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Friday, December 7, 2012

The Greengrocer: A Mexican Tienda

A large bag of cinnamon, or canela, quills

The Greengrocer
by Victoria Challancin

I was captivated by the word "greengrocer" long, long before I ever encountered one, long before I visited Britain, long before I dwelled among so many Brits of all sorts in the Middle East,  long before I lived in London with my cousin.  The name had charmed and delighted me from books--I was an English major after all and thoroughly steeped in English Literature and enamoured of the UK village life.  But here in Mexico, we, too, have greengrocers, or small local tiendas,--and they are my favorite places to shop, although we have big supermarkets as well.

I thought my foreign readers might like to glimpse a local Mexican family-run neighborhood store, full of everything necessary for la vida quotidiana, or daily life of the typical Mexican family.  Here are a few photos from one such tiny shop, Fruteria Gil.  The owner, Gil, shops in a nearby market town and keeps his fruits and vegetables very fresh.  In addition, you can buy soap, a few canned goods, dairy products, cold cuts, fresh tortillas (homemade and factory-produced), bread, soft drinks, some obligatory junk food like chips (crisps), and some products purchased in the large box stores like Costco or Sam's Club, which are about an hour away.  The total size of this tiny store is maybe three times the size of my kitchen.

A glimpse into daily Mexican life...

A tiny hanging pumpkin, an assortment of bananas, rice flour, and saltine crackers

An orange, a pumpkin, a few good apples, a bad apple, paper-wrapped pears, and can you guess the scaly fruit?  It's chirimoya (sometimes cherimoya), a tropical fruit popular throughout Latin America

OMG.  How thrilled was I to find maracuyá, or passion fruit, last week--we don't always get it here.  Note that it costs $35 pesos a kilo, which is about US $1.40 per pound at a 12.25 to the dollar exchange rate--also note the grapes and variety of apples

A side view of the cinnamon sticks, just to give you an idea how very long they are--at least 3 feet tall--also in the bag to the right are cactus paddles without the thorns, ready to cook
A melange of fresh herbs, lettuces, peppers, asparagus, and packets of chopped vegetables ready for a soup

Any surprises here?  From left to right, granadas chinas (Chinese pomegranates, Passiflora liguralis, Juss.), persimmons, and dark plums

The bulk bins of daily necessities:  dried beans, lentils, hibiscus flowers, fava beans, tamarind pods, bags of salt, and a few spices in packets on the side--you can also buy pumpkin seeds bulk, among a few other items

Continuing with the granadas chinas, persimmons, plums, kiwi fruit, and some green, out-of season mangoes

 Dried fruit pastes and candied fruits atop the deli case

 Also, homemade pickled manzano chiles with carrots and onion--and homemade granola

A rather poor, backlit picture of various chiles and cactus fruit--with tomatillos and tangerines or mandarins in the foreground  (The chiles, from l to r:  jalapeño, cristales, serranos, manzanos, and tunas  or cactus fruit)

Local blackberries, figs, and tejocotes, a sour fruit from the Hawthorn family which is indispensable to Christmas punch, or ponche navideño (see my recipe for this delicious hot seasonal drink here)


And a Few Photos from an Organic Store

I certainly didn't do justice to the local Via Organica, an organic store with a greengrocer section as well as many other organic items.  I really must do a tour for you of our local organic shops, but at least you can see photos of the local weekly organic market here and here.  The following are just a couple of pics I snapped while buying watercress and dill, not common in most local tiendas.


 Zucchini and fennel
 Watercress


And from the Via Organica Café:  Daily offerings ($75 pesos is about US $6)

A Parting Green Shot:
It is very common to see even clothing stores with a container of basil potted near the door.  Owners will tell you it is to reduce fly activity, but of course those in the know realize it is protection from the Evil Eye!

©Victoria Challancin.  All Rights Reserved

Remember that like life and love, recipes are meant to be shared, but please ask permission before using photos or text.



8 comments:

http://platanosmangoes.com said...

Oh chirimoya...its been a while.

We call ours bodegas...they carry everything...

Saludos y Felcidades!!!!

Eha said...

Thank you for a fascinating shopping trip so different from the sterility of a large supermarket! Can't believe those cinnamon sticks: wonder how similar they are in taste to the small, even sticks in small plastic bags we get ;) ! [Interesting: in Estonia cinnamon is called 'kaneel': exactly what is on the side of the bag in your shop.] Oh, one other linguistic mention - in Australia your 'chermoya' is our 'custard apple' :D ! The very same thing!!

Karen (Back Road Journal) said...

I enjoyed the tour. It reminds me of a little market that I went to occasionally when we were in Santo Domingo.

Not Quite Nigella said...

This was such an interesting tour! I saw so much that I wanted to try and had never seen before. As for the figs, they look so glossy and plump! :D

Nancy said...

Oh Victoria you've helped me flash back to my childhood in Mexico. The tiendas here are quite similar except most are run by Vietnamese. Your chirimoya made my mouth water. Thanks for taking us along on your trip.

Joan Nova said...

Nothing like the bounty of fresh fruit and vegetables -- especially with el sabor de Mejico!

Best wishes to you and your family for the holidays and new year.

My Kitchen Stories. said...

Thank you Victoria that was a fascinating trip . I cant believe the cinnamon , especially compared to the ridiculous tiny little packs of cinnamon we can get here that is probably what they picked up off the floor at your local tienda and sent to masterfoods....

Hotly Spiced said...

How lovely to have passionfruit and what a bargain. We pay $5.00 for three! Everything looks gorgeous. I love the variety and I would love some of those long cinnamon sticks. It would be lovely to have a bundle in my house right now - they bring a very festive aroma xx