# Sending Homemade food to Mexico



## ninah (Sep 17, 2012)

Hello

I wanted to ask if its allowed to send homemade food to Mexico. I live in Germany and would like to send homemade cookies to a friend in Monterrey. Is it allowed?


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## circle110 (Jul 20, 2009)

I don't believe cookies are specifically prohibited (unless they are marijuana brownies!) but if they look tasty and smell good the customs inspection agents will probably eat them!


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## ninah (Sep 17, 2012)

hahah you made me laugh, thanks anyway


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## Lorij (Jul 8, 2012)

Yes you can, we have sent homemade brownies, and cookies and candies to Oaxaca, never had any problem with them getting there!


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## Isla Verde (Oct 19, 2011)

Lorij said:


> Yes you can, we have sent homemade brownies, and cookies and candies to Oaxaca, never had any problem with them getting there!


I would think the main problem would be packing them well enough so they arrive in one piece, or pieces, as the case may be.


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## ninah (Sep 17, 2012)

I want to send some xmas cookies. So you think there should be no problem? Should I mention that in the custom declaration form? They want to know the value and quantity. Should I count each piece?


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## TundraGreen (Jul 15, 2010)

ninah said:


> I want to send some xmas cookies. So you think there should be no problem? Should I mention that in the custom declaration form? They want to know the value and quantity. Should I count each piece?


I would use some group measure, like dozen (docena), or 1 box of 10 or what ever. For value I would put zero.


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## sparks (Jun 17, 2007)

When I went into the Navy at age 17 I got coffee can care packages full of cookies. Sadly that only lasted 6 months and I went the rest of the 4 years without.


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## FHBOY (Jun 15, 2010)

...so how do you put a value on a New York danish, a bobka, some really good cannoli, and a real bagel or bialy? It's hard enough to get them in Baltimore, it is terrifying to think about getting them in Mexico! 

Es muy problema, si?


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## Isla Verde (Oct 19, 2011)

FHBOY said:


> ...so how do you put a value on a New York danish, a bobka, some really good cannoli, and a real bagel or bialy? It's hard enough to get them in Baltimore, it is terrifying to think about getting them in Mexico!
> 
> Es muy problema, si?


No es un gran problema, FHBOY. After a while, you just find other kinds of bread and cake to satisfy your need for carbs.


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## TundraGreen (Jul 15, 2010)

Isla Verde said:


> No es un gran problema, FHBOY. After a while, you just find other kinds of bread and cake to satisfy your need for carbs.


With apologies to Billy Preston and Stephen Stills …
If you can't find the food you like, like the food you can find.

It happens without even trying. After a few years here, you will find yourself missing Mexican food during trips to the US, more than missing US food while here.


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## Isla Verde (Oct 19, 2011)

TundraGreen said:


> With apologies to Billy Preston and Stephen Stills …
> If you can't find the food you like, like the food you can find.
> 
> It happens without even trying. After a few years here, you will find yourself missing Mexican food during trips to the US, more than missing US food while here.


I like your version of the BP and SS song.

It took a few months, but I've learned to live without having a "real" bagel for breakfast. I've seen bagel-shaped bread in the supermarket and some restaurants, but I can tell from the size and shape of the _pan_ in question that it's not the real thing!


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## TundraGreen (Jul 15, 2010)

Isla Verde said:


> I like your version of the BP and SS song.
> 
> It took a few months, but I've learned to live without having a "real" bagel for breakfast. I've seen bagel-shaped bread in the supermarket and some restaurants, but I can tell from the size and shape of the _pan_ in question that it's not the real thing!


It's been a long time since I have seen a real bagel even in the US. All the chains sell processed, pumped up imitations.


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## Isla Verde (Oct 19, 2011)

TundraGreen said:


> It's been a long time since I have seen a real bagel even in the US. All the chains sell processed, pumped up imitations.


You won't find real bagels in chain stores! But you will find them in delis and bagel places, like the little one next to the train station in Bristol, PA, a couple of miles from Levittown (the boring suburb where I grew up) and not far from Trenton, NJ.


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## TundraGreen (Jul 15, 2010)

Isla Verde said:


> You won't find real bagels in chain stores! But you will find them in delis and bagel places, like the little one next to the train station in Bristol, PA, a couple of miles from Levittown (the boring suburb where I grew up) and not far from Trenton, NJ.


