dedicated to South Australian game meats, including wild goat, wild pork, rabbits, hares, venison and specialising in kangaroo and other exotic meats like crocodile and emu! Wow! Not being a meat eater I had mixed feelings when I saw this. A bit shocked (it is true, Australian eat the two animals that are on their national emblem!), but also full of wonder and surprise that Australians eat Skippy, the bush kangaroo. After hearing stories about the sustainability aspects of eating kangaroo, however, I started appreciating the choice a bit more (I'll come back to this topic in a separate article). Not only does Wild Oz offer the different Aussie meats, you can also buy native Australian bush herbs, spice mixes and marinades. Maybe for now I'll still skip the kangaroo and just stick to these last three to go with my fresh veggies and grains...

Not only at the market - also in the supermarket

It is the diversity of products, the smells, the colours, the tastes and the people that make the Central Market such a great place to go to. And as if all that was not enough yet, the market also frequently offers tastings, cooking demonstrations and music@the market. I have now been in Adelaide for a combined time frame of 3,5 months and I can say that the Central Market is one of my favourite places to go to. Even when you do not need anything but you just feel like some people watching and a coffee (like a lot of Dutchies like doing) there are many opportunities in this South Australian food hub to have a great time. So if you ever come to Adelaide, come and check it out!

For more info and opening hours: www.adelaidecentralmarket.com.au