Forums > Specific Focus > Mexican Kitchen

Ed and Fran

Jan 18, 2008, 6:06 PM

Post #1 of 14 (2404 views)

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Re: [jennifer rose] What Can't You Get in Mexico?

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In the last ten and twenty years, the number of products available in Mexico has increased well beyond the imagination.

Probably still very much dependent on where you live in Mexico. I suspect that the people in the Lake Chapala or SMA areas may have better access to items because they might have created a big enough demand for local vendors to fill. Likewise, you can find most things in Mexico City if you look hard enough. But come to a small burg like Tuxpan and the pickings get a bit thinner.

Likewise, canned cranberry sauce.

Oddly enough, a few cans of cranberrry sauce turned up in our local supermarket last week. First, and probably last, time.

But what can't you find?

Cheese varieties, starting with cheddar, and including Brie, Camembert, or anything blue. (Cheddar shows up once every 8-9 months). Sliced roast beef, corned beef or pastrami in the deli section (all we get are 15 brands of ham, and the occasional breast of turkey).

But mainly we've learned to live with what we can find here. Lot less stress over what I "can't" find. But we do have a short list of items that we do buy whenever we're NOB. That includes:
Corned beef (packaged)
good bacon
turnips (rutabagas to you southerners)
cream style corn
Italian sausage
large sausages (Polish or anything similar or smoked) for barbequing
decent sized napkins
steel cut oats
cans of diced or stewed tomatos (especially Rotel brand)

Best regards

E&F

esperanza

Jan 18, 2008, 6:19 PM

Post #2 of 14 (2392 views)

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Re: [Ed and Fran] What Can't You Get in Mexico?

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In Reply To

Likewise, canned cranberry sauce.

Oddly enough, a few cans of cranberrry sauce turned up in our local supermarket last week. First, and probably last, time.

Weird, here too. We hunted all over Morelia before Thanksgiving and Christmas, and found some at Superama about a week ago. Bought two cans to save for this coming year.

In Reply To

But what can't you find?

good bacon
Italian sausage
decent sized napkins
cans of diced or stewed tomatos (especially Rotel brand)

1. The butcher at our tianguis sells the best bacon, sliced to any thickness we want.
2. Italian sausage--I make my own, takes two minutes and it's delicious.
3. Napkins--Costco has big ones, Marathon brand.
4. No cans of diced tomatoes, but look for La Costeña brand jitomate machacado in a tetrapak, available everywhere. They're really good diced tomatoes.

What I can't find:
Molasses.
Rubbed sage.
Several of the varieties of cat food that our cats like.

http://www.mexicocooks.typepad.com

Rolly

Jan 18, 2008, 6:21 PM

Post #3 of 14 (2390 views)

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Re: [Ed and Fran] What Can't You Get in Mexico?

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E&F -- As a southern boy I know the difference between a rutabaga and a turnip. They ain't the same thing. Smile

ru·ta·ba·ga
n.
1. A European plant (Brassica napus var. napobrassica) having a thick bulbous root used as food and as livestock feed.
2. The edible root of this plant.

tur·nip
n.
1. A widely cultivated Eurasian plant (Brassica rapa) of the mustard family, having a large fleshy edible yellow or white root.
2. The root of this plant, eaten as a vegetable.

Rolly Pirate

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On Facebook as Rolly Brook

(This post was edited by Rolly on Jan 18, 2008, 6:22 PM)

Ed and Fran

Jan 18, 2008, 6:37 PM

Post #4 of 14 (2381 views)

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Re: [esperanza] What Can't You Get in Mexico?

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2. Italian sausage--I make my own, takes two minutes and it's delicious.

Recipe, please!!!!

3. Napkins--Costco has big ones, Marathon brand.

No Costco near here (maybe in Tampico, but we don't have a card anyway).

4. No cans of diced tomatoes, but look for La Costeña brand jitomate machacado in a tetrapak, available everywhere. They're really good diced tomatoes.

I do use that as a sub, but I think (could be wrong) that the canned stuff has a slightly larger chop in the diced tomatos.

Thanks

Ed

bournemouth

Jan 18, 2008, 6:40 PM

Post #5 of 14 (2377 views)

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Re: [Rolly] What Can't You Get in Mexico?

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I think a rutabaga is what, in England, we called a swede - yellowish, large root vegetable - good mashed with lots of butter.

Ed and Fran

Jan 18, 2008, 6:46 PM

Post #6 of 14 (2374 views)

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Re: [Rolly] What Can't You Get in Mexico?

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As a southern boy I know the difference between a rutabaga and a turnip. They ain't the same thing.

Let me rephrase my post. I grew up in the northeast. We ate "turnips" that were big, round and purplish outside, and yellow-orange inside. That to me is a turnip, whatever it really is.

When I moved down south I was served "turnips" that were white, and not as sweet. Those same southerners that served me "white turnips" claimed that yellow variety was rutabaga. I don't really care. To me they're still turnips. I don't eat whatever that white variety stuff is.

The last "turnips" that I bought in Brownsville, just before crossing the border in December, were labelled "rutabagas" in the HEB veggie dept. I didn't care what they called them, I bought a few.

Anonimo

Jan 19, 2008, 3:50 AM

Post #7 of 14 (2334 views)

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Re: [Ed and Fran] What Can't You Get in Mexico?

