The following Mark's Daily Apple article was written by Mark Sisson,

and is narrated by Tina Lehman.

Fourteen weird plant bits and where to find them.

Foraging ethnic markets.

Five years ago, I wrote about all the odd animal bits one can find at ethnic markets.

I procured and photographed the blood, the guts, the tendon, the tripe, the tails, and heads and feet,

and all the other weird things you can and should eat.

Meaty bits you won't find at the local Whole Foods.

Today I'm going to talk about the weird plant bits available in ethnic markets,

spices, greens, roots, noodles, and fermented things.

But first, a few reasons why everyone should probably high-tail it to the nearest

Asian, Middle Eastern, African, or Mexican market. Asian supermarkets exist outside of the normal

supply chain typical markets use. They get different produce, in many cases fresher produce, and

lower prices. A recent article in Savor explains why.

Quote,

Chinatown's 80-plus produce markets are cheap because they're connected to a web of small farms

and wholesalers that operate independently of the network supplying most mainstream supermarkets.

End quote.

I don't know that this applies to Asian markets in other cities or other types of ethnic

markets, but it's a good bet.

Going to an ethnic market is a little like traveling.

You enter an unfamiliar situation with different sites, smells, and languages.

...