New foods, and new places to buy them
With all the fast food outlets on our streets, a stranger to these shores might think that we ate nothing but takeaways. Far from it. Of course, takeaways are popular, but, as we've seen elsewhere on this site, the UK's food is increasingly varied. And it's not just what we eat that is changing: so is the way we shop for it.

Something different from supermarkets
Most people in the UK embrace the ease and choice that supermarkets offer. However, we're becoming increasingly aware that there are types and styles of food, seen on TV, eaten on holiday, or read about in Sunday newspaper supplements, that these supermarkets don’t provide. So while we might buy our daily food from supermarkets, we're also shopping in other places for exotic extras and organic and traditional fare. Among the most popular of these places are farmers' markets.

Bustling markets
The markets are lively affairs. They're usually held on Saturday mornings, and attract all sorts of people: the dedicated foodie hunting down obscure ingredients, passers-by drawn in by the smell of sizzling burgers, or maybe the wax jacket brigade, enjoying seeing part of the country in the city. Indeed, the stalls stocked with produce from the countryside, the sometimes cheeky banter between the stallholder and the customer and the friendly atmosphere can be at odds with the urban settings. These markets are modern affairs, though, given an edge by the trendy new foods, or the flyers for the farms with their website addresses on them.

Exotic goods
Farmers markets are held all over the UK. They're places where we can buy food direct from the people who farmed it. We can be passionate about our food, so it's reassuring to see, and talk to, the people who have produced it, and know that the creators are as passionate about it as we are.

At farmers' markets, you can buy traditional food such as pork pies like these, as well as exotic meats, such as ostrich, which are growing in popularity in the UK. All produce sold at these markets has been produced by the stallholders. Farmers see these markets as a way to cut out the middleman, and sell direct to people who appreciate good food.

These markets have provided a useful, sometimes vital, source of income for farmers who have been embattled with food and health scares over the last few years. They also give an opportunity for small, independent food producers, such as this cheese maker, to display their wares. But what's in it for the consumer? Well, in addition to beng able to buy good-quality, hard-to-find food, many market customers feel that they are reconnecting with the land. In these days of pre-packaged meat and all-year-round vegetables, many like the chance to feel the food they buy with their hands. Pushing a trolley around a supermarket can be quite a sterile experience, and, from time to time, people like to be able to shop at these markets, and buy direct from the producers of the food.