Are corn tortillas and other Mexican ingredients common in stores?
December 18, 2024
In America these items are in every store that’s not a fill station. Just wondering as I love cooking authentic Mexican dishes and I’m moving to France.
19 comments
Very common, basically every store has a “texmex” shelf.
Tortillas: maize ones not common at all. Wheat tortillas are common tho.
The rest: meh. Bigger supermarkets have some jalapeño and the similar, small supermarkets have nothing.
Yes, every store has a tex-mex aisle.
Corn tortillas might not be quite as popular as wheat tortillas here, but definitely readily available. You can find it just about everywhere.
Authentic, no. You can get “tex mex” items like wheat burrito wraps, generic salsa and fajita seasoning in every supermarket, but authentic Mexican can only be found in a few specialised shops in the big city.
They’re usually sold in taco/fajita kits, either under the Old El Paso brand name or some other knockoff.
Basically, whatever you can get at Chipotle you can probably get in your average supermarket. But good luck getting epazote or sopes or jicamas whatever.
If you’re from the US, especially Texas or California or something, what you will find here is going to be disappointing. But there is a selection of ‘Mexican’ stuff in bigger grocery stores in more international areas. If you’re lucky, a big city will have a specific Latin American shop. Some ‘Asialaden’ here have a selection of Latin American stuff, where you can find masa harina for example.
Generally what is here is a kind of mass produced ‘lowest common denominator’ spice level Tex-mex stuff. It’s kind of disappointing and most people don’t know what authentic Mexican (or Tex Mex, or Cali Mex, etc) is supposed to be. Keep that in mind.
You’ll find taco and fajita kits, corn chips (not as good, overall), beans, etc. sometimes ‘dips’ of guacamole or whatever, which are pretty blah. I always just make my own refried beans. Tortillas are overwhelmingly wheat, and you can sometimes find those that have like 20% corn, but pure corn tortillas are only in specialist ethnic shops IME, and in bigger cities. Better grocery shops will have a selection of hot sauces at least. Cholula for example is fairly common here in bigger ones. Avocados here are not as good, and not everyone understands them. (Young English speaking Euro-redditors are not a repetitive sample). I can’t tell you the number of people I’ve seen spooning rock-hard avocados and eating it plain just like that.
In Spain, corn ones are relatively rare, and more expensive than wheat ones. You can find wheat tortillas in almost every supermarket.
There are many Latin American stores, and tex-mex ingredients are relatively easy to find, but real Mexican ingredients are not that common.
There is a small Mexicaan style section in our supermarkets in The Netherlands. However I am pretty sure the products are adjusted to Dutch taste.
In France – you can get Tex mex stuff, although it’s fairly expensive, but corn tortillas are quite rare. You can find them, but often they’re small or not great quality. Better to make your own.
Most supermarkets won’t sell corn tortillas (only wheat). But Albert Heijn, the largest national supermarket chain, started selling La Morena brand corn tortillas, along with chipotle sauce, canned refried beans, etc. A bit pricey compared to the competitors, but very tasty!
Where in France are you moving to ?
But yeah get your dose of Mexican food before you leave because you’re going to be disappointed here.
I did however have amazing Mexican food in Spain. (But I’ve never tasted Mexican food in Mexico)
Paris could also maybe have an exception to the rule . Maybe some Parisians could weigh in ?
Depends on where in Europe you look for them.
In Denmark, real corn tortillas are really hard to get. The only place I know of is online specialty stores.
Tex mex stuff can be had in any supermarket. Real Mexican salsas and canned products can be bought in many supermarkets or small stores that specialized in imported foods. They tend to have mostly Middle Eastern stuff, but also some Mexican goods.
Corn tortillas are around but wheat is much more common, you can definitely get Mexican food in supermarkets although the quality will likely be much lower than in the US or Mexico Basically just because there are very few Mexicans in Europe so there is much less knowledge about or demand for the “authentic” stuff.
