Is it Possible to Find Good Produce?

quintafresca.com or .com.ar -- you can order boxes of fruit / veggies (organic) to be delivered to your home.

I have great verdulerieas around me. It's all a matter of finding one near you, and getting a good relationship with the person that runs it so that when you ask "what's good today" they'll give you a good selection. I've got 2 different ones that I go to regularly and get fantastic selections of lettuces and summer fruits.

Just keep looking around, or get in touch with quintafresca.com
 
http://www2.quintafresca.com.ar/ -- what you'll want is one of the "Canastas" (boxes) -- you can check off how many people and then it will give you a list of everything they have on offer that week and you can choose what to add to your box
 
Is Quinta Fresca organic? I can't find anything on the site that says it's organic, just "fresh".

I've used TalloVerde & thought it was great. They don't have great variety. They have less than you find in the veggie shops. But then again, I haven't had too much of a problem finding good produce.

I use TalloVerde because it's organic. I've also been to El Rincon.
 
Lixuelee....I am from Bellingham, Washington...about half way between Seattle and Vancouver, B.C.

My husband and I have been here about 2 years now...still missing seafood and produce like you....and basically selection of any product.
When we first got here Jumbo's seemed to cater to the American's and had several selections from the states on a regular basis...and holiday items too...no longer :(

Looking forward to your reveiws on Talloverde!!

****okay here's one for you...good olives packed in olive oil not brine and that taste like olives NOT salt:)
 
olives: fiambreria on Matienzo between soldado de la independencia and miguletes.

Otherwise go to Mercado del Progreso or the Mercado de Belgrano on Juramento.

there's loads of fantastic fiambrerias around, you shouldn't have problems with finding olives (or good cheeses for that matter). Kalimnos, another great fiambreria, has locations on Acoyte and on Santa Fe.

Jumbo / Coto / Disco are NOT the places to shop for fish, fiambres, quesos, aceitunas, nor produce. Nor meat or chicken really (although the Jumbo near us has a decent butcher so we do buy there when we don't have the time to go to the butcher).

Also you have to go to your local dieteticas, they usually have great selections of dried fruits / grains / cereals / breads / flourless cakes etc etc etc
 
Thanks for the quinta fresca suggestion syngirl, we'll give it a try!

EvergreenGal, we used to live in Seattle in the mid to late 90s, so we know exactly where Bellingham is! Pretty country! Your olive comment did make me smile! I agree that an easy-to-find selection of strong flavored cheeses and olives would be nice. We haven't been great about going to delis for such items as we are running around buying meat and produce instead!

I have heard about the Jumbo, but I haven't been yet. I think Tom dashed in once when he was nearby and bought some peanut butter!

A side note on produce perceptions: my husband believes that one's perception of produce in Argentina as an expat is heavily dependent upon where you are from. He is from New Jersey, and his concept of "good fresh produce" was blown out of the water when he moved to the Pacific Northwest in the US. He believes that people in the PNW are totally spoiled by both the variety and quality of amazing produce available from boutique farms throughout the region. (Oregon is one of the only states that has added land to farm cultivation in recent years.)
 
LiXueLee said:
A side note on produce perceptions: my husband believes that one's perception of produce in Argentina as an expat is heavily dependent upon where you are from. He is from New Jersey, and his concept of "good fresh produce" was blown out of the water when he moved to the Pacific Northwest in the US. He believes that people in the PNW are totally spoiled by both the variety and quality of amazing produce available from boutique farms throughout the region. (Oregon is one of the only states that has added land to farm cultivation in recent years.)


I agree with your husband Tom, which is exactly why my comments above about TalloVerde are neutral. I thought it was great. You probably won't be impressed (certainly not by the selection, or lack there of).

So, does anyone know if Quinta Fresca is organic? Someone above said it was but I can't find any info about being organic on their site.
Thanks.
 
My suegra used to use them, she said it was organic, perhaps they have changed due to costs? You may want to call.

About lack of selection -- TalloVerda and QuintaFresca offer only what is in season. And a lot of things just plain don't grow here -- are not native to Argentina. Blueberries for instance, they are everywhere at home, here no, and they are fragile, and if the weather conditions are bad your whole crop is gone, therefore they are very expensive. By the way, Argentina is also experiencing the worst drought in 50+ years or something like that.

I think you need to find new verdulerias, because at my verduleria --

Strawberry season was at it's peak very early this year as November was roaring hot. Cherries are in now but they are also slowing down.
Best right now are the white and yellow peaches, and ciruelas
Pink Grapefruit you can get pretty much throughout the year as they produce their own and then import Israeli ones during the fall/winter.
Blueberries were up until about December, now if you want them you'll have to check Jumbo to see if they have frozen ones, or else be content with paying an arm and a leg for a 1/4 pint.
Moras (blackberries) and frambuesas (raspberries) have a very short season and are always ridiculously expensive; I usually just buy mine frozen instead.
Damascos (apricots) were better before the New Year, though they are still around.
Papayas and mangos are imported from Brazil, I haven't seen as many this season, perhaps there will still be more coming
Melons you can get for a large portion of the year, if you are willing to pay the price.
Avocados -- they have a few different kinds here, the ones we find at home are pretty much done now, you can still buy them but they are very small. There's a larger variety that I think will be coming into the markets soon.
Green Limes, always kind of expensive but you can find them for a good portion of the year
Asparagus (my favourite) is done now, broccoli you can usually find but better in the spring to early summer.

Lettuces: I have no problem getting lovely mixed greens. If you're not finding them at yours, you'll need to go to someone else. My woman even has Kale.

tomatoes: I find vine-ripened Italian tomatoes easily, tomatoes cherry, or hothouse tomatoes with no problems.

At mine I can get fresh rosemary, basil, thyme no problem. Salvia (sage) when in season, Mint is rare to find so if you do, put it in some ice cube trays, fill them up, and freeze for later use.

as we get later into the year there's a huge selection of root vegetables, beets, squashes, fennel, carrots, celery, potatoes, mushrooms, lemons, oranges, apples, pears, cabbages, parsleys, rucula, leeks, parsnips.

Really, it's all there. You just have to look and find a good verduleria. I walk about 20 mins out of the way (past 2 other stands) to get to mine, but I've been going to her for over a year and she's great, gives me freebies etc.

The ones that I miss are the blueberries / raspberries / blackberries, but I buy them frozen and have them on my oatmeal (that I buy at the dietetica) all through the winter.
 
Yes, you are right living in the PNW we were spoiled rotten by the great selection and people selling fresh from the farm items at farmers markets and the like! I used to shop at "Joe's Garden" in Bellingham...and would buy romaine lettuce that would take up one veggie draw in my frig, HUGE!! Cost 90 cents!!!! Okay now that I have made myself very depressed...I will say if you want consistency with produce Jumbo's at Unicenter has it, yes it is more expensive, but you can get bagged lettuce that is fresh and tastes fresh!! Selection is some better...can find fresh herbs there on a regular basis..cilantro, thyme, rosemary and the likes. But if you go, shop the first of the week and in the morning...no crowds to speak of...NEVER shop on the weekends or late week evenings!!

Before I found a great little place at the Belgrano market for farm raised chicken I did find whole campo chicken at Jumbo's that was very good and I am very picky about chicken! This guy has farm raised turkeys too...it comes from Cordoba and brown eggs with the darkest yolks!!! Plus they deliver, so my husband just calls them and makes a big order and I do the wrap and freeze.

Syngirl, thanks for the info on the olives!! Do you know of any place in the La Lucila, Martinez, San Isidro area...would be closer for me.
 
syngirl said:
Lettuces: I have no problem getting lovely mixed greens. If you're not finding them at yours, you'll need to go to someone else. My woman even has Kale.

Please tell me where to get kale???

TalloVerde has mint right now. & the cherries (last week) were amazingly yummy! (27 peso per kilo)
 
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