I was exaggerating for effect. There used to be a good bagel shop next to the train station in Palo Alto, CA, but it closed 10 years ago or more. I think Mo's Bagels in Boulder, CO still makes real bagels. But places like that are few and far between. Maybe it is better on the east coast; closer to the source.


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## mickisue1 (Mar 10, 2012)

Isla Verde said:


> You won't find real bagels in chain stores! But you will find them in delis and bagel places, like the little one next to the train station in Bristol, PA, a couple of miles from Levittown (the boring suburb where I grew up) and not far from Trenton, NJ.


There are two places that I know of that have good bagels.

One is a one off shop called the St. Paul Bagelry. The former owner got his recipes and techniques from a friend in Boston who had a bagel shop there, and they have the bite and chew that real bagels should have. 

The other is actually a chain called Bruegger's. The bagels are not monstrous soft things, but dense and chewy as they should be.


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## FHBOY (Jun 15, 2010)

Isla Verde said:


> I like your version of the BP and SS song.
> 
> It took a few months, but I've learned to live without having a "real" bagel for breakfast. I've seen bagel-shaped bread in the supermarket and some restaurants, but I can tell from the size and shape of the _pan_ in question that it's not the real thing!


Actually I had a "real" bagel at a get together in Ajijic in August. Not only that, but real lox (smoked salmon to all the rest), and cream cheese, onions and tomatoes - what a shock!!!!

Oh yeah, I found a bakery in town that makes the best cinnamon rolls, so maybe I'll live without my beloved cheese or prune danish...what a sacrifice!  Oh, the horror!!  What a tradeoff: a nice life or a prune danish? (WAIT I MINUTE, I'M THINKING... - Jack Benny)


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## Isla Verde (Oct 19, 2011)

mickisue1 said:


> There are two places that I know of that have good bagels.
> 
> One is a one off shop called the St. Paul Bagelry. The former owner got his recipes and techniques from a friend in Boston who had a bagel shop there, and they have the bite and chew that real bagels should have.
> 
> The other is actually a chain called Bruegger's. The bagels are not monstrous soft things, but dense and chewy as they should be.


Real bagels must be boiled in water before they are baked so they turn out, as you write, dense and chewy. This takes more time (and skill), so mass makers of so-called bagels skip this step to save money. I'll bet they make their bagels big and fluffy because, in true American style, they think that bigger is better. But we bagel aficionados know this isn't true!


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## Isla Verde (Oct 19, 2011)

FHBOY said:


> Actually I had a "real" bagel at a get together in Ajijic in August. Not only that, but real lox (smoked salmon to all the rest), and cream cheese, onions and tomatoes - what a shock!!!!


Cream cheese has become quite popular in Mexico (even showing up in sushi, for crying out loud!), and Philadelphia Brand cream cheese is always to be found at my local Superama, along with smoked salmon, which is not quite the same as lox but much cheaper and fills the bill for me. Instead of bagels, there are some lovely whole grain rolls and small _panes I can find in the bakery section of the same store. Since Lakeside is Expat Central in Central Mexico, with many residents hailing from parts of the States where bagels are part of the daily breakfast routine, maybe some local entrepeneur has taken up bagel-making to keep people like FHBOY happy!_


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## TundraGreen (Jul 15, 2010)

Isla Verde said:


> Cream cheese has become quite popular in Mexico (even showing up in sushi, for crying out loud!), and Philadelphia Brand cream cheese is always to be found at my local Superama, along with smoked salmon, which is not quite the same as lox but much cheaper and fills the bill for me. Instead of bagels, there are some lovely whole grain rolls and small _panes I can find in the bakery section of the same store. Since Lakeside is Expat Central in Central Mexico, with many residents hailing from parts of the States where bagels are part of the daily breakfast routine, maybe some local entrepeneur has taken up bagel-making to keep people like FHBOY happy!_


_Speaking of breads and Mexico City, Isla … Are there panaderias in DF that sell good European style breads? In Jalisco, I can find good Italian/French style baguettes (bolillos or saladas) that are chewy on the inside and crusty on the outside. 

In other parts of Mexico, including DF, they have breads that look like bolillos but the have the texture and taste of Bimbos or Wonder Bread. 

As far as I have been able to figure out, the primary difference is the preservatives, mono- and di-glycerides, that are added. They keep the bread from getting stale as fast at the expense of destroying the texture and taste of real bread._


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