The Other Side of the Tortilla
Mexican recipes, culture and travel destinations
When I was a little girl, I remember my dad used to bring me Canel’s chewing gum as a treat. Sometimes he even kept it in the glove box of his car for me. I never really knew where he got them from, but he seemed to always have them. Now, whenever I see them being sold on the street in Mexico, I have a hard time resisting buying a few little packs.
If you haven’t noticed, I have a bit of an obsession with Mexican candies. Here’s another one of my finds, Moritas. They’re soft, sour gomitas that taste like blackberries and strawberries. They’re not the same kind of chewy consistency you’d expect from gummy bears, and they have a sort of crunchy, sweet, flavored coating of sugar dots. I haven’t had these in Mexico, but I’ve eaten something similar there and figured I’d like these too. My instincts usually don’t steer me wrong, and this was no exception–I’m headed back to the store this week to pick up another little bag.
Yesterday my friend Tracy from Latinaish clued me in that the maker of one of my favorite Mexican candy bars, Bubu Lubu, is on Twitter! As we were telling a mutual friend, we both use the same Bubu Lubu buying strategy: one for now and one to stick in the refrigerator for later. At one of the local supermercados where I do my grocery shopping, they have both the room-temperature candy bars and a special little display in the refrigerator case by the checkout line that are already nice and cold. Not familiar with Bubu Lubu? It’s a candy bar with marshmallow inside, topped with a strawberry-flavored jelly and covered in chocolate.
José returned this past Sunday from his trip to Mexico City for Semana Santa. Among the presents he brought home for me… ¡Dulces! In pretty much any taquería in Mexico, you’ll get some kind of candies delivered with your check. Some of my favorites include the dulces de tamarindo (tamarind and chile-flavored candy) and the paletas picosas (spicy and sweet lollipops) pictured above from El Charco de Las Ranas, El Califa and El Fogoncito.