There are many reasons to love Ranch Market. Here's our favorite five things people travel to Redlands' Ranch Market for.
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Limes
The limes at Ranch Market are big, juicy and harvested locally and organic when possible. They are sold in bags for $1,29 per pound.
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Chips
Corn is boiled, ground, and cut into tortillas as customers watch, Then they are sliced, fried, salted and bagged. Try to eat just one.
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Pan Dulce
Ranch Market's panaderia (bakery) bakes a full variety of pan dulce (Mexican sweet breads) daily. Don't know a concha from a cuerno? Here's the essential glossary of Mexican sweet breads for those of us who know only that we love them all and want to order the ones that look like elephant ears.
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Marinated chicken
Ranch Market owner David Ireland says his marinated chicken is why he gets invited to home taco nights and backyard parties. People always ask him to bring some. He doesn't mind. He says it's the best there is. "I'd put our marinated chicken against anybody's in the country," he said.
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Tortillas
At Ranch Market's tortilleria you can watch your corn and flour tortillas made, starting with fresh corn being boiled and ending with the stacks of hot tortillas being packaged, immediately steaming up the bags. Store owner David Ireland says some customers wait for that moment the tortillas are the freshest they can get. "They want the one he's putting the twist tie on," he said. The tortillas are made without maseca or lard, they are fresh from scratch, just corn and a little lime. "This is not a tortilla that's gonna last two weeks on your counter."