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Quote

Cheese varieties, starting with cheddar, and including Brie, Camembert, or anything blue. (Cheddar shows up once every 8-9 months). Sliced roast beef, corned beef or pastrami in the deli section (all we get are 15 brands of ham, and the occasional breast of turkey).

But mainly we've learned to live with what we can find here. Lot less stress over what I "can't" find. But we do have a short list of items that we do buy whenever we're NOB. That includes:
Corned beef (packaged)
good bacon
turnips (rutabagas to you southerners)
cream style corn
Italian sausage
large sausages (Polish or anything similar or smoked) for barbequing
decent sized napkins
steel cut oats
cans of diced or stewed tomatos (especially Rotel brand)

I can't speak for Tuxpan, Veracruz, but in Morelia, we can generally get Sharp and Mild Cheddar, and always, Danish Blue Cheese, at Costco as well as decent bacon (Kirkland or Oscar Meyer); but better bacon at Sam's Club (Wright's Thick Sliced Hickory Smoked); large sausages at Costco, both Johnsonville Polish, Brats, Franks, Cheddar Brats, and the even better Obertal line of Spanish, Argentine, German style sausages, made in Mexico. Look for "Chorizo Parillero" for large, grilling size.
Cream style corn shouldn't be very difficult to prepare from canned corn; large sized napkins are at Costco, Morelia.

Canned, Progresso brand tomatoes, both crushed and pureed are available at Soriana, Morelia, and perhaps at other stores, such as Superama, por ejemplo. What is ROTEL but chopped tomatoes and chiles? I can easily live without that product, having fresh salsa ingredients at hand is more important to me. There's a crushed tomato product in glass bottles, I think it's "Cirio" brand "passata", from Italy. It's quite good if you're looking for a light tomato semi-puree.

Ok; no decent corned beef or pastrami yet, (other than the bizarre salmon pastrami at Costco a couple of years ago); no steel cut oats, alas!
I bought a local variety of turnips in the Pátzcuaro mercado a couple of times. They are not common here.

Of course, we pay a premium for these exotic imported products.

Quote

But mainly we've learned to live with what we can find here. Lot less stress over what I "can't" find.

That's a good way of looking at it; agreed!
All generalities are suspect, including this one.

Saludos,
Anonimo

Glenn

Jan 19, 2008, 8:30 AM

Post #8 of 14 (2296 views)

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Re: [Ed and Fran] What Can't You Get in Mexico?

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Ed and Fran
I am 58 years old and have lived in Texas nearly all my life. You are exactly right about the difference between turnips and rutabagas. And right about the rutabagas tasting better.

bournemouth

Jan 19, 2008, 8:51 AM

Post #9 of 14 (2287 views)

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Re: [Glen & Debra] What Can't You Get in Mexico?

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Growing up in Britain, turnips where white and swedes were yellow - I liked them better than turnips - I suspect that what we called "swedes" - very often used as cattle food - were what in the US is called rutabagas.

esperanza

Jan 19, 2008, 9:21 AM

Post #10 of 14 (2275 views)

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Re: [Ed and Fran] What Can't You Get in Mexico?

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2. Italian sausage--I make my own, takes two minutes and it's delicious.

Recipe, please!!!!

I put the recipe on the Kitchen forum. Enjoy.

http://www.mexicocooks.typepad.com

TigerTonio

Jan 19, 2008, 12:05 PM

Post #11 of 14 (2248 views)

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Re: [esperanza] What Can't You Get in Mexico?

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Superama in Morelia now sells Silk brand Vanilla-flavored soy milk. I could almost hear angels rejoicing when my eyes caught the cartons sitting on the shelf.

After this little discovery, there isn't much lacking in my life in Mexico except Chinese black beans (soy).

hummer

Jan 19, 2008, 6:11 PM

Post #12 of 14 (2205 views)

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Re: [Ed and Fran] What Can't You Get in Mexico?

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About turnips....

I have tried and tried to grow them here (in Guanajuato) and it just doesn't work. The best we get is a small, very fibrous root. But, making lemonade, the greens are to die for! Greens in general grow very, very well here, maybe due to all the sunshine. Salad greens, cooking greens, pretty greens.... it is wonderful!

edkam

Jan 20, 2008, 7:39 PM

Post #13 of 14 (2056 views)

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Re: [hummer] What Can't You Get in Mexico?

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A few things (yes, foods) I found trouble getting, at least in the Ajijic-Chapala area -

Yellow cooking onions
Tofu
Various cuts of lamb - loin chops, leg, shank
Fish steaks for broiling, such as salmon or halibut
Canned white albacore tuna
Tomato paste - I found just one store that had it, imported from California, at about 10 Pesos for a small can. This was surprising, since there was no shortage of canned tomato puree

MazDee

Jan 24, 2008, 10:55 PM

Post #14 of 14 (2002 views)

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Re: [Tio Toño] What Can't You Get in Mexico?

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I brought fermented black beans from the US and just caught my maid before she threw them out! She was cleaning the frig and took one sniff and her expression told it all! It was difficult for me to explain to her that these were very important to me! She doesn't understand sourkraut either, she threw that out when I wasn't home. Guard those things when you get them!