International Foods in Mexico

Most of the products your talking about can be found in a department store by the name of Sanborns.Milk tray,whole nut by cadbury.Rothmans and B and H are available as well as a variety of American cigs.I have never seen rolling tobbaco in México.Be advised your going to pay a fortune for those products in mexico.I chew tobaco myself,The only chewing tobaco available in México is low grade stuff.2 cans for a dollar in the states 10 dollars a can here.

You can also get most high end chocolates at Liverpool, it's under 100 pesos, and imported so I don't tend to think of it as very expensive, I  buy the large bars of  Lindt . Also Mexico is a producer of Chocolate so you might try some of theirs.

I don't smoke so I can't help on the cigarettes, but I can say don't try to bring in 6 months or more supply of your favorite or they will likely see it as importation and seize and fine.

Since my last post I talked to someone who said that some department  stores do have tobacco stores in them with bagged tobacco and papers. As he put it "you are free to do that if you want to, but very few do" Sanborn's has a tobacco Shop he says.

Britishfoodonline are a company that deliver to México,I would imagine they stock some products that are popular in NZ.I order a hamper every now and then.They have a better selección than Sanborns but do not ship tobaco products.The pouch tobaco (in bags)that Sanborns have is infact pipe tobaco.If you want to roll that up and smoke it your tougher than I am.

Thanks,  i'm really surprised that "roll your own tobacco" isn't sold everywhere in MX.  I thought MX grew a lot of tobacco??    And no i'm not that tough lol to smoke pipe tobacco,  haven't tried that one yet and prob would just smoke cigarettes if that was the only option lol

Anyway,  the Cadbury products i was hoping i wouldn't have to travel or make any special stops to buy or have to order or import in.  Will just have to bring my own supply i think.  By Department stores do you mean supermarkets?  In NZ department stores usually only sell clothing,furniture, electronics, appliances etc so not sure if you are meaning supermarkets?  Anyway thanks for the feedback.

Im not sure if tobaco grows in México at all,Im from Alabama and it grows in the Northern part of the state,Tennessee and Kentucky mostly.So,If anybody knows of a region in Mexico with the climate of the above states where tobaco is grown Please let me know so i can move there asap.

By department store I do not mean supermarket.Sanborns is a department store as you know it but they also sell tobaco products and some food items

You could be right.  I always thought Mexico grew a lot of tobacco but that seem's like it was a thing of the past according to this article i found.  Mexican tobacco growers

Yeh,Its easy to spot,they hang it to dry in especially designed barns,huge tobaco leaves,Its a common sight in the area Im from.I have never seen it in mexico.Corn is the crop here,Its everywhere man.On the side of the road in the middle of the road,everywhere.

What a shame huh? they don't grow tobacco anymore.  We grow corn here in NZ too but nowhere near the amount grown in Mexico. I guess being part of their staple diet they would need to grow a lot of it.   I had to look up Sanborn as we don't have the stores here.  The majority of our imports come from China & Australia.  The site i came across is pretty informative,  so i'm kinda glad i did look it up.   You don't find many American or UK products here.  Dr pepper the soft drink, & Twinkie s etc could not be found in our supermarkets a few years back.

San Andrés Tuxtla, Veracruz is the tobacco center in Veracruz. Home of Te Amo puros.

Can you buy raw tobacco there?

Just bought a bunch of green tobacco leaves at the market in Morelia.God only knows what bacteria or filth its carrying though.Any ideas on how to disinfect tobbaco?

Burn it slowly.

i don't smoke I was hoping to twist it,make plug and chew it but I'm having second thoughts.

stinkyboy1 wrote:

Just bought a bunch of green tobacco leaves at the market in Morelia.God only knows what bacteria or filth its carrying though.Any ideas on how to disinfect tobbaco?

You need to wash them then hang them out to dry in the sun slowly,  its abit of a process & can be time consuming as once the leaves are dried they need to be cured to get rid of all the ammonia still in the leaves and aged to get it to a taste that isn't offensive.  Best people to ask is someone that grows their own tobacco.

Still need to get rid of the ammonia,  read up on how to dry & cure tobacco.

There is a big difference between tobacco leaves freshly cut from a field in Tennessee than tobacco leaves you bought in a market in Morelia.God only knows what germs and filth they contain.Amonia or anything like it would ruin it Im afraid.I have since thrown it in The garbage anyways.

stinkyboy1 wrote:

There is a big difference between tobacco leaves freshly cut from a field in Tennessee than tobacco leaves you bought in a market in Morelia.God only knows what germs and filth they contain.Amonia or anything like it would ruin it Im afraid.I have since thrown it in The garbage anyways.

LOL i did not mean that you should wash the leaves in ammonia.  The actual leaves themselves contain ammonia when they are green thats why they need to be thoroughly dried out and cured to ensure there is no trace of ammonia left in them (even when brown they can still contain ammonia).   As for any germs,  the drying out and curing process would have taken care of any germ problems.  Home growers only wash their leaves to rid them of dirt,and insects, germs has never been an issue but c'est la vie it matters not now that you threw them out lol.

In Mexico when you buy lettuce in The store when you bring it home you have to soak it in bleach to kill The germs The same goes for most veg and plants.Leaving it out in The Sun will not kill mexican nastyness

Just something to think about, nicotine is a natural pesticide, so I wouldn't think you would have to worry very much about any bugs.  http://www.acs.org/content/acs/en/press … icide.html

stinkyboy1 wrote:

In Mexico when you buy lettuce in The store when you bring it home you have to soak it in bleach to kill The germs The same goes for most veg and plants.Leaving it out in The Sun will not kill mexican nastyness

Yet, you will buy Mexican lettuce in the US and simply wash it in cold water. Same here. Produce bought in supermarkets are of the same quality as in the US. Mercados are different. Most use Microdyn to disinfect products bought at the street mercados.

stinkyboy1 wrote:

In Mexico when you buy lettuce in The store when you bring it home you have to soak it in bleach to kill The germs The same goes for most veg and plants.Leaving it out in The Sun will not kill mexican nastyness

I have a problem with the "have to" part. 
The FDA says 'You can thoroughly rinse your produce  with good effect'.   Hydrogen peroxide is a much better  potent biocide and not toxic for normal use. The University general recommendation is "Do not wash fruits and vegetables with bleach or soaps – it can absorb into the product and change the taste." 

If we are talking relative safety, the food in Mexico from my perspective is safer than the U.S. I have done some minor testing for myself of this idea and the food in the U.S. definitely indicates a higher bacterial load. I use H2O2 or hydrogen peroxide to clean surfaces. I use chlorine ( bleach) in the pool.

My Mexican friends, mostly all affluent or middle class, use Microdyn religiously.  It's cheap and can be measured accurately.

A very dilute solution of bleach will work but then you may get a bleach aftertaste.

When eating out, I bathe the salad in lemon juice as a precaution if I have any doubt about the place.

I was constantly sick for my first three months in Mex,I have been eating The very same food for years in The states without problem.Since then I have not been ill once.Depends on where you eat also,Im in Coatzacoalcos at The moment and Im here to tell you That 90% of The eateries in this dump would be shut down on The spot by The usda.

I ate some carne apache in Morelia ,tostadas of hamburger meat cooked with lemon juice alone.I love The stuff have been eating it for years never had a problem

stinkyboy1 wrote:

I was constantly sick for my first three months in Mex,I have been eating The very same food for years in The states without problem.Since then I have not been ill once.Depends on where you eat also,Im in Coatzacoalcos at The moment and Im here to tell you That 90% of The eateries in this dump would be shut down on The spot by The usda.

Who in the first few months of the move to Mexico hasn't gotten sick? In terms of the count and amount of bacteria in Mexico and the US, you have to realize that Mexico is a tropical country without the necessary winter freezes to kill off a large  amount of the bacteria that causes the Aztec-two-step. The count of e.coli bacteria in the US is far below what is found in Mexico. Why doesn't if affect you in the US? Because you are used to it and gain an immunity. Time spent in Mexico will give you the same immunity. Mexican friends who visited the US suffer from e.coli maladies just like gringos from the north do in Mexico.

I've eaten in many places in Coatza and Mina without problems, but I also remember that first few weeks in Xalapa where my place to sit was in the baño on the taza.

Yeh you have a point There Jo.When Im in coatza I eat fruit and pb&j sandwiches but mostly because I dont like The food in Veracruz,Its not your standard Mexican fare.To me Its more like guatemalan food.

Perhaps you can try McD's or a pizza. Very Mexican.

stinkyboy1 wrote:

I ate some carne apache in Morelia ,tostadas of hamburger meat cooked with lemon juice alone.I love The stuff have been eating it for years never had a problem

The lemon juice makes up for whatever may be lacking in sanitation.

My favorite taco place doesn't look like much.  Just a hole in the wall.
But the guy at the grill makes sure the meat is well heated before serving.
The fresh veggies are already cut, chopped or cubed so I give it all the lemon juice treatment when I get home.  That and a healthy shot of chamoy which give it a nice flavor without getting too picante.

On the other hand, I like a little more chile in my pozole.  I've had it in restaurants all over the country and never had ill effects from the fresh lettuce, radishes and onion served along with it.

Next time your in Coatza Joaquinx check out los hermanos Hidalgo on independencia.Some really good seafood.

I have eaten there many times. My favorite for years has been the mojarra mojo de ajo. There is a place in Mina, that is hard to find, but it is a buffet for around 200 pesos of all-you-can-eat shrimp, pulpo, etc.