Know Your Food

To help you understand what you’re getting at Union Market, here’s a quick guide to some of some of the terms we use to describe our products:

Organic

Food produced without artificial fertilizers or growth hormones, antibiotics or pesticides. Producers using the organic label must be certified by a USDA-approved certification agency. Items are marked according to how much organic content they include. Classifications range from "100% Organic" to "some organic ingredients."

All Natural

Not the same as "organic." There’s no official government standard for "all natural," so producers don’t need to be certified. The USDA defines “natural” products as free of any artificial or synthetic coloring, flavoring or preservative, with only minimal processing of the product and its ingredients.

USDA Prime

The highest grade of beef available from U.S. retailers, with the most marbling from fat. Since fat equals flavor, it’s the tastiest you can get. Veal and lamb can also be graded Prime. But because they’re young and tender to begin with – and their fat distribution doesn’t affect flavor – the grade matters less for them than it does for beef.

Farmstead

Cheese made by hand, using milk from the farm where the cheese originates.

Artisanal

Food from small-scale producers, generally made using traditional methods, with an emphasis on quality and taste. In cheesemaking, the term applies to products made by hand with milk that comes from beyond the farm where they’re produced.