montgomail

For those of you in Denia/Javea area, Trotters at Pedregeur sell English food. No doubt you are already aware of the store - I found the orange squash very reasonably priced but didnt bother with the other stuff as we only ever visit for holidays. Squash is the only thing we miss when we are on holiday. We drink a lot of water but still enjoy having the choice.

lynnxa

and yet there are still people who buy all their groceries at quicksave!

then wonder why it costs more to live here than in UK

they do have a good range of veggie food tho - again at at a price

j0197

I missed a few things but then found that between supersol, mercadona, alcampo and el corte ingles i could get practically everything. Marmite, golden syrup, branston pickle worcestershire sauce.

The only thing I cant find is quick cook porridge! so if anyone knows where I can get Porridge from id be very grateful!.

lynnxa

that's the idea- shop around

Unexpat

Anyone found a place to buy fresh coriander/cilantro? It's eluding me at the moment.

maryg

I have seen it on our weekly market, but not in the shops.
It is however one of the easiest herbs to grow. Just get some coriander seeds and break the seed very slightly using a stone....not too damaged though......and grow in a planter or on your veg plot. Plenty of water and you'll soon have some fresh coriander for picking. If you plant a few pots up you'll have a continuous supply.
I always freeze mine for use in curries. Wash it, dab it dry with a t towel and seperate the leafy end from the stalks. I chop the stalks and freeze for throwing in the curry and the leaves don't need chopping just put them into a freezer bag and when frozen just squeeze and the leaves crush into 'finely chopped' pieces.
Hope this helps,
Mary

Unexpat

Thanks, I was hoping that self-sufficiency was going to be possible.

un-mundo

Self-sufficiency is good, obviously, but if green fingers aren't your thing and your local market doesn't stock it, I've often found it in Carrefour.

lynnxa

Mas y Mas sells Robinson's squash

bet it's cheaper too

BritBull

I miss nothing as there is a Morrisons store in Gib selling everything and anything I cannot get in Spain

j0197

For Herbs, look out for the food markets around the towns. In marbella, above the carpark behind the old town and theres one in san pedro. The produce is fantastic, much better than the produce in the supermarkets. The meat and fish is the best you would have seen!

I also bought alot of herbs from a garden centre which lasted quite a long time. And the plants were same price as one packet of herbs in El Corte Ingles.

poollounger

Can't you grown the raspberries and rhubarb Glynis ?? And surely there must be atame farmer somewhere who will sell you fresh milk that you can separate the cream from?? Typing this is making me hungry !!!

sunnysenorita

Hey Mary,

What a great tip - thanks for that. I tend to buy fresh corriander and basil every weekend for use in stir fry, curry and pastas but if I don't get the opportunity to use the herbs up due to finishing work late etc. I have to throw them out which I hate to do. I would love to grow my own to be honest and might try to do so. Failing that, I will certainly freeze my herbs in future. Can you grow basil in the same way as corriander? I'm not very green fingered as you can tell. By the way, I prefer to buy them at the local indoor market but I dont always get the opportunity to go. Supercore sell a good variety of fresh herbs.

Now that we have all established that most 'British' products can be bought here (unlike when I first moved from England) I still wonder why it is so difficult to get a good cup of tea in most British bars. Don't get me wrong, i'm more than happy to sit in most Spanish bars for my morning coffee but if I fancy a good old cup of tea and bacon sarni it really irritates me to be served some kind of Lipton tea, Bimbo white cheap bread and some horrible salsa picante which they try to pass off as HP sauce. Chedder cheese is an essential ingredient in an English bar also (in my opinion).

I wonder what the Spanish think of our lovely 'english' food.

maryg

Hi there,
I've never grown basil myself, but have bought the little pots in supermarkets and then reptted them....snipping off what I needed at the time. I think most herbs are easy to grow, but they do like water. I have got pots of thyme, rosemary, lemon thyme, mint and coriander on the go. The thyme and rosemary were from cuttings that someone gave me years ago.
We use a lot of garlic, ginger and chillis. I haven't seen much in the way of chillis on sale.... I freeze the chillis whole and chop them from frozen. Ginger can be frozen whole and then grated as needed. Garlic is always available. Cumin, Tumeric, dried chillis and Garam massala....I take a large bag of each over with us and it lasts us a good few months. Oh and Walkers Wood extra hot chilli sauce and Jerk Seasoning. Again I just take plenty of supplies. We eat mainly Indian spiced foods or West Indian meals and my husband makes the most delicious curries. We love most Spanish food but I draw the line at conciously eating snails, (it's ok if I don't know about it.) We really don't miss anything typically English though.
Mary

montgomail

I only ever use Mercadonna and didnt realise you could buy squash in Spain. We probably only buy two or three bottles a year so price is not a major issue but I will definitely check out Mas y Mas next time I'm in Denia as I don't really want to drive out to Pedregeur just for a few bottles of squash. In my experience, Mercadonna is the best value for money in Denia. The fish is cheaper than both the indoor and fish markets.