Reading a market, in any city
Why reading a market is a basic skill we are losing: which season it is, which ingredient, which quality.
A market is a language. The herb garden of a market in Oaxaca, the fish market in Lisbon, the Saturday market in a provincial Dutch town, all three tell you the same thing: what is here now, what is ripe, what is fresh.
Reading that language was taken for granted for generations. You knew what saffron was, you recognised the vegetables of the season, you could feel whether a melon was ready. That is culinary heritage, and it falls away the moment the last generation that carried it is gone.
What you learn when you can read a market
Not only cooking. You learn to judge quality, to respect the season, and to eat better on less money. It is prevention, disguised as pleasure.