Where do I buy? - Local info | info guides spain | Your guide to all things local on the Costa Blanca

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Where do I buy?

Knowing where to buy particular items in Spain can save you a lot of time and money. The small shops in the towns and villages often stock the most unusual and unexpected items that will save you going to the larger towns. It’s also good to support local shops, which is what this website is all about.

Food
It’s easy to go to one of the large supermarkets and stock up, but you’ll often find that you can’t get particular items in one shop and may find yourself visiting several just to do the weekly shop. An example of this is strong English cheese, which can only be found in the delicatessen of certain Spanish supermarkets.

The supermarkets in the coastal towns stock a variety of British products, but they are expensive. If you want to save money go to a Spanish supermarket such as Mercadona and save the English products for special treats.

The arrival of Iceland in Spain (the local Iceland is in Benissa) which also stocks products from Waitrose was a great talking point amongst ex-pats. But do your weekly shop in here a couple of times and you’ll soon be wondering where your euros are going.

The Spanish tend to visit shops several times a week, rather than doing one big shop. Fruit and vegetables don’t keep very well, particularly in the heat.

You can often find the ingredients for a meal in the local butcher, baker and fishmonger, whilst buying your fresh fruit and vegetables at the local weekly market. This is also a great way to socialise and get to know the locals.

Pork (cerdo) and chicken (pollo) are the most common meats in Spain, followed by beef (carne de vaca) and lamb (cordero). There are two types of mince: veal (carne de ternera) and beef (carne de vaca), so check the packaging if you don’t want to eat veal. Mince is also known as burger meat.

Spain is famous for chorizo, which is similar to a salami sausage and absolutely delicious. You can buy it pre-sliced or in large sausage shapes. In any butcher’s you’ll see chorizos and hams hanging from the roof drying.

Fish is excellent quality in Spain although not always that cheap. Although it’s caught locally there are quite severe EU quota rules, which push the price up. A good place to buy fish is at one of the local fish markets in the coastal towns.

A wide choice of bread is available with barra de pan (similar to a French stick) being the most common. If you want a loaf of bread from the bakers ask for pan de molde and they may offer to slice it for you. Bakeries and supermarkets also sell cakes and savoury snacks such as pasties and quiche. Not to be missed are churros. These are sugary sticks, similar to doughnuts and are absolutely delicious dipped in hot chocolate. They are often sold at market stalls and in cafes.

Olive oil is sold in abundance in Spain and is part of the Spanish diet. When buying olive oil check the acidity level on the bottle. The lower the number the better quality the oil is, but the higher numbers have more flavour.

Olives are a speciality of the local region and are widely available. Olives from the local markets taste the best and once you’ve tried them you’ll never buy a jar of supermarket olives again. If you want olives with no stones buy them sin hueso.

Dairy products are often quite expensive in Spain, especially fresh milk. If you use a lot of milk try buying UHT milk. The large bottles sold in packs of four taste similar to fresh milk and once opened should be kept in the fridge. The good thing about these is you can keep a stock of them as they don’t need to be refrigerated until they are opened.

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