The best fruits in Barcelona: the ultimative guide on Fruterias

Spanish life is great and unique, be it about the famous siesta, the weather, parties or the food - you will definitely fall for it! If you value healthy fresh food you are undoubtedly right here, too. Fresh fruits in Barcelona, as well as vegetables, are easy to find and buy - but if you want to shop smart like a real local you will need to follow our advice! Don't worry, we are more than willing to share our ultimate secret. The freshest, cheapest and best fruits in Barcelona are only to find in one place: lovely spanish Fruterias! Of course you will also be able to buy your groceries in every supermarket or at the famous food markets, but for these Suitelife prepared another set of insider tips. Find out more and read our articles on supermarkets and food markets in the city. Now, let us begin and dive deep into the jungle of juicy fruits in Barcelona...
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1. What is a Fruteria?

In Spain you have a thousand different shopping opportunities - yes, I am talking about the famous “-í/-erías”, that you will encounter every 15 meters on a spanish street. There exists an individual store for almost everything! From carnicerías, peluquerías, heladerías and (surprise) pizzerías to jamonerias, queserías, cervecerías and so on and so on, you can have it all. So no wonder that there also is our personal favourite: the fruterias, where you can buy exclusively fresh, local grown fruits. But, wait that’s not all. In these small shops you will also find all kinds of vegetables and sometimes even eggs, nuts or honey from all around the region. Oh, and did I mention the biggest advantage of fruterias? The prices!
While you can pay huge amounts of money for local and healthy food in other countries, depending where you are coming from, the offer in spain, and especially in those lovely little fruterias, is simply amazing and so cheap! You can get a bunch of bananas, kiwis, a handful of avocados, tomatoes and two sweet potatoes for less than 5€! However be aware that the prices and selection do depend on the respective season.

2. Where can I find a Fruteria?

If you live in Barcelona or even if you are just here for a visit, you only have to leave your house and stroll around the sidestreets of your barrio - and you will most probably stumble over one of the many, tiny fruterias! Literally in every part of the city you will be able to find at least a dozen of them, so don’t you worry! However sometimes they are a bit tricky to find, as they often are not linked within Google Maps. So you must look for them the old school way - without internet and GPS!

3. How do Fruterias work?

The quirky thing about fruterias is that they are small. And when I say small, I mean tiny! So tiny you most probably feel uncomfortable being in there, especially when you are not the only one. The great range and the prices however make this worth it! If your choosen store is full of people, the easiest way to avoid misunderstandings is to ask “Perdona, quien es la última?” as soon as you enter, since you will regulary NOT find a ordered queue. Once inside the fruteria you usually should not, under any condition, touch the fruits with your hands! Only those you will buy for sure. Often there are big signs telling you this, and if you happen to have missed these hints, be ready to be put in place angrily by the seller. They generally don’t like people spreading their germs on their good fruits, so we advise you to best keep following those rules for your own good! So, either you picked your own goods and pay for them now at the checkout, or, also a common way, you just order your needed fruits and veggies directly at the seller! Of course for this you need to be able to speak a little bit of spanish - or make yourself understandable with hands and feet, somehow it will work out. If you've mastered this, congratualtions! You are now in possesion of some real, fresh, juicy Barcelona vitamin bombs!

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Having successfully fought your way through the fruity jungle, having overcome all the small obstacles in your way, you can now happily take your “prey” back home! Maybe this evening you will create a tasty Macedonia de frutas or cook a delicious meal with your cheap, healthy veggies… If you are interested in trying out some real catalan recipes, read our article on it and learn about some amazing local specialities. Enjoy your veggies and fruits in Barcelona!

- Antonia from Suitelife -