Suppengrünsoup greens

In Germany it sits ready tied in the vegetable aisle: one carrot, a length of leek, a piece of celeriac, a few stems of parsley.

It is the base of nearly every German broth. It cooks along and comes out at the end. You rarely eat it, you always taste it.

In Mexikoin Mexico

The ready made bundle does not exist here. The parts do: zanahoria, poro, apio, perejil.

Celeriac, apio nabo in Spanish, is missing from most shops. That is where it snags.

Ersatzwhat to use

Tie your own: one carrot, a length of leek, a piece of celery, a few stems of parsley. Amounts by eye, the ratio is not arithmetic.

With no root, take stalk celery and keep the leaves on. The green carries more of the aroma here than the stalk does.

Kaufenwhere

All of it at the mercado. Zanahoria, poro and perejil lie side by side anyway.

Apio nabo, if it turns up at all, is a large supermarket item.

Vorsichtwatch out

Without celery the broth loses its floor. It tastes sweetish of carrot and stops there.