La compra de la comida is an important part of daily life. Supermarkets are omnipresent in most Spanish-speaking cities. However, people also shop at a variety of specialty food stores, such as the ones below.
 la panadería  |
la pastelería  |
la lechería/la mantequería  |
la verdulería/la frutería  |
la carnicería  |
la pescadería/la marisquería  |
In addition to the specialty food stores, there are open-air markets, and, in most larger cities, covered central food markets with many stands where you can find an incredible variety of foods. The Boquería in Barcelona is a splendid example of such a covered food market. These markets are also abundant all throughout Latin America.
Foto: Jay Lee CC BY-NC-ND 2.0 |
Foto: Olivier Nade CC BY-NC 2.0 |
Foto: Nicolas CC BY-NC-SA 2.0 |
Foto: Olga Berrios CC BY 2.0
Of course, in order to shop at markets and specialty food stores you have to know the quantities and containers that are used for the various foods. Listen to Sra. Castro as she reviews her shopping list:
| 1 kilo de tomates |
| 2 kilos de patatas |
| medio kilo de judías verdes |
| una lechuga |
| una coliflor |
| dos barras de pan |
| una docena de huevos |
| 2 litros de leche |
| 4 envases de yogur (2 de fresa, 2 de melocotón) |
| 1 trozo de queso manchego |
| 250 gramos de Cabrales |
| 2 latas de atún |
| 4 lonchas de jamón York |
| 4 chuletas de cerdo |
| 1 tarro de mostaza |
| 1 botella de vinagre |
| 1 bolsa de papitas fritas |
| 1 caja de cereal |
| 1 paquete de azúcar |
| 1 barra de chocolate Nestlé |
| 2 botellas de agua mineral |
Frequently, the same food item will have one name in one country, and another name in a different country. For example, judías verdes are green beans in Spain. In Puerto Rico they are called habichuelas, and in Mexico ejotes.
Un kilo is a little more than 2 pounds. (Remember that one pound is about 450 grams.) Medio kilo is thus a little over a pound.
The word for a pound is una libra.
