Dating back to the early thirteenth century, Barcelona’s Boqueria Market teems with old ladies negotiating for their daily foodstuffs, fishmongers and meat cutters just off work, and hungry tourists from around the world; snapping pictures and buying unusual ingredients to smuggle home. Hundreds and hundreds of cured legs of pork, hair and hooves still attached, hang from ceilings while vegetable stands spill over with the colors of late autumn: mushrooms, chestnuts, and bitter greens. The center of this food hall, one of the finest in Europe, is reserved for the fish vendors, their beds of crushed ice laid with every kind of fish, crustacean and clam imaginable, all coerced from the Mediterranean Sea. Exotic aromas of funky sheep cheeses from the Pyrenees, green oils and olives from Seville, and smoked pimenton from La Vera mingle in the air, creating a literal Spanish tapas of scent.
Heritage Culinary Artifacts