13 unique traits of supermarkets in Spain
Have you ever wondered if supermarkets in Spain are a bit different from those in your country? Odds are they are!! There are a few things I find unique to supermarkets in Spain that I think you will find interesting to know too. These unique traits are closely related to Spanish produce, traditions and habits; and knowing the way people shop and what they buy is a way of knowing a culture from inside. So, let’s spy (I mean, observe) the unique traits of a Spanish supermarket!
People bring their own shopping bag / cart
Most people bring their shopping bags in carts, like the ones shown above, and lock them in the entrance of the supermarket, in an area designated just for that. When they finish shopping, they pack the goods in those bags, just like people would do with plastic or paper bags in other countries. Ironically, these rolling bags are rarely sold in supermarkets (though I believe I’ve seen some in Carrefour).
It is possible to use plastic bags too, or to bring one’s own shopping bags. The plastic bags are large and resistant, and cost about 0,20 euro per unit in the market counter. People usually buy plastic bags only if they are buying a very small amount of goods or if going to the market was a last-minute decision; for the most part, Spaniards go to the market with their own rolling shopping bags.
We are expected to put on gloves to touch the fruit
One may think this is a Covid-times precaution that lingered on but, no, it is not. In Spain, people were already expected to put on plastic gloves provided by the supermarket before touching the vegetables years before. Not everybody does, though; personally, I think it is a waste of plastic, especially considering the whole process of food distribution, where each fruit has probably been through many hands and machines… nevertheless, that is a thing.
Wine is super cheap – but good!
And plentiful! The wines in this picture range from € 1,60 to € 6,00 only. Quite affordable. There is usually a long section of good and pocket-friendly wine on the market. I guess this may be one of the reasons why Spaniards live long – wine is, after all, part of the Mediterranean diet. Be healthy, dear reader, grab a few!
Cheese comes from… goats, sheep, and perhaps, cows.
Cheese in Spain is often made from a mix of goat, sheep and perhaps cow milk. The ones on the picture above show what animal milk entered on their composition, but that is not always the case; if you want to be specific, you have to pay attention to the ingredients list.
Cheddar, Emmental, Gouda, Brie, Grana Padano and other known cheeses are also available. As a matter of fact, the variety of cheese available in the supermarket is quite large, and it may take a while to figure out which are your favorite local cheeses. Good thing there is plenty of wine to pair with! 🙂
Seasonal foods
Sure thing most supermarkets worldwide offer a selection of seasonal foods, but the selection itself is quite specific to each place. In Spain, during Christmas you will find a lot of Turrón (shown above), as well as chocolate (advent calendar, but not only), and panettones (yummy!); right after New Year, the shops are full of Roscón de Reyes; during easter, the traditional chocolate eggs and bunnies abound; on Halloween there are candies in all sort of scary/funny shapes. Food is, after all, an important part of most celebrations – and the supermarkets provide it.
Typical foods
Well, well, when in Spain… you are sure to at least try the local, typical foods, right? And then you fall in love with them and come back for more. Gazpacho was a staple in my home for our first year in Spain, so, besides preparing it at home, we also bought it often from the supermarket (we used to get the one in the red box, above). Now we have calmed down, but during summer, it is a great option for a simple, fast, good and refreshing meal. Same for salmorejo, which, tastewise, I can’t differentiate very well from gazpacho.
And the tortilla de patatas, potato pie! With or without onion, as you prefer. Pretty much a national symbol of Spain, readily available in the supermarket, because it is quite a popular dish. Have a slice after a bowl of salmorejo, followed by a bit of olives while drinking wine – fancy, local meal for two or more for less than € 10,00. It is well worth it eating local foods and knowing the supermarkets in Spain!!
You may also want to try an Horchata de Chufa, which is kind of like a vegetable milk. It is quite healthy, full of minerals and is said to help lower cholesterol and hypertension. It is sweet and consumed more in the summer, as it is served very cold. You can usually find it in ice cream shops (or in the supermarkets, of course), but not so much in restaurants. It is a drinkable dessert, and we’ve talked a bit about it on the Spanish breakfasts and desserts post. 😉
Jamón
Now, if you want to add Jamón (dry, cured ham) to the meal, the sky is the limit of how much you gonna spend. True that there are many different kinds and prices, as well as the possibility of buying a small tray of Jamón instead of a full leg – both shown above. As a matter of fact, in Carrefour you can even buy a bag to carry a full Jamón leg; it looks a bit like a violin case, just made with fabric and closed with a zipper. A sort of Jamón backpack, so to speak.
Dry meat in all its shapes and variations are very popular in Spain, as well as chorizos, and sausages. Pork seems to be the most popular kind of meat around.
