Every second Saturday of each month, the University of Puerto Rico, Cayey Campus, holds the Agricultural and Artisanal Market at Verdes Sombras Park located in the Municipality of Cayey on the countryside of Puerto Rico and not too far from the metro area. We were happy to meet some of the Puerto Rican farmers and other people who join in this event to promote and sell fresh agricultural food products, plants to cultivate your own crops, and local food.

Fruits, vegetables, tubers, and herbs are among the harvested crops sold by local farmers at Verdes Sombras Park. You might see a beautiful display of green plantains, bananas, watermelons, pineapples, papayas, pumpkins and yautias at Desarrollo Agrícola Mi Pequeña Tierra’s table. This business sells crops from their farm in the Municipality of Orocovis and from neighbor farms, as stated by one of its farmers. Salad lovers may like the harvest of another merchant: romaine lettuce, kale, cilantro (“cilantrillo” in Spanish), Tropicana lettuce and spring mix.

A variety of food plants to grow at home may be also available for purchase. For instance, Jardín Hacienda Montechiquito sells rosemary and passion fruit plants as well as very tasty sweet pepper plants known as Ají Sabrocito (“Capsicum annuum”), among others. Miniare Living Crafts’ attractive colorful pottery with crops, such as mint, basil, and sweet pepper, may catch your attention.

Those interested in fresh eggs may like those from Eran’s Urban Breeding. These eggs are hatched by free-range chickens that mostly eat homemade nutriment, as stated by Alberto Ortiz, owner of this poultry farm business located in the Municipality of Cidra. You may also purchase yummy egg products such as breaded egg croquettes filled with ham and cheese, broccoli and cheese or chicken and cheese. For a surprising flavored appetizer or breakfast side dish, you may taste the “Boriquiche”, a corn flour tortilla shaped like a quiche and filled with egg and broccoli, spinach, mushrooms, parmesan cheese, and medium ripe plantain (“pinto” in Spanish).

At “Hermanos Veganos” table, we were delighted to see appealing bright green local round limes (“Lima criolla”), one of Puerto Rico’s lime variety referred to by locals as lemons. These lemons were very juicy and great to prepare terrific Puerto Rican lemonade.

Puerto Rican typical food may be also purchased at the agricultural market at Verdes Sombras Park. For example, fresh local cheese (“queso del país” in Spanish) may be available for sale. You may read the “delve!” subsection to learn about some queso del país dishes. For those who love fried food, appetizing alcapurrias filled with meat, chicken, or corned beef and vegetables may be purchased at Alcapurrias de Guavate’s table. Alcapurrias’ fried dough is usually made from yautia, and cassava or green plantain.

We suggest planning ahead and scheduling your visit to the monthly Agricultural and Artisanal Market at Verdes Sombras Park where you may enjoy a family or friends gathering surrounded by fresh agricultural products harvested in Puerto Rico, and artisanal local food. As of the date of publication of this article, the hours of operation of this event are from 9:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. University of Puerto Rico, Cayey Campus- T: 787-738-2161 x, 2127, 2221, E: ossopa.cayey@upr.edu

Note: The merchants specified in this article attended the Agricultural and Artisanal Market at Verdes Sombras Park held in June 2017.