Citrus fruits galore

Thanks to Adelaide’s eternal optimists, visitors can enjoy fruits of the citrus family there to their heart’s content and at very affordable prices

IMAGINE the awe and wonderment of a citrus fruit lover when she strolled along Adelaide Central Market where these fruits were sold for A$1 per kg or two big bags for A$5?

While I enjoyed the fruits at such amazing prices, the farmers were actually in crisis. The headlines screamed: “Crushed. Farmers in crisis. Fruits left to rot”.

Thousands of tonnes of Riverland oranges were left to decay on the ground as farmers were forced off the land because citrus prices had dropped so low they couldn’t even cover the costs of picking.

It was reported citrus prices had plummeted by more than 80 percent in July because of over-supply and the high Australian dollar.

But citrus fruit grower Anthony Fulwood said: “We are still here because that’s the way we think. We’re eternal optimists.”

And because of them, citrus fruit lovers like me was able to enjoy a whole week of oranges at A$1 per kg – a little over RM3 per kg but less than half the price back home in Malaysia.

Adelaide Central Market has many eternal optimists like Anthony Fulwood. I chatted with one of them called John Mihas who has been managing a store for a wholesaler for 20 years at the market.

“I’m pulled to the market because it’s the heartbeat of life itself. Children, the elderly and everyone in between is the market’s diversity and vibrancy. The market is where East meets West, where cultures of the world become the ingredients for the all-star Australian salad,” he said.

Indeed, the thing that makes the market unique is its people – low income seniors, office workers, street people, locals, tourists, parents with children in tow – they all shop, work and live together.

Shoppers are drawn here as much to mingle with the crowd, to see and be seen, and to share in the excitement as to buy a tomato or a steak or a chicken to roast.

“The market is a community where everyone feels at home. It has an energy and life of its own because of its diversity. Walk around – once you have experienced this, it becomes part of you,” Mihas added.

He takes a lot of pride in his store. I was fascinated by how the products were so neatly arranged and  displayed – and how harmonious the colours. The market has been a part of Adelaide folks since 1869!

It was recorded that “on Saturday, the 23rd January, at about 3 am, a small but noisy procession wound its way from the East End Market towards the Victoria Square environs. To the lively strains of the Concordia Band, eight carts laden with produce were driven by market gardeners to a site between Gouger and Grote Streets.”

So began the first day of the Adelaide Central Market back in 1869 in Grote Street on a site without any structure other than a fence and a couple of gas lights.

The official opening was a year later on January, 22 1870. From then on, the Central Market has continued to evolve to become a vital part of the City’s cultural heritage and a trading Mecca for any merchant, grower, wholesaler or retailer selling directly to the consumers.

I sauntered on. The smells of garlic, basil and cinnamon hung heavy in the air – and I found all kinds of fruits and vegetables with their colours, aromas and flavours on the display shelves really amazing.

The rows of bulbuous plants, succulent fruits and leafty greens were tantalising to sight and stomach as one wandered along the aisles of the Market,

Biblical philosophy aside, I can really live on bread alone in Adelaide Central Market. And lo, with the spread of pure peanut butter, freshly ground with no added ingredients, it really can be as healthy as it can be.

And there, I was really floored by the assortments of cheese – how would I ever learn to name all of them?

But I wasn’t totally hopeless, I learned what is lachscchinken. It’s not Australian. There is a little Germany in South Australia. Hahndorf is the oldest surviving German Village, about 30 minutes’ drive from Adelaide town.

I cannot confirm whether lachscchinken originated from Hahndorf. When I visited the old German village during my last trip to Adelaide, I did not learn this word.

Actually, lachscchinken means “salmon ham” in German.  The pork is marinated with brown sugar, dried and cold smoked for three to five days.

When this cold-smoked pork loin fillet is shaved into thin slices, it not only looks like smoked salmon, you’d also think you are eating salmon meat that melts in your mouth.

Bagels are treated with decency and honour as they are displayed in neat rows on special stands in the bread shop.

To me, bagels are like our “kompia.”

I thought we could also display our famous “kompia” that way to give this pastry that identifies with Sibu the honour it deserves!

I found a nice little corner for my cup of coffee. Soon, I got the next best thing in hand – a piece of poppy seeds bagel, sandwiched with lachsschinken and greens, to savour slowly.

Mark, a retired teacher, who sat next to me, said every morning the head chefs of Adelaide’s top restaurants could be seen here. People wended their way through. I did not know any chefs but it was a happy mix of people – they could be chefs buying for the top restaurants or just a daughter shopping for a home-cooked dinner to fete a visiting mother?

Continuing my amble through the aisles, I could not decide whether Adelaide makes the Market or the Market makes Adelaide. Perhaps it is both – a symbiosis that makes this Aussie city tick.