Mercado Barceló (Weird building, huh?)
Today we had class at a Spanish market! It was very interesting. The market is separated into different parts based on different types of food. A vendor works at each separate station, and you have to pay individually at each one. The workers were very friendly; customers talk back and forth with the sellers while buying their food. Seems to be more communication/relationships based, which I thought was cool. Here's a chronicle of my marketplace experience:
La Casquería
This is essentially the place where all the weird stuff is sold. Think of it as "carcass-ery." They had random animal parts from pig ears to cow stomachs (apparently super popular in Madrid?), and even straight up blog. Felt like a flashback to high school biology fetal pig dissection.
La Carnicería
Spaniards love their ham. We got to try this really expensive Iberian ham. Supposedly it has less fat and omega-3s because the pigs roam in el campo and eat acorns. It was pretty good, but not gunna lie, I felt slightly nauseous standing around after eating it. Definitely considered reverting back to pescatarianism.
La Quesería
Lots of cheeeese. We sampled queso de tetilla, which means "cheese of tit" because the block of cheese is actually shaped like one. It was delicioso.
La Pandería
As a carb-lover, this stand was my favorite. Bread, pastries, AND cereal -- best part, hands down.
El Pescadería
My stomach felt much more at ease in the seafood section. I couldn't believe how long some of the fish were! If you look closely, you can see the guy has a hanging stuffed animal of Nemo in his stand, which I think is pretty funny.
La Frutería/Verduría
The fruits and veggies were the prettiest part. I couldn't take my eyes off the mouth-watering strawberries and grapes. Interesting note -- In Spain, customers can't touch the produce. You tell the vendor what you want, and he/she picks up the fruits and vegetables for you. My professor said that letting everyone touch them over and over again ruins their freshness.
Let's go! And Whole Foods thinks they are the freshest! I love how the market displays everything!
ReplyDeleteThe breads look delicious, and the fruits and vegetables - magnificent! Yum, yum, yum!
ReplyDeleteLos panes se ven deliciosas, y las frutas y hortalizas - magnífico! Yum, yum, yum!
hahaha Mr. Dolbow I love that you're Paco now. this place looks awesome laura! i want to go with you!! can you imagine how awesome it'd be if we had one of these in nash?!
ReplyDeleteHi, I think your pictures are great. I am a Spanish teacher and I actually used your pictures for a PWPT presentation on markets in Spain.
ReplyDeleteI am so glad they are helpful!
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