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Slow food finally arrives By Ronit Vered Tags: Israel travel  First the tempting smells assail your nose: The salty scent of the sea mingles with the fragrance of fresh loaves of bread, the green smell of bunches of herbs and the rich aroma of chunks of cheese. Beneath the striped awnings of the little stalls, just as in European farmers' markets, stand the farmers, cheese makers and other food artisans offering their wares to the shoppers. Anyone filling his or her baskets after a long wander among the stalls of this market, whose shy and inexperienced sellers beg the buyers to taste and to try, will enjoy a Friday pleasure that is the essence of flavor and life: a salad of fresh-picked tomatoes and basil, seasoned with fragrant olive oil; golden mashed potatoes, made from a variety that are usually available only in the most select delicatessens in Paris; or brown sourdough bread with slices of ripe sheep's-milk cheese. Farmers. What a nice word. It recalls the sweet, old-fashioned smell of working people who labor in the yellowing fields of wheat and corn, make cream and then butter from fresh milk and turn the produce of the land into country-style cakes and quiches bursting with good things. It is reminiscent of the days before those who cultivated the land were turned into workers on a mass assembly line of uniform food products. Anyone who has visited cities in Europe is familiar with the farmers' markets held on different days in different parts of the city and which offer the regional produce of the surrounding villages. In Israel, as usual, the situation is a little more complicated. The farms supplying produce to the population concentrated in the center of the country have been pushed into the distant, unpopulated north and south, there are very few regional agricultural traditions and the term "land" has political connotations. Advertisement But at least Tel Aviv now has a farmers' market, in which the producers sell directly to the consumer. The organizers plan to follow this first venture with similar markets in other large cities. Shir Halperin and Michal Ansky - chefs, food writers and the women behind this pleasant and necessary project - met when both were studying history at Tel Aviv University, drawn together out of a shared interest in culinary history. Their adventure began with a chance exchange about their dream of initiating a European-style farmers' market, which would create a direct connection, sans middlemen, between producers and consumers. It was followed by months of traveling around the country to find high-quality small producers, as well as navigating the bureaucratic maze in order to create the necessary physical infrastructure. It was only natural for Halperin and Ansky to team up with the local representatives of Slow Food. Born in Italy in the mid-1980s, this movement focuses on farmers and other producers, and on becoming familiar with the people and places behind the processes of food production, as a means of understanding various aspects - health, hedonistic and cultural - of the act of eating. During the past two years, Slow Food has sponsored a network of farmers' markets the world over - called earth markets. The young Israeli market is one of them, as is the Beirut farmers' market, which was also initiated by a young (25-year-old) woman. Halperin and Ansky endeavor to select the vendors in accordance with Slow Food's criteria for the earth markets. Taste is the first and most important factor, followed by high-quality production on a small scale, niche expertise and value for money. There are old friends, like the wonderful cheeses of the Barkanit dairy, sliced by Michal Barkan and her sister, Irit David, who will be opening her own stall with homemade muesli and yogurt-based soups; the great breads of Tel Aviv's Lehamim bakery; the specialty fruit varieties of Ben-Dor Fruits, in Yesud Hama'ala; or Al Jamal tehina and the Ramallah olive oil from the owners of Hummus Lina in Jerusalem's Old City. But there are also less familiar growers and producers who are worth getting to know. Arjwan shares his stall with another neighbor from the Besor region, Ilan Yohanan, who is offering lovely bunches of chervil, lemon grass, thyme and other herbs. This is also an export industry. Although herbs have always been around they have recently become associated with haute cuisine, and when it comes to insisting on quality and a variety of flavors in this area, too, the consumers in overseas markets are ahead of us. Yaakov Cohen stands behind baskets of red cherry tomatoes that his father Zion grows on a farm in Moshav Tekuma. This week there are two varieties: Tamari Lev Adom, which has won medals for flavor and appearance, and the elongated Bollitos. In the weeks to come market-goers can look forward to Chocolitas, which look like tiny brown watermelons, and striped Zebras, fresh from the farm's experimental hothouse, which also sells seeds. Miriam and Amnon Lavi have been growing roses for over 30 years. There are few rose growers in Israel today, after the local industry surrendered to the supremacy of the Africans in the international market. But, like bread or tomatoes, says Miriam, we can't give up roses entirely. Their farm specializes in growing dozens of species of small sweetheart roses. Miriam brings to her stall beautiful bouquets in a variety of soft colors, which are also sold in the store next to the packing house on the farm in Moshav Yogev. There is also a special bouquet, known as "Orit's bucket," which has fans in the North. It's a round, charming bouquet of short-stemmed roses in full bloom. Farmers don't have a monopoly on the family dynasty market in Tel Aviv's new farmers' market. In the kitchen of the Hemda homestyle bakery, Hemda Biderman and her daughters, Liron, Hila and Sharon - the third generation of a special family from the city's Yad Eliahu neighborhood - all work together to create wonderful baked goods from high quality ingredients: light and airy burekas inspired by the family's Greek roots; heavy, moist, rich yeast cakes; huge challahs full of almonds and raisins. There is even a "farmers' market cake" made with oats and dried fruit, created especially for the new venue. Mary Berkowitz was born and raised in Michigan, the U.S. capital of berries, apples and peaches. Twenty-six years ago her husband Ami planted a blueberry patch at their home on Moshav Sha'al, in the Golan Heights. Cherries, red currants and white and black mulberries came later, but the jewel in the crown are still the organic red raspberries. After a decade of independent research and development, and with the help of hothouses, hybridizing and special pruning techniques, Ami has succeeded in producing these summer fruits almost year-round: This year they expect to be picking from May to January, and next year the Berkowitzes are hoping for a full year of cherries and berries. They have succeeded in extending not only the growing season, but also the shelf life, of these delicate fruits, which usually must be sold within three days of picking, and all without affecting their fantastic flavor. At 8 A.M. there wasn't much traffic at the Dancing Camel beer stall. Israelis still aren't used to drinking first thing in the morning, says founder David Cohen sadly. His vision of the Hebrew boutique microbrewery began years ago, in Brooklyn. But as the hands of the clock advance and the sun moves towards its zenith, the glasses of cold beer - strategically placed in front of the roast beef stall of the Besari butcher shop - became a big hit. After all, Israelis are very familiar with the trinity of sea, sun and beer. David's beers - including a hoppy pale ale with the fragrance of dates and a Belgian-style wheat beer with the local flavors of coriander and citrus seeds - are perfect for the Tel Aviv summer. Tel Aviv farmers' market, from May 30, every Friday from 7 A.M. until the start of Shabbat, at the Tel Aviv Port. Bookmark to del.icio.us   A staunch ally Obama to AIPAC: I'll do everything to prevent Iran from obtaining nukes. Pro-Israel Nazis German group condemns anti-Semitism, says Holocaust 'unjustifiable.'

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