Unique Farmers’ Market Finds and What to Cook With Them

These slender, wrinkled little green peppers are mild about 90% of the time, with the remaining 10% delivering a surprise kick that lands somewhere between a pepperoncini and a jalapeño. Think of them as edible Russian roulette, except the stakes are just a mildly watery eye. Regular pepper consumption has been linked to improved metabolism, better circulation and reduced inflammation.

Make blistered shishito peppers!

Purslane is a low-growing succulent with small, paddle-shaped leaves that hold water like a tiny botanical canteen for a refreshing crunch. The flavor is bright and lemony with a mild peppery edge, landing somewhere between spinach and watercress. It’s naturally high in omega-3 fatty acids, which support heart health and help calm inflammation.

Garlic scapes are the curly, bright green shoots that spring from hardneck garlic bulbs each year, and farmers cut them off so the plant stops goofing around and focuses on the bulb below. They taste like a gentler, fresher version of garlic with a grassy finish that is considerably kinder to everyone in a shared elevator. They carry all the same heavy-hitting benefits as garlic itself, including improved circulation, reduced inflammation, better cardiovascular health and immune support.

Make garlic scapes with bacon and soy sauce!

If the accent over the "ó" tells you anything, it's that these peppers take themselves at least a little seriously. Like shishito peppers, padrón peppers like to play a game of chance: small and grassy-green with a flavor that is mild, sweet and faintly nutty, right up until the one in 10 that isn't. They're packed with antioxidants that help fight oxidative stress, support gut health and, thanks to trace amounts of capsaicin even in the mild ones, deliver a nice little metabolism boost.

Make padrón peppers with mustard aioli!

Cut one open to reveal a pale green exterior giving way to a vivid magenta center that looks like someone installed a sunset inside a root vegetable. They have a mildly peppery bite when raw that mellows into something almost sweet when roasted. The striking color is the tip-off that they're loaded with antioxidants, and they've been linked to better digestive health, improved heart function and liver support.

Make buddha bowl with watermelon radish!

These small, striped purple-and-white eggplants are about the size of an egg (there it is), with a delicate sweetness and none of the bitterness that gives regular eggplant such a divided reputation at the dinner table. It's been linked to improving heart health, and the deep purple skin contains nasunin, an antioxidant that has been studied for its potential to protect brain cell membranes.

Ground cherries come wrapped in papery husks like miniature tomatillos, but their flavor is closer to a pineapple-vanilla hybrid, which sounds completely made up until you taste one and then immediately eat seven more. Their carotenoids support a healthy immune response and help keep inflammation in check, while their high pectin content works to regulate blood sugar.

Make ground cherry salsa!

Squash blossoms are the bright orange-yellow flowers from zucchini and other summer squash plants, with a flavor that is delicate, mildly sweet and faintly floral. They have an extremely short window between harvest and wilting into sad oblivion, which is why finding them feels like a small victory. These beauties support eye health, immune function, collagen production and healthier skin.

Make ricotta-stuffed squash blossoms!

Nopales are the tender pads of the prickly pear cactus (you read that right). Their flavor is mildly tart and citrusy, landing somewhere between green beans and green bell peppers, with a pleasant crunch that behaves a lot like okra without the slime situation. Regular consumption has been linked to lower blood sugar, reduced cholesterol and improved digestive health.

Make nopales tacos!