Pillowy pan dulce, tangy seasoning that belongs on everything, airy chicharrones—get all this and more on your next Mexican market haul.
As the child of a Mexican immigrant who settled in the suburbia of Dallas , I grew up immersed in Mexican and Latino communities where food played a central theatrical role at all variety of gather . Backyard birthday parties , family dinner on Sunday night — there was always something to look forwards to eating . For my family , that think denounce on the weekend at outside pulgas ( flea securities industry ) and do trips to Fiesta Mart near my abuelita ’s house .
You could n’t pull up stakes a place like Fiesta without being engulfed in the odour of elotes : roasted Zea mays cobs that are shaved directly into styrofoam loving cup and mixed with copious sum of money of butter and crema , top with hot sauce , cajita cheese , and lime . It ’s the ultimate portable shopping snack . The peak jewel of Mexican market stores , elote stomach are reminders of place for many multitude , include my dada , who leave his birthplace for better opportunities in the U.S. But that ’s not to say we did n’t ever shoot the breeze our family in Mexico .
Yearly trips to Monterrey also rotate around the intellectual nourishment we ate . There , in northeast Mexico , nutrient digest lined the street where my aunt lives . trafficker process crunchy chicharrones preparados , and , in candy stores pucker inside living rooms , her neighbors sold bottleful ofJarritossoda . I see so many bite and treats on those sojourn . gratefully , these food know no borders .
Design by Chineme Elobuike for Thrillist
As a shaver , I was delighted to find them in markets back home in Texas . Now I do n’t take for granted the ingredients and snack I extract from those shelves . Whether Mexican grocery stores are abundant where you live or not , here are some of my most cherished ingredient and snacks deserving seeking .
Our favorite Mexican snacks and drinks
ChamoyThis list could not exist without acknowledging the significance of chamoy in the canyon of Mexican snackery . Chamoy is a condiment traditionally made with pickled rancid fruit ( like apricot or mango ) , chilli , and burnt lime . I wish to mean of it as a mother sauce that completes many of Mexico ’s favorite sweet-smelling and savory treats . Immensely complex in flavor visibility , containing sweet , sour , salty , and zesty notes , chamoy sings alongside mango tree sorbet in mangonadas , atop freshly sliced fruit , or covering rancid pasty candies . Finding artisanally made chamoy can be a mo thought-provoking , but bottled interlingual rendition from brands like Tajín make the craveable condiment more widely approachable .
TajínIf chamoy is up for Best Actor in the Golden Globes of Mexican snacks , Tajín is doubtless in the running for Best Supporting Actor . While it certainly prosper alongside its condiment first cousin , chamoy , there ’s no doubtTajín seasoningcan steal any microscope stage on its own . You ’ll be intimate this mouth - puckering blend of dehydrated chilli , lime , and ocean salt on the flange of a gamy margarita , sprinkled over mature fruit , or crowning the edible corn that ’s rib at a bandstand outside of the Mexican grocery computer memory . It ’s not summertime until I dot Tajín on a cold gash of watermelon polish off with a squeeze of lime and refreshing mint .
Pan DulceNo daybreak at abuelita ’s house is quite right without the bearing of pan dulce . Literally mean “ sweet bread , ” these Mexican pastry are the complete accompaniment to your daybreak coffee . There are countless varieties of pan dulce offerings , which cod you with freshly baked scent and vivacious colors from inside the pastry casing . There ’s one , however , that rule sovereign : the conchais arguably the most popular . Made with a not - too - sweet ballock kale deck with a crackled , tortoise - shell shape , concha are most often subtly flavored with vanilla , hot chocolate , or strawberry . The textural contrast between pillowy staff of life and crunchy clams topping is where the concha packs its punch .
JarritosGlass - bottle Mexican Coca - Cola is my go - to hangover beverage , but Jarritos are equally cheering . Fizzy , fruity , and sweet , they ’re the gross chum to any snack . As a tike I ’d scarper around alfresco with my first cousin on a live Texas afternoon , after which I was reward with a Jarrito . Back then I would have pop off for the Fruit Punch or Strawberry , but now I ’m reaching for the slenderly more grown - up flavors , like Tamarind , Guayaba , or Grapefruit .
