The Bloomington Community Farmers’ Market is hosting its annual apple tasting Saturday. Visitors can taste more than 15 different flavors of apples, all free.

Varieties include sweet, tart, soft, and hard. Apples are gathered from local farmers and orchards, and visitors can purchase produce from them at the market.

Indiana is ranked number 15 nationally in apple production, hosting more than 70 commercial orchards, and many are family-owned and run.

“These individuals, some of them are legacy vendors, so farming's been in their family for years,” farmers' market coordinator Clarence Boone said. “Generation after generation have worked the land to bring produce to markets, and they have an eye for what the public desires.”

The apple tasting has been a part of the farmers' market for around 10 years, and this year more than 60 vendors will join it.

Other items include tomatoes, strawberries, corn, honey, and different kinds of meat. There will also be apple-flavored artisan baked goods and beverages, like a spiced apple kombucha.

Boone said small local businesses are the “engine of our economy” and that the market is an opportunity for these businesses to get more attention.

Bloomington residents have the chance to put a face to who they are getting their food from and build a farm-to-table relationship.

“I would say a good 90% of our vendors don't use GMOs or pesticides,” Boone said. “The freshness is because it’s natural.”

The apple tasting is only this Saturday, but the Bloomington Farmers Market runs every Saturday from 9 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. at Showers Commons.