Immigration in Europe is much more likely to be from other European countries, Africa or Asia, rather than the Americas, so you will instead find higher quality food from those places instead.
And heads up if you’re a fan of Mexican chorizo. The Spanish chorizo is excellent, but very different and not at all a subsitute for Mexican chorizo.
Just be prepared for French tacos: nothing mexican with them, but you might like them anyway
I think your best bet is to make most things yourself. Most of the spices, beans, and vegetables are available.
Less available ingredients: masa harina (nixtamalized corn flour), tomatillos, queso fresco (but you might find alternatives), dried chilies
Californian here. Europe in general isn’t into Mexican food at all, and the ingredients you’ll find in the grocery stores are mid at best (though the Mexifoods flour tortillas are pretty good). In order to have decent Mexican food I make it at home, including growing my own peppers and tomatillos because those are impossible to find in stores. For things like hot sauces, dried chilis, Mexican oregano, chipotles in adobo, canned hominy, etc there are online stores that specialize in Mexican goods; some of them also sell corn tortillas and other fresh items but they sell out quickly. Eastern European/Russian markets sell sour cream that is delicious and a very good substitute for Mexican crema. The only thing I really haven’t found a good substitute for is cotija cheese, but you might be able to find something in France.
In Italy ulmost medium sized supermarkets have a corner for foreign products and there you usually find a few Mexican/TexMex and Asian products. The most common are small tortillas, nachos, dip sauces, guacamole and canned beans.
Frankly I wouldnt rely too much on them to cook authentic Mexican food.
Easy enough to get corn tortillas in the UK. There may be good delis where you can pick up good ingredients. I don’t think we import much fresh produce from Mexico but Avocado isn’t that hard to get if you want to make Guacamole.
Since you are moving to France you should ask in a French group. Forget all the not French responses. Also: google for a Mexican supermarket (supermarché mexicain) plus the name of the city you are moving to. Chances are they have one if it is big enough. There are all kinds of different types of “expat” shops in many European cities. Here is an online store I found: [https://www.casamex.fr](https://www.casamex.fr)
19 comments
Very common, basically every store has a “texmex” shelf.
Tortillas: maize ones not common at all. Wheat tortillas are common tho.
The rest: meh. Bigger supermarkets have some jalapeño and the similar, small supermarkets have nothing.
Yes, every store has a tex-mex aisle.
Corn tortillas might not be quite as popular as wheat tortillas here, but definitely readily available. You can find it just about everywhere.
Authentic, no. You can get “tex mex” items like wheat burrito wraps, generic salsa and fajita seasoning in every supermarket, but authentic Mexican can only be found in a few specialised shops in the big city.
They’re usually sold in taco/fajita kits, either under the Old El Paso brand name or some other knockoff.
Basically, whatever you can get at Chipotle you can probably get in your average supermarket. But good luck getting epazote or sopes or jicamas whatever.
If you’re from the US, especially Texas or California or something, what you will find here is going to be disappointing. But there is a selection of ‘Mexican’ stuff in bigger grocery stores in more international areas. If you’re lucky, a big city will have a specific Latin American shop. Some ‘Asialaden’ here have a selection of Latin American stuff, where you can find masa harina for example.
Generally what is here is a kind of mass produced ‘lowest common denominator’ spice level Tex-mex stuff. It’s kind of disappointing and most people don’t know what authentic Mexican (or Tex Mex, or Cali Mex, etc) is supposed to be. Keep that in mind.
You’ll find taco and fajita kits, corn chips (not as good, overall), beans, etc. sometimes ‘dips’ of guacamole or whatever, which are pretty blah. I always just make my own refried beans. Tortillas are overwhelmingly wheat, and you can sometimes find those that have like 20% corn, but pure corn tortillas are only in specialist ethnic shops IME, and in bigger cities. Better grocery shops will have a selection of hot sauces at least. Cholula for example is fairly common here in bigger ones. Avocados here are not as good, and not everyone understands them. (Young English speaking Euro-redditors are not a repetitive sample). I can’t tell you the number of people I’ve seen spooning rock-hard avocados and eating it plain just like that.
In Spain, corn ones are relatively rare, and more expensive than wheat ones. You can find wheat tortillas in almost every supermarket.
There are many Latin American stores, and tex-mex ingredients are relatively easy to find, but real Mexican ingredients are not that common.
There is a small Mexicaan style section in our supermarkets in The Netherlands. However I am pretty sure the products are adjusted to Dutch taste.
In France – you can get Tex mex stuff, although it’s fairly expensive, but corn tortillas are quite rare. You can find them, but often they’re small or not great quality. Better to make your own.
Most supermarkets won’t sell corn tortillas (only wheat). But Albert Heijn, the largest national supermarket chain, started selling La Morena brand corn tortillas, along with chipotle sauce, canned refried beans, etc. A bit pricey compared to the competitors, but very tasty!
Where in France are you moving to ?
But yeah get your dose of Mexican food before you leave because you’re going to be disappointed here.
I did however have amazing Mexican food in Spain. (But I’ve never tasted Mexican food in Mexico)
Paris could also maybe have an exception to the rule . Maybe some Parisians could weigh in ?
Depends on where in Europe you look for them.
In Denmark, real corn tortillas are really hard to get. The only place I know of is online specialty stores.
Tex mex stuff can be had in any supermarket. Real Mexican salsas and canned products can be bought in many supermarkets or small stores that specialized in imported foods. They tend to have mostly Middle Eastern stuff, but also some Mexican goods.
Corn tortillas are around but wheat is much more common, you can definitely get Mexican food in supermarkets although the quality will likely be much lower than in the US or Mexico Basically just because there are very few Mexicans in Europe so there is much less knowledge about or demand for the “authentic” stuff.
Immigration in Europe is much more likely to be from other European countries, Africa or Asia, rather than the Americas, so you will instead find higher quality food from those places instead.
And heads up if you’re a fan of Mexican chorizo. The Spanish chorizo is excellent, but very different and not at all a subsitute for Mexican chorizo.
Just be prepared for French tacos: nothing mexican with them, but you might like them anyway
I think your best bet is to make most things yourself. Most of the spices, beans, and vegetables are available.
Less available ingredients: masa harina (nixtamalized corn flour), tomatillos, queso fresco (but you might find alternatives), dried chilies
Californian here. Europe in general isn’t into Mexican food at all, and the ingredients you’ll find in the grocery stores are mid at best (though the Mexifoods flour tortillas are pretty good). In order to have decent Mexican food I make it at home, including growing my own peppers and tomatillos because those are impossible to find in stores. For things like hot sauces, dried chilis, Mexican oregano, chipotles in adobo, canned hominy, etc there are online stores that specialize in Mexican goods; some of them also sell corn tortillas and other fresh items but they sell out quickly. Eastern European/Russian markets sell sour cream that is delicious and a very good substitute for Mexican crema. The only thing I really haven’t found a good substitute for is cotija cheese, but you might be able to find something in France.
In Italy ulmost medium sized supermarkets have a corner for foreign products and there you usually find a few Mexican/TexMex and Asian products. The most common are small tortillas, nachos, dip sauces, guacamole and canned beans.
Frankly I wouldnt rely too much on them to cook authentic Mexican food.
Easy enough to get corn tortillas in the UK. There may be good delis where you can pick up good ingredients. I don’t think we import much fresh produce from Mexico but Avocado isn’t that hard to get if you want to make Guacamole.
Since you are moving to France you should ask in a French group. Forget all the not French responses. Also: google for a Mexican supermarket (supermarché mexicain) plus the name of the city you are moving to. Chances are they have one if it is big enough. There are all kinds of different types of “expat” shops in many European cities. Here is an online store I found: [https://www.casamex.fr](https://www.casamex.fr)