FideosWhen you recollect of Mexican food you might not straight off conceive of noodle . Fideos , though , are at the center of my doting food memories . Fideos are an inexpensive , quick - cookery lean noggin that I highly recommend keeping in your pantry for one of those no - brainer meals . drink in blubber and simmered in a flavorful broth for a sopa de fideos , they ’re maximal consolation for minimal feat . Mexican grocery store offer a wide variety of fun shapes like star or alphabet alphabetic character from mark like La Moderna and Goya , but the classics are unforesightful holy person pilus noodles . Just like the bonce dishes of other cultures , fideos are ceaselessly riffable with the addition of potatoes or other veggies .
Chicharrones de HarinaIf you ’re looking for the satisfying crush of porc skin chicharrones without the animal merchandise , look no further than chicharrones de harina . These addictive , deep-fried wheat chip can be obtain pre - cooked in plastic dish or in a dried form in the bulk bins of Mexican grocery stores for frying at dwelling . pinwheel wind collector - shape chicharrones are authoritative , but you’re able to also find duncical shroud that make the perfect landing place launching pad for fixings like shredded cabbage , avocado , sour ointment , red-hot sauce , and queso fresco to make chicharrones preparados . With the Dipper wheel flake in a bag , soak them in Valentina hot sauce and a squeeze play of slaked lime juice for the ultimate spicy collation on the go .
Sponch CookiesBrands like Bimbo and Marinela have been produce many of Mexico ’s favorite parched snack nutrient for decennary . Like Hostess and Little Debbie in the U.S. , these stigma make confectionary delights that are enjoyed by tiddler and adult alike . You ca n’t go wrong with Gansitos , a cocoa plow cake bar or Mantecadas , slightly sweet-flavored vanilla - flavour muffins . But I have a nostalgic soft spot forSponch cookies . A skin senses of strawberry jam and four coconut - covered marshmallow puffs crown a buttery , flaky shortbread cookie cookie . The grain combination of crunchy cookie and pillowy marshmallow is a home run — and the hemangioma simplex jam adds just the correct amount of brightness .
MazapánMany democratic confect bite south of the border are associate with the sweet - sour - spicy profile of chamoy , but at the top of my listing is Mexico ’s take on marchpane . Mazapán swaps almonds for primer peanuts , combining them with powdered sugar and pressed into a compact disk . The kickshaw crumbles if you so much as look at it wrong , but the thaw - in - your - backtalk bliss with small crunchy bits of peanut is worth the hatful . De la Rosais the go - to stain for mazapán with its iconic rosaceous logotype on the cellophane wrapping . I recently discovered they also make a hot chocolate - cover version , taking this nostalgic favorite of mine to a whole new level .
JumexIf you need to be transported to the beaches of Mexico while sip on fruit ambrosia , canned Jumex drinks have get you report . These might not be marketed for the most health - witting consumers , as they ’re made with fruit concentrate and high fructose Zea mays syrup , but all-fired do they savor good . My abuelita probably thought these were a suitable alternative to soda water and always had them around . I was raised with a deep affinity for the mango nectar , but I would n’t say no to peach or apricot . A glass of Jumex with a bean and cheese taquito is , to me , the true breakfast of whizz .
TakisWidely pop in the U.S. , Takis might be one of Mexico ’s most successful snack export . These roam and deep-fried corn chips are ferociously crunchy and intensely spicy , season with live chile and quicklime . consume a few chips and you ’ll make note of the heat level , but keep eating them and presently you ’ll find your os frontale perspiration — these crisps are no joke ! If the classic Fuego flavor is n’t enough , the spice - incline snackers can find other versions like Nitro and the bizarre Blue Heat . ( The latter ’s electrical grim hue seems to be thoroughgoing for the viral mukbang street corner of TikTok or YouTube , where you ’ll find them turned into a spicy dust used to coat other food products . )
Where to shop for Mexican products
If you ’re one of the hundreds of K of hoi polloi who relocated to Texas in the past two years , Mexican grocery entrepot chain are easy to arrive by . There are state - wide storage likeFiesta Mart , whereasEl Rancho SupermercadoandLa Haciendaare regional options in North Texas . Even big - loge stock , like Walmart orH - E - B , hold a hefty amount of Mexican intersection .
On the West Coast , northern California has mountain chain like Mi Rancho Supermarket and Chavez , while stores like Vallarta and Northgate Gonzalez Markets can be found all across southern California . In the east , Bravo Supermarket has over 70 fix that sweep from New York all the way down to Florida .
If you ’re in a Mexican food desert , many of the stain above , like Marinela or Takis , extend store locators or the option to buy direct from their web site . A quick hunt online will come back sites like Mexgrocer.com or Zocalofoods.com , where these items can be shipped right to your door — notrip to Mexiconecessary , though I extremely recommend it .
