Question: Where can I buy Spanish food?
While vacationing in Spain you tried a fabulous Spanish tapa and want to prepare it at home, but need some authentic Spanish paprika or pimenton, or you ate the most extraordinary paella at a Spanish friend's house and want to duplicate it, but don't have a proper pan. Whatever your reason, you want to buy Spanish food or an ingredient for a Spanish recipe, but you don't know where to go…
Answer: The answer to this question depends on where you live! If you live in a large metropolitan area where there are Spanish immigrants or lots of "foodies," there are sure to be ethnic food stores that carry Spanish ingredients. If you don't, then we recommend buying from an online source. To get you started, we put together a list of online Spanish food suppliers with a short description of each. These are businesses from which we have personally purchased in the past and have been happy with their service. Be sure to shop the different sites and compare. Prices can vary significantly from site to site, as can shipping and handling charges. Some of these sites also have stores you can visit.
- La Tienda – This family-owned and operated company has been on the web since 1996 and ships orders to the USA, Canada and Europe! They have a wide selection of Spanish food and wine, like Serrano ham and Manchego cheese, as well as kitchen equipment like paella pans, clay cooking dishes, etc.
- La Espanola Meats – It was founded in 1982 in a small suburb of Los Angeles by a Spanish couple. La Espanola is now an importer, distributor, retailer, and wholesaler of Spanish foods, and is also a manufacturer of Spanish-style sausages and cured meat products. In addition, they have a selection of kitchen equipment, dishes and Spanish specialty foods.
- The Spanish Table – This business has four stores located in Seattle, Berkeley, Santa Fe & Mill Valley. Although the primary focus of the stores is Spanish food, wine and kitchen equipment, they also have a variety of Portuguese and Latin American items as well. There is a large section of Spanish cook books, novels and even coloring books in their Berkeley store.
- Delicias de Espana – This venture started as a restaurant and delicatessen located in Miami and is also a family-owned business. They carry a variety of Spanish food, wines, and accessories.
