Chocolate and Fruit!

I was somewhat surprised by how similar the use of chocolate is between Costa Rica and the US. My tica mom told me that chocolate is used here mostly in desserts--cookies, cakes, candbars, etc.--and in drinks--hot chocolate, chocolate frio, mocha, etc.. I was half expecting to be made aware of all of the secret uses of chocolate that we ignorant United Statesians have no clue about; however, this was not the case. With that said, my mom seemed to imply that chocolate was very common, however we do not eat dessert at my house. Ever. This leads me to speculate a few things: maybe my mom perceives chocolate to be more common in Costa Rica than it actually is, or maybe it is just her personal rule or healthy philosophy not to eat dessert. Regardless, I will say that I do miss the occaisional trip to the Colonades dessert bar...

As for fruits and vegetables, my mom buys them at Mas X Menos or at the market on Sundays. She buys them at the market because they are very fresh and cheap and the same goes for Max X Menos, however she says they are a little more expensive there compared to the market. She buys fruit and vegetables every day, depending on the different kinds that she or our family want. She made it clear to me that different fruits and vegetables stay ripe for different periods of time, and that determines how often she goes to buy them. 

Below is a picture of a watermelon stand in the farmer's market from Sunday.

The layout of the market at Zapote was almost like city blocks. Everything was in rows and columns and there wasn't a particular order to where each type of fruits and vegetables were. Some stands specialized in one kind of fruit--for example strawberries--while others had many many different types. Also there was one row that featured fresh meat that was seperate from the fruits and vegetables. I noticed that some of the stands had flowers too. Stefani explained that some are for tea--like chamomille--while others are for eating. There was also cheese, roasted vegetables, and fresh honey. Stefani said that the honey was pure and didn't have any added sugars or chemicals--very tempting!

There were many people shopping at the market. Some families, some older people, and some women of all ages. It seemed, especially with the families, that going to the market was a weekly routine--must be nice! When I was purchasing fruit, the vendors picked the fruit for me. When I asked Stefani if this was common, she told me that it was, but some experienced women know exactly what they are looking for and will pick their own fruit. The vendors were also eager to let me try different fruits, and it was really neat to be able to interact with them.

I have never been to a farmer's market in the US, but I could imagine that they are somewhat similar. For areas that have farmer's markets regularly, I'm sure there is a similar sense of a weekly routine. I really wish that there was more opportunities in the US to go to farmer's markets. It was a really cool experience, and everything looked so good to eat. It really encouraged me to eat healthily this week--not because I should, but because everything just looked so delicious!

Blog Week 5

My Tica family only eats chocolate for special occasions. Chocolate is a luxury item in my Tica house, and it is rare to ever eat it. The only time we ate chocolate in my house during past 5 five weeks was when I brought it over from the United States as a gift. My mom was beyond excited to receive a few Hershey chocolate bars. I had no idea that chocolate was seen as such a luxury item. After I gave my mom the Hershey’s, she split one chocolate bar a night for the next week. Every member of the family (7 in total) received a small ration of the chocolate. Everyone ate their piece slowly, savoring the flavor. I was so shocked watch my families reaction, that I immediately felt guilty of my daily consumption of chocolate at home. Chocolate has become a standard food group in my American diet, and it was hard for me to imagine my life without it! Costa Rica is different from the US because dessert is almost non-existent in Costa Rica. If there is dessert, it usually consists of fresh fruit. In the United States, my mom is constantly baking cookies and brownies for dessert. After almost every dinner in America, I would finish with some sort of sweet treat.

My host family buys a bulk of their fruits and vegetables from fruterias. My grandmother buys fruit and bread every morning during her walk because they spoil so quickly. She loves having fresh fruit in the house and even has a relationship with the local venders. Sometimes my Tica mom will buy fruit at the supermarket if she is in a hurry, but prefers local vendors because they are less expensive and fresher.

Photos: The first thing I noticed about the markets were how many venders there were. I was impressed to see rows and rows of fruit sellers. Every vender had a specific location and spot where they sold their products. I was expecting all of the mango sellers in one row, all of the watermelon sellers in another row etc. This was not the case though. It had a chaotic layout and banana venders were placed next to onion venders. Every vendor has probably been selling at the same location for years. The local customers were aware of the different locations and knew the locations of the best places to make purchases. The locals never seemed to just be wandering around, unlike the tourist gringas. The customers and sellers all had strong relationships, and it was apparent that the market was more of a social location than just buying produce. The sellers were all proud of their products and it was fun to watch venders picking “the perfect fruit” for customers. I really enjoyed the experience and want to return! I tried some fruit for lunch and I can honestly say it was the freshest fruit I have ever tasted!

-

Week 5

--When and how is chocolate eaten in Costa Rica?  Is it only for special occasions or in desserts?

Chocolate is very special in Costa Rica. It is normally eaten in desserts or consumed as hot chocolate in the extreme cold. This is extremely different from the United States mindset. In the United States, everything is a reason to eat chocolate, including anything from getting an "A" on a test, to a nasty breakup, to just having a craving for a frozen Hershey's Dark Chocolate with Almonds. In the United States, chocolate is eaten everyday at all times of the day. While it normally has a feminine connotation, many men do enjoy eating chocolate in their desserts and on a day to day basis. 

My family gets most of their fruit from local vendors and markets like that in Zapote. They think they are fresher and cheap than buying it at a super market like Mas por Menos. While they do occasionally buy produce from Mas por Menos, it is normally when they need something very quickly because of the proximity of the store to our home. They buy an abundance of produce generally once a week on Saturday. This normally gets our entire family through the week. This is very different from how my family in the United States gets their produce. We buy produce approximately once every week and a half, and it normally is not a large amount. We do not have any local markets, so all of our produce is bought from the super market in town. We will still shop around for the best price, but it is still purchased from a super market. Shopping for produce in the United States will be very different after living for Costa Rica for four months. 

PHOTOS:

The farmer's market in Zapote was full of crazy people and fresh produce. People of all ages and provinces were there. Fresh produce of all kinds were being sold, including many fruits I have never heard of before such as caiote. There are also prepared food stands that have food and drink for purchase for buyers to enjoy while they shop. Sellers are trying very hard to sell their products, and buyers try to haggle prices down. It is very similar to markets in Israel. However, I have no markets to compare this to in the United States, because I have never been to one. I would think that they are very similar to markets here, understanding how cheap and greedy Americans/people can be.

Blog #5

Chocolate is a food I am automatically attracted to. And the first thing I noticed while in Costa Rica was that it wasn't around as much. There is absolutely no chocolate in my Tica home. Then when we started going out to dinners, I had some of the best chocolate desserts I've ever had in my life. As a result, I have this image of chocolate as a delicacy. It is rare but it is in it's absolute best form here. Quality over quantity. The chocolate ice creams are sweeter, the cakes are more rich. But after more investigation this week, I think chocolate is much more similar here than I expected. After talking to my Tica Mom, I found out the reason there's no chocolate or dessert in the house. It's not because it is a Tico custom, it's because it is her personal rule. She doesn't buy it so that she can't eat it. She loves chocolate but, just like me, she doesn't have much self-control and if there were sweets in the house she would just eat them all. As a result, I'm beginning to understand that, just like the US, the uses and availability of chocolate are based upon a person's choices. There is cheap chocolate which is not as nice as expensive chocolate and the more expensive chocolate is, the more of a luxury it is. These customs are very similar to the US, I think my initial reaction was incorrect because my view was simply obstructed by my craving for sweets.

As for fruit, my Tica Mom buys fruits and vegetables from either the supermarket or the farmer's market once a week. There is fruit every morning with breakfast and dinner always includes a type of salad. The vegetables are all very fresh. She plans meals so that she can use the fruits and vegetables when they are at their freshest/ripest. Fruits and vegetables are an obvious part of Tico culture. In the US there are jokes about how little kids refuse to eat their fruits and vegetables but here, all the kids at the school and mis hermanitas absolutely love their fruits (and vegetables). The constant presence of fruits I think replaces some of the cravings for sweet desserts because there is always fresh fruit available. They are also very inexpensive and healthy and organic. When it comes to fruit, there is more availability, more options and more affordable choices in Costa Rica than in the US. In Costa Rica, fruit is apart of the culture whereas in the US it is more of an expensive diet and healthy luxury.

At the farmer's market on Sunday, it was hard not to be in shock. All the fruits and vegetables were so fresh, so brightly colored and very enticing. The vendors were all enthusiastic and ready to sell. The prices were obvious and the foods were selling themselves. It seemed that, although there were stands with the same products, they were spread out to avoid direct competition (reflecting the non-confrontational Tico customs). The atmosphere was overwhelming, exciting and really fascinating. I saw and tasted new produce I had never seen before. Quite often the food itself was HUGE and everything that was being sold was within customer reaching distance. You can smell, taste, touch, see and even hear (the foods being chopped, weighed, prepared) everything. It was hard not to buy 3 weeks worth of produce. There were many people there; it was more of an occasion than a market place. There was music, families, kids, parents, old and young, even pets were present. It was really more of a cultural experience than simply shopping for the week.
The whole atmosphere really reflected Tico lifestyle. It showed the Tico values: how produce is a staple, how polite interactions are expected, how families participate in many activities together. The market is a perfect depiction of the everyday people of Costa Rica: bringing together the farmers and the city people and compromising them in one culture.

Blog #5

One thing that I have definitely missed while I have been in Costa Rica has been desserts and chocolate. Here, in my home stay, we never have dessert, and only on probably three occasions, we have eaten like a bite of chocolate. For these reasons, it was interesting when I asked my host mom when and how chocolate was eaten in Costa Rica and she said always and frequently in desserts. I guess it is eaten frequently in the country, just not in our house. But, still it seems like desserts and chocolate are not eaten nearly as much here as they are in the U.S.

I have been wondering where and when my host mom bites her fruits because it is always interesting every morning to see the new fruit sitting out, and I rarely have the same fruit two mornings in a row. When I asked where the fruits and vegetables in our house were bought, she said the supermarket because it is easiest to get everything there. She said she goes twice a week to buy fresh products. At home in the U.S., we do all of our grocery shopping at a supermarket as well. And while we don’t go twice a week to the store to get fresh foods, we go there at least that many times to pick up items we forgot.

The only farmers market I have been to before was much smaller than the market we visited as a class. This market we visited was huge with tons of vendors and a variety of products. All of the vendors had their products laid out in a way to make them marketable and attractive, however, they were definitely presented in ways that would not be appropriate in the U.S., such as in random bottles. This is similar to way the products were presented at the market I had visited before. There were so many people shopping at this farmers market. It was a variety of people, young and old, and many had brought their small children with them. The interactions between sellers and customers were fairly to the point. When I bought something, the seller let me sample it, asked if it were good and then I purchased and that was it. The variety of products offered at this market, from fruits and vegetables to live fish and underwear was pretty astounding. At home, the markets typically just have the basic locally grown fruits and vegetables. It was very interesting to see the chaos and the energy that was definitely present amidst the sellers and their stalls and the people trying to buy their produce for the week. 

One of the long aisles of produce..

Never seen entertainment like this in the states..

Not used to seeing meat at a farmers market either, or stray dogs..

¡Week 5!

The farmer's market in Zapote was very "organic," if that word is even strong enough to describe the atmosphere. The majority of the venders were selling their produce/other items directly out of the back of their trucks - which gave me a somewhat sketchy "farm-to-table" vibe. Again, the layout was very open, however, it was also very chaotic; I felt at times like I was in a maze of people and produce. The interactions between costumers and sellers followed the same fast-paced protocol. I remember when Mackenzie stopped to buy peanuts, the exchange of money and peanut went by very quickly. However, what I found remarkable was that the grower selected the bag of peanuts for Mackenzie, even though they were already in a ziploc baggy. He also gave Liv and I samples of peanuts - I assume he was hoping we'd also purchase some. Also, I found that all generations were at the farmers market. Countless times I almost got knocked to my feet by some careless children, and I often got stuck in a crowd behind a cane-bound old woman. My family and I often go to the farmer's market in Asheville and I found the Zapote one to be similar, yet different in some ways. There are only old people at the farmer's market at home. Old people selling the produce, old people buying the produce. However, the layout is the same and there are many latino families shopping at the one at home. So, perhaps fresh food is part of Latin American cultural identity?

 These mangos are showcased with the leaves still intact. Perhaps to enhance their freshness?

 Not only can you purchase citrus, you can also buy the tree!

Natural Medicine...no me gusta

In regards to chocolate, my tico mom told me (that's right...we had a conversation...in Spanish) that when she was growing up, chocolate was a rare treat reserved only for Christmas. She even mentioned that she had a cacao tree in her yard growing up and that her mother would prepare the chocolate by hand and would then make a hot-chocolate-type drink for her and her sisters. Today, you can go into any supermarket in Costa Rica and see the shelves flooded with chocolate products...most of it is imported from other countries. My tica mom expressed the sentiment that, like most things, the United States and globalization has created a bigger appetite for chocolate than there has historically been in Costa Rica. For produce, my tico dad goes every Saturday to the farmer's market and purchases all the fruit and vegetables for the next week. My family only goes to M4M or Megasuper for items which they cannot purchase at the market.

Week 5- Market

--When and how is chocolate eaten in Costa Rica?  Is it only for special occasions or in desserts?
In Costa Rica, I am unsure of whether or not chocolate is eaten for special occasions, desserts, or every day...my tica family eats chocolate in treats all the time, like chocolate-covered guayaba bites. But I can imagine that chocolate is only consumed in mass quantities during special occasions, because when I celebrated my birthday in Costa Rica was the last time I had a large helping of chocolate. I found that aspect to be quite strange, since in the US we have chocolate every day for any occasion; I believe this ties into the fact that most N. Americans have the mentality of "I want it, I need it, I'm going to have it." Plus, in the US most people who have that mentality also find a way of getting what they want; which is another reason why we have such debt, we buy everything we want, even if we can't afford it.

--Where does your family get the bulk of their fruits and vegetables?  Do they buy them in the supermarket, from street vendors selling produce from the back of their trucks or from small, specialized shops (fruterias)?  Why do they buy the fruits and vegetables from there?  Also, how often to they buy fresh produce?
My family here in Costa Rica buys their fruits and vegetables from Mas x Menos, the local store. They buy there because of the convenience, they do not mind the prices because they can buy what they need, when they need it; they do not wait until a specific day to buy goods at a market that may be cheaper. Mostly because my family buys food every day, they buy it when they need it. My tica family buys their fruits and vegetables fresh from the store a couple hours before they eat it; I believe this is not just convenience, but it is also about saving money because you only buy what you need, instead of buying too much and letting it go to waste. This mindset is very practical, but in the US we have the ability to buy a lot at once because of the amount of preservatives in our food and because we have the ability to freeze more food as well. This is a very odd concept for my tica family to grasp because they do not understand why anyone would want to eat previously frozen food, why wouldn't you just want to eat fresh food that was locally grown? I think that this mentality is a great one to have, it fuels local economies and works towards being healthier because of less preservatives and more organic/natural foods.

PHOTO:  Take some photos of the farmer's market in Zapote (Sun am excursion).  What do you notice about presentation or layout of the market?  Who is shopping at the market?  What is being sold there?  What are interactions between sellers and customers like?  How does this market compare with farmer's markets in the U.S.?

These markets are very interesting, they are much bigger than those I have attended in North Carolina, although the lay out is very similar (rows); but this is not surprising due to the amount of local farmers in Costa Rica that need to sell their produce. I find it very comforting that the people of Costa Rica do buy locally at these markets of their "neighbors" and I wish that there were most markets like this in North Carolina. Most of the sellers and customers act as though they are neighbors, aside from the sellers interactions with us (in which they knew we were foreigners "with money"). But most of the interactions were just like making a civil transaction with a friend. In North Carolina, there is no ability to buy such variety of fruits at a farmers market, because 1) there are not that many local venders in NC and 2) NC does not have the ability to grow such fruits; but in NC we have a great variety of vegetables at our farmers markets. This is because of NCs geographical location and because of that, and industry, we have a lack of farm-land available for cultivation currently. 

Carrots, peppers, chives, radishes, and lettuce.

Caimieto: Looks like a large plum but tastes almost like a fig.

Coconuts!