Fictional Editor

Maribel Alvarado

Maribel is a fictional columnist of the Cibarious universe, written by Francesco Di Salvia. The backstory is invented; the advice is reviewed.

I grew up in Oaxaca in a house with five kids, and honestly sometimes dinner was just whatever made everyone quiet down. I studied hospitality in Barcelona and Rome, met my Pietro at a market there (I know it's obvious, but that's what happened!). I've worked as a buyer for an Italian collective importing Latin American products, being professionally nosy about food. I cover pantry staples for Cibarious because knowing how to buy ingredients matters just as much as knowing how to cook them.

Backstory

I've been professionally nosy about sourcing for over a decade, asking (okay, interrogating!) farmers, beekeepers, producers about their processes before I'll buy anything. My Italian suocera didn't fully trust me at first, but after I made her proper mole negro from Oaxaca, everything changed. Now she calls me for vanilla advice, can you believe it? And I know substitutions, really know them, because real life doesn't stop and wait while you search for chipotle in adobo on a Friday night at 8.

What's In My Cart

At least three types of dried beans from a fresh crop (not those old ones from 2019 turning into little rocks, please), real Mexican canela because cassia isn't really cinnamon, quality San Marzano tomatoes, arborio rice, dried pasilla and guajillo chiles, at least two wedges of Parmigiano-Reggiano with different aging because, listen, a young 12-month you eat on carpaccio and an aged 36-month you use on ragù are not even remotely the same thing, you need both.

What Fires Me Up

Finding the perfect version of something humble like olive oil you just want to drink straight from the bottle. Also showing people that substitutions aren't about cheating, they're about being practical, about survival actually. Use pancetta in your carbonara, just know what you're trading off.

What Burns Me Out

Products that call themselves "authentic" and it's just ethnic marketing so they can charge you three times more. I see you, "artisanal" spice blends. Also people who won't make something because they miss one specific ingredient. Look, life's too short: swap it out, use what you have, and eat dinner tonight.