It’s hard to find tomato sauce
I didn’t expect this one, but I have a hard time finding simple tomato sauce for pasta. The market seems to be dominated by tomate frito (fried tomato sauce), which is a kind of tomato sauce that is oily. I have only two options of traditional tomato sauce – a small jar in Mercadona or an expensive one in Carrefour – from what I’ve found so far; all the rest is tomate frito in different shapes, brands or packages.
DIY fresh orange juice
This is a good reason to go to Mercadona: they have these machines that can squeeze oranges automatically – my dream of consumption. Just choose the size of your bottle and have freshly squeezed orange juice on the go. So good! Of course, you can only drink it after finishing and paying, but you can get it right before going to the cashier and have a perfect fresh juice while going home – this must be one of the best things in Spain. Not to mention that Spain is famous for its citrus fruits, which just makes it perfect. By the way, oranges are at their best on January!
Olive oil sizes 🙂
I’d call it appropriate, the 3 liters olive oil bottles shown in the picture. Personally, I prefer the ones that fit 5 liters – just because knowing one of those is (always) in my kitchen brings me a smile. But 3L is good too. Sure, they do have smaller bottles as well, as sometimes people are traveling and because the smaller ones are better to have on the table.
I am a olive oil fanatic and the olive oil would be on a list of my top 10 favorite things about Spain; if you are too, check the post about the Casa de la Cultura, which I visited for the first time precisely when they were having an exposition about the olive oil production in the ancient Roman villas of Benalmadena; yummy!
Local tip: I do like the olive oil in the picture, but my favorite extra virgin olive oils in Spain come from small distributors – find them in small groceries around where you are staying; grab a bread there too and have a traditional Andalucian breakfast at your home / vacation rental. You’ll thank me later.
Olives, olives, olives
Ah, the olives. We find them in every possible way here 🙂 the ones shown in the picture are with or without pits; filled with anchovies, bell pepper or even lemon; and, of course, “dressed”. Dressed olives (aceitunas aliñadas) are olives combined with sour oranges, salt, water, red peppers, fennel, thyme, oregano and maybe more dressings. The sizes of olive jars are a bit like those of olive oils – from small to very large – so there is no way to go wrong with olives; when in doubt, get a larger one.
Lupin beans
Lupin beans (altramuces) are a well-kept Iberian secret, and that’s why I put it last – only those that read all the way deserve to know… This precious delicacy is rarely appreciated as it should be. It is wonderful, a simple, salty, very healthy snack – full of proteins; vegetarians, take notice! – that should be on every plate around the globe but is consumed mostly on the Iberian Peninsula, and even more in Portugal than in Spain. Luckily, it is always available in the supermarkets, and finding it was one of my greatest joys when I went to a market in Spain for the first time. In the USA, I could get it only on Amazon.
If you are new to lupin beans, let me tell you how to eat them: they have a peel, that looks a bit like plastic (but it is not). You don’t eat the peel; you remove it – for each bean – in less than a second, just by squeezing the bean with your fingers in opposite directions; a bit like finger snapping. You then eat the yellow bean. It has a soft, light, salty deliciousness taste and slightly firm texture. It is so good.
Supermarkets are a good place to park
It is a bit of a Goldilocks situation: markets that are small may not have a parking garage; those that are too big will be far away from everything; but the middle-sized supermarkets are just right – they both have garage and are close to interesting places. Given how hard it is to find parking in the Costa del Sol, it is a good thing to keep in mind that you can park at supermarket garages. They will require that you buy something inside – around 20 euros of goods – and, other than that, the parking is free of charge. So, you both visit a nice place and do the shopping.
This works only for a few hours of parking, not for overnight parking, or your car may be towed. Remember to buy only at the end, after you visit the place you intend to go: when paying for your goods in the supermarket, tell the cashier that you have a car in the garage, and she will validate your ticket; after that, you have about 20 minutes to leave the garage without incurring a new parking / purchase requirement.
Main Supermarket chains in Spain
And since we are talking about supermarkets, let me give you a few links so you can check them. 😉 The main chains present in Spain are Mercadona (that owns the brand Hacendado, that appears in a lot of the pictures of this post), Carrefour, Aldi and Lidl – judging by the ones I see most often. Día, Supercor and Maskom are also large, and this last one I believe exists only in Malaga province; they take pride in offering a large selection of products made in Malaga, so it is very local and even more unique.
Conclusion
Grab your rolling bag and visit a market nearby. There, grab some wine, gazpacho, a tortilla, cheese, olives and olive oil, bread, jamon and a jar of lupin beans; last but not least, a bottle of freshly squeezed orange juice, that you want to drink before everything else. That is the recipe of happiness. You can do it regardless of if you live in Spain or if you are just visiting; bring a bit of Spain inside your place and enjoy it after a day of work or sightseeing. Cheers to Spain!
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