Exploring Uruguay

Expat & Travel Resource Guide

fruit

Food in Uruguay: What’s For Dinner?

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You know what is really interesting to me about Uruguay? It’s the price and quality of food in Uruguay. I bought 0.8 kilos (1.75lbs) of grass-fed Black Angus Rib Eye steak for 177 pesos (U$S 7.64); 1 nice sized zucchini and a medium sized onion for 12 pesos (U$S .52); and a huge bunch of fresh spinach for 26 pesos (U$S 1.12). Add a little sea salt, pepper, garlic and cayenne pepper. We just got done eating it for dinner… “mmmmmm” as Zoë would say.

What about pesticides? Well I’m glad you asked. I just learned today that a lot of small farmers do not use pesticides. Not because they don’t want to, but because it’s too expensive. I’m cool with that. On the other side of the fence though… The majority of larger farmers do use pesticides. There are some farmers in Uruguay who use pesticides that have been banned in the US for years…

So, we try to get all of our fruits and veggies from the smaller farmers at the local feria (kind of like a farmer’s market and swap meet all in one) rather than at the grocery stores and giant stands at the feria…

What U$S 15.75 Will Buy You…

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Since moving to Uruguay, we get all of our fruits and vegetables, and some of our meat and other household items, at the weekly ferias (open air markets) here in Montevideo. There is a smaller feria on Tuesdays and a larger one on Saturdays only a block from our apartment.

You can buy “anything” at these Markets. Jackets, makeup, hoodies, dvds, video games, hats, clothes, incense, art, food, furniture, toys, diapers, etc.

It’s nice to always have easy access to fresh fruits and vegetables. We’ve been making homemade chicken stock to make delicious soups and stews every week with the vegetables.

Just to give you an idea of how far the US dollar goes in Uruguay when it comes to food…

Earlier this week, for U$S 15.75, we got:

24 farm fresh eggs
4 pears
4 apples
3 limes
1 head of lettuce
1 large leek
20 jumbo strawberries
1 large Broccoli crown
4 large red bell peppers
2 giant carrots
2 large zucchinis
2 large tomatoes
3 onions

And, on a smaller trip to the Uruguay feria, for 280 Uruguayan pesos (U$S 12) we got:

24 farm fresh eggs
2 giant carrots
4 large tomatoes
2 ears of corn
1 head of purple cabbage
2 large red bell peppers
1 package of fresh Brussels sprouts
2 large zucchinis
3 apples
½ kilo. strawberries
2 red potatoes
1 garlic bulb

Not too bad… There are ferias all around Montevideo, some better than others… some cheaper than others. We live in one of the wealthiest neighborhoods in Montevideo (Pocitos)… So our feria is probably a little more expensive than the ferias outside of our neighborhood.