Tlacolula de Matamoros, Mexico

For one of the biggest and best markets to explore in Oaxaca, I am told the Tlacolula market is a must-see experience. Taking place every Sunday, vendors set up early in the morning with more fresh produce than you can imagine. Trestle tables are set up with bowls or boxes covering every inch, filled with all sorts of fruit and vegetables, depending on the season.

I could smell the sweet aroma of papayas with their orange flesh while I pondered whether to pick the golden yellow ‘Atualfo’ mangoes or the larger, slightly tangier ones. Banana varieties were abundant, but I was much more enticed to taste and savor guavas or pomegranates. And then there was the pineapple, looking ripe and ready to devour. I could imagine the sweet juice running down my arm. The avocados, a fruit generally treated like a vegetable, were a beautiful deep dark green to purplish-black. I gave one a gentle squeeze and knew it was good to eat.

I pressed on to select the best vegetables I could drop in my basket. Fresh tomatoes, a Mexican kitchen staple, came in many shapes and colors. I looked for those with that typical sweet and slightly fruity tomato fragrance. I added a bunch of cilantro because I knew it would give any food a burst of flavor. Huge bunches of onions, the size of oranges, sat alongside fresh garlic bulbs, radishes, cucumbers, zucchinis and yellow squash – each an essential ingredient for salads and sides.

Of course, I couldn’t go past the versatile potato to make the delightful papas con chorizo (potatoes with chorizo) dish, which I could easily use as stuffing for burritos, enchiladas, or even on its own. And each dish is nothing without Mexican spices, like cumin, coriander, anise seeds, smoked paprika and more. However, the most important spice is the chilli. More than 60 types are produced in Mexico, and it is a fundamental ingredient in Mexican cuisine, adding depth, heat and complexity to any dish.

An unusual food widely consumed in Oaxaca is chapulines, meaning grasshoppers. I know it’s a strange food item, but they are popular here and eaten as a snack once toasted on a grill. I will certainly give this a miss, but I would be very interested in tasting traditional barbacoa, where red meat is slowly cooked for several hours in a pit until it is so tender that it falls off the bone. What makes this dish superb is the marinade, and its secret ingredient is the humble orange. The acidity in the orange tenderizes the meat, breaking down the proteins and turning it into that delightful soft morsel that melts in the mouth.

During the Día de los Muertes, food and drinks are a big part of the celebrations because they are offerings placed on altars inviting the deceased to visit. Often the food offered is the ancestors’ favorite meals. One of the most popular offerings are tamales, parcels of dough from corn flour (maize is a staple crop in Mexico) with sweet or savory fillings wrapped in banana leaves or corn husks and then steamed. Another very important offering is pan de muertos (bread of the dead), a semisweet bread decorated with bone-like formations and dusted with sugar.

Aside from fresh produce, the Tlacolula market is filled with goods such as sugar skulls, marigolds, candles and incense, all necessary items to build an altar to receive the spirits of relatives after placing their favorite food to entice them to visit.