There is impressive local eating to be done in Massachusetts. Farmers markets, meat clubs, and community supported fisheries offer a breadth of local foods not found in every state. Begin your local foods adventure with these starting points. Have a favorite of your own? Be sure to let us know!
Massachusetts Seasonal Fruits & Vegetables
Photo © Molly Watson
Massachusetts Farmers Markets
Photo © Molly Watson
Massachusetts Lobster
Photo © Richard Boll, used with permission from Getty Images
Once you have your lobster in hand, you just need to know How to Cook a Lobster and How to Eat a Lobster. Dip it in melted butter and sigh.
Too simple? Want more? Throw together a serious clambake in fine New England style.
Serious lobster buffs: Read about the history of lobster to see how this crustacean went from poor man's food to the mark of fine dining.
Massachusetts Oysters
Photo © Molly Watson
Massachusetts is known for its fabulously briny Wellfleet oysters, Atlantic oysters raised in Wellfleet Harbor. There are, however, plenty of other places in the state that raise delicious oysters to enjoy on the half-shell or grill or turn into chowder. Island Creek Oysters, for example, offers special oyster tours of their facilities for the truly oyster-obsessed.
Cape Ann Fresh Catch (Community Supported Fishery)
Cape Ann Fresh Catch offers members a share of whatever is freshest from the catch each week throughout the summer from local fishing boats. From the Gloucester Fishermen's Wives Association (GFWA), MIT SeaGrant, and the Northwest Atlantic Marine Alliance, Cape Ann Fresh Catch brings the freshest haddock, cod, flounder, hake, dabs, grey sole, monkfish, pollock, and redfish, as well as seafood such as clams, lobsters and scallops, in line with which fisheries are doing well and where weather has allowed for the best fishing.Massachusetts Meat CSAs
Meat CSAs work pretty much like produce CSAs - consumers buy "shares" of a farm's harvest and receive a portion of the harvest, usually in weekly deliveries, except deliveries tend to be monthly. They are not so much about saving money as they are about having access to meat from humanely raised animals and supporting a farm or groups of farms following sustainable animal husbandry practices and producing meat that you like. The Boston area has a few meat CSAs to chose from:New England Confectionery Company (NECCO)
The New England Confectionery Company (NECCO), headquartered just outside of Boston in Revere, Mass., got its start in 1847. The oldest multiline candy company in the United States, NECCO manufactures classic candies such as NECCO Wafers and Sweethearts Conversation Hearts.Massachusetts Local Foods Resources
Find ideas, inspiration, like-minded folks, and - let's not forget - great sources for local foods with these Massachusetts Local Foods Resources:- New England Local Eating Blogs
- Slow Food Boston
- Slow Food Western Mass
- New England Eating is a blog by former Boston magazine food editor, Amy Traverso, filled with tips and ideas on finding great food in Boston and wherever else she can get to in New England.
- Edible Boston Magazine
- Edible South Shore Magazine
- Edible Cape Cod Magazine
- Edible Pioneer Valley
