What is so special about Spanish food markets? asked a visiting friend.
How long have you got? was my answer.
I’ve visited markets all over Spain and, be they little or large, they never fail to impress me.
Take my small local market to begin with.
Every Wednesday there are many stallholders selling a wide array of fresh fruit and vegetables at prices so cheap that you cannot help but be tempted to buy. You will know if anyone is undercutting others when it comes to price. There will be a large gaggle of people around that stall.
Market days are a very competitive affair in Spain.
Market Day in Durcal, Lecrín Valley
Durcal is south of the grand city of Granada, and on the edge of the pretty Lecrín Valley. It is in many respects your average, working class Spanish town. Modest but increasingly smart. There’s money in Durcal but lots of bargains for even the most cash strapped people at the weekly market.
What attributes do you need in a lively Spanish market? Well elbows are a must. Quick feet.
The ability to attract the attention of those selling. Eye contact. Put your inherent politeness in the bag marked redundant and push and shove, if required, just like the locals.
And watch your feet. Those contraptions local ladies like to push around to carry their shopping in, are a danger to knees and toes.
Recently I found myself joining a throng of people surrounding a wheelbarrow. A large crowd is always an indication of a bargain. The wheelbarrow was full of cherries grown in Jete, between Granada and Almuñécar on the ever mild Costa Tropical. The cherries were being sold for just two euros per kilo.
Fernando (pictured above) is a favourite of mine. His organic vegetables are often so fresh they could be planted in the soil and grow all over again. Dirty carrots. Oddly shaped vegetables which would probably be outlawed by the veg police who choose what is sold in some European supermarkets.
Open air market, Granada
Cauliflower and lettuces bigger than footballs. Beautifully tasting beetroot, something I never ate prior to living in Spain. Food markets in Spain still offer one of the very best reasons to shop in the country. The veggies taste of something here. And what a bargain! As usual, i bought lots with Fernando and came away with several carrier bags. All for 5 euros.
In the city of Granada there is much to savour on any day of the week. But the atmospheric market, held in the shadow of the famous cathedral, has to be experienced. On a Saturday morning it is full of life from early on and there are characters selling there who have been doing so for decades.
I like to sample and savour markets large and small in Spain. All human life is there. On both sides of the market stall.
Valencia
On a journey up the east coast of Spain I made a point of stopping and shopping at some of the biggest markets in Spain.
Let me begin in Valencia. Spain’s so called third city is a wonderful place for an extended weekend break.
It is a city famous for its oranges. For paella. For rice. And for its market.
What a grand affair. The art noveau, very ornate market is mesmerising. Loud in every sense of the word. Stained glass entrance and a glazed central dome tell you that Valencia’s central market is a cut above the competition. There are more than one thousand stalls selling everything from dried fish to enormous paella pans.
Valencia market dome
But it is for the food that people arrive early on a Saturday morning. A colourful array of fruit, vegetables, sweets, spices and ingredients to make any Spanish meal.
Then, having shopped, drop into one of the lively local bars and refresh yourself with a glass of the Valencian speciality, Agua de Valencia. It can have quite a potent alcoholic content so do drink it after shopping. Not before. Who knows what you might buy were you to shop at the market while a little tipsy.
Tarragona fish market. Photo by Zwigmar
Tarragona is a city many people drive past. That is a mistake. It is a smashing city in its own right. A fine mixture of the old and new.
Roman ruins are everywhere and a full kilometre of the city walls dates back to the third century.
And since time immemorial it has been a city where they have landed the finest fish and seafood caught anywhere in Spain. It goes straight to the fish market, a place whose produce, sights and smells have to be sampled. I love the smell of a fish market. Less so the sad eyes of some fish. But the fish is fresh; some of it so fresh it is still alive! The quality of what you buy is beyond doubt and the choice vast.
It is just one part of the big Mercat Central located close to the popular shopping street of Rambla Nova. A friendly market where the stallholders are happy to advise you about how to use certain food in recipes. It is not long now until this market will celebrate its centenary and lots of special events are already in the pipeline for the year 2015.
The nearby Plaça Corsine is a good place to rest and inspect your purchases over a glass of locally produced cava.
Roman amphitheatre, Tarragona. Photo by Marlis1
It is wise to get to indoor Spanish markets early. Some stalls sell out fast.
Never more so than in, to give it its official name, Mercat de San Josep, on Las Ramblas in Barcelona. If you have yet to visit this fantastic city, you should do so as soon as possible. Barcelona should be on anyone’s so called ‘bucket list’ (places to see before you die).
So where do you think is the most visited place in Spain? Something Gaudi inspired, perhaps. Such as the Parque Guell. That truly is a glorious place to visit and it can get very busy in summer.
But, no. The most visited place in Barcelona is, as it is more commonly known, the Boqueria market hall.
Boqueria Market, Barcelona. Photo by Gonzalo San Martin
Here you will be shopping not just with locals looking to buy something for lunch. But also it is likely that some of the most distinguished chefs working in local restaurants will be there shopping for quality ingredients.
The market opens Monday through to Saturday at 8am. Get there early and have a nice local breakfast to set you up for the shopping ahead.
The market also has demonstrations where you can learn how to make Spanish meals such as a tempting tortilla or perfect paella. The fish and seafood stalls are central. Dried and preserved fish stalls are close by. Crystallised fruit is always a popular buy in Spanish markets and there’s no shortage of that here.
Truffles are big in this area. Much in demand by home cooks and gourmet restaurant chefs. They head to one of the more famous characters in the market, Llorenç, who sells truffles and mushrooms from the woods and forests of Catalonia.
One of the aspects of Boqueria market I love are the little bars dotted around its outer lanes. Stop, look, listen and taste local food and wine in one of these bars. They allow you to soak up the atmosphere while eating some of the best food in Spain.
Tempting treats. Photo by Brian Yuen
The Boqueria on Las Ramblas, and the delightful Santa Caterina market in the old town, both date from the 19th century. In the latter you can buy cheese produced in the Pyrenees, Guijuelo ham and Bottarga (tuna roe).
There are food market tours organised by the tourist office in Barcelona. Go on one. It’s less strenuous than climbing to the top of the most famous landmark in Barcelona, La Sagrada Familia. What’s more, you get to sample some of the freshest produce free of charge.
As a visitor or holidaymaker there are many ways you can get a feel for daily life in Spain.
If you want to sample life in Spain the way Spaniards do; then going to a local market is a must.
*additional photography: Flickr Zwigmar http://bit.ly/qEFJ87
Flickr Marlis1 http://bit.ly/qRuXJ1
Flickr Speedy-G http://bit.ly/rcd1Xy
Flickr BrianYuen http://bit.ly/p2CK8t
