Grocery Shopping in Northern Italy
The grocery stores here are perhaps one of my favorite and most educational places to go. There I've had free Italian lessons reading food labels, gotten the best fresh crusty warm bread everyday, and found out what it means to be a picky eater and demand good food at decent price. Something I have discovered is that there are some grocery stores better at producing one thing and not so good in another. One might make really good bread, for example, and not have the best choices of fruit but a really good butcher.
Across the board, all have a few things in common:
1. Seasonal fruit: The best food is seasonal and local in Italy. Rather than importing produce from other countries Italy uses its long shape to produce a variety of great fruits, veggies and legumes. Most grocery stores have the fruit in crates, not fancy at all but at a lower price than Whole Foods that makes you pay for display. The grocery stores usually put what region in Italy the produce is from so that the buyer knows its characteristics, and if it is good or not. The best tomatoes come from the sun-drenched south of Italy. If it is not of Italian origin the store will also note what country it came from. Seasonal fruit is usually around for about 3 weeks. That means that you can only find it then. For example, now in October it is grape season. Grapes are super cheap, fat and sweet. In January it is broccoli ,rabe season and grapes, strawberries and other seasonal produce will be difficult to find. If you find it, chances are it traveled far, was picked young and won't taste right.
2. Scales and Printers: For Fruit and Veggies it is necessary to weigh and price the produce yourself, they don't do it at the check out. There is a little number next to each type of produce to identify it. Take the tomatoes, making sure you get the number for them, and put them in a bag. Look around for the scale and punch in the tomatoes number, say 22, and wait for the scale to print out a ticket showing how much your tomatoes cost.
3. The Cart: It costs to borrow the shopping cart in Italy. You need a one Euro coin to unlock the cart and use it. When you are done and return your cart, you lock the cart back in place with the other carts and get your coin back. It is the grocery stores way to make sure the carts are put back in place.
4. Wine Aisle: The beloved wine aisle. All grocery stores have this. Being the top producer of wine makes Italy a very smooth country where good wine is available year round and at great prices. Most of the country side here is blanketed with fields of grapes. Snooty sommeliers will contend that the expensive ones are the best but I disagree. There are dozens of $1.50 Euro wine that cross the spectrum of delicious wine: bold, sweet, floral, kick in your face strong and just plain good. One thing to look for is the DOP stamp on the wine. This is an national certification stating that the wine was grown produced in Italy and its production adheres to certain laws. If it doesn't have the DOP certification you could be buying something with added aromas or cheap cologne. The best way to enjoy your wine is with food, even a snack. Wine alone is sad. Go for a slice of pizza, a sandwich or even a salