The Products of Our New Life

We’ve been in Ecuador for 3 months (May 27th) now! It’s been long enough that we have started to get a little more comfortable with Ecuadorian products. When we first arrived, going to the grocery store was one of the most overwhelmingly experiences for me. Most items here are NOT American… which meant that I did not recognize logos, packaging, or labels. I also did not even recognize what nearly 80% off the items were. And to add to all of that, of course everything is in Spanish. Even if I didn’t know what something was, I couldn’t rely on a package to tell me if I couldn’t read it.
We really do not buy very many packaged items here, most of the items that we really need can be bought from a street vendor or from a Mom’n’Pop type of establishment.
Of course, there are some things that you can’t expect to be “made” by the people, like toilet paper for example.
I took a few photos of the staples that we typically get from either the big box type store or from a local tienda (shop/store).

I’m kind of picky about toilet paper. This kind is great, the quality is good and it has a floral scent that I love! A little more expensive than we’re used to, but well worth it.

This is what MILK looks like! It is not refrigerated until after opening and only comes in a 1 liter size. As far as I can tell, it only comes in whole milk, no such thing as 1% or 2%. Previously a huge milk consumer, I do not drink it. It tastes wierd to me. Carlos , who didn’t drink milk in the USA, loves it. The kids took a few weeks to adapt to it, now they are fine and drink it as usual.

This is dish soap! A good dish soap is important here, since most people don’t have dishwashers. I was very confused by this product. It is soft and you rub it with a wet sponge and then chance the dishes with it. It is kind of like a comet paste.. it doesn’t create many suds… and it cleans anything very easily. No need to soak or scrub. It is much better than any liquid dish soap I have previously used.

Panela is an unrefined type of cane sugar. It is used for baking and for sweetening. It is less sweet than brown sugar and has a wonderful molasses taste.

Achiote Paste. This is a cooking condiment that can be used to season meats, pastas, and rice. Our daughter especially loves this and I often use this instead of spaghetti sauce. Achiote is a seed that comes from a tropical bush, it is used for it’s coloring properties as well as it’s sweet, peppery, smoky flavor.

Pinol is a drink additive, a powder that reminds me of malt. It is made from Màchica..a toasted barley flour and other spices, like anise, cinnamon, and clove. It can be bought sweetened with panela or unsweetened. My husband likes to drink in cold milk. I like it with hot water and a splash of milk. I usually drink this in the morning or before bed, it had replaced coffee in our lives