You will be surprised by the aromas, flavors and traditions that flow through the corridors of the Benito Juárez market Oaxaca.
Among all temptations, there are five things that every visitor to the Benito Juárez market must try before going home.
Pan de Yema
Pan de yema is an egg yolk bread and is one of the gifts that is lavished in weddings, christenings, marital commitments and Day of the Dead.
Perhaps this happens because here in Oaxaca the community atmosphere is a tangible reality: the parties are the product of everyone’s effort and as such, love is reflected in the abundance of the food offered; In addition, Pan de Yema has a practical use as it is a classic feast, but also has a ritual meaning.
It is said that when it comes to a celebration, by chance or by expressed invitation, you are assigned two or three large pieces (in itself: it measures between 10 and 12 cm in diameter and 8 to 10 cm high, of course there are smaller ones and others that reach 30 cm) and you are given containers to take your loaves, your chocolate (served by liters) and your stew.
Butter and sugar complete the experience of sweetness that qualifies it as a bread for every occasion with the seal of the Central Valleys of Oaxaca.
In the Benito Juárez market Oaxaca you can purchase the bread in bags to take home, or just a small piece to enjoy while shopping.
Oaxaca Hot Chocolate
To accompany your bread, there is nothing like a good cup of Oaxacan hot chocolate and if it is Oaxacan where the coven of flavor has no limit. At Chocolate La Soledad, next to Benito Juárez Market Oaxaca, you can order the grinding of cocoa prepared and mixed with more ingredients: vanilla, cinnamon, almonds, walnut and whatever you can think of and have in stock.
Here there is also a mole and a space arranged as a cafeteria so that one can also drink the chocolate that is prepared just for you. Delicious!
Chapulines
Chapulines (grasshoppers) are something that has been part of the Oaxacan gastronomy for more than 3 thousand years, here you can find them both in the market and sold in the streets of Oaxaca. Stop at one of the stalls where they are preparing: they brown them on the comal with lemon and worm salt that gives it its characteristic flavor, you have to remember that here it is customary to eat grasshoppers as a snack or as a companion or filling of other dishes. I prefer Chapulines in quesadillas or look for the Chapulines Salsa in a jar. Excellent. They have a bit of a nutty flavor, people who don’t like them are hung up on the insect idea, it’s not a dislike of the taste.
Be an adventurer and encourage yourself to try them. The legend says that those who eat grasshoppers in Oaxaca will no longer leave the city.
When anyone visits me in Oaxaca, trying Chapulines is never an option. My friend Lucas from Argentina tries them for his first time. After he left, I found the rest of the uneaten bag in the guest bedroom. 😉
Mezcal
I’ve never counted them exactly, but I am sure that every two steps in Benito Juárez market Oaxaca you can find a vendor that sells mezcal. In Oaxaca there are more than 300 mezcal producers, 170 bottling companies and more than 148 certified brands of this beverage.
Here you can find mezcal with maguey worm and even scorpions, but you can also drink a classic tobalá or breast, you choose the type and taste that you like to take as a souvenir. The fun is that they give you small samples of this drink in all the markets and shops, even in the streets.
Jamaica
Few people know it, but Oaxaca is a producer of jamaica flower and has sow fields that can be visited. In the market at different vendors you can see the beautiful flower of Jamaica ready to prepare water with a very particular red color, you will forget the jamaica water you find in the self-service store; the water that you can prepare with this flower will have a totally different flavor. Jamaica flower is the hibiscus flower in English. Grab a bag to take home with you and prepare a hot tea or cold jamaica water.
Where is the Benito Juárez Market Oaxaca?
What’s your favorite find at the Benito Juárez market in Oaxaca? Tell me in the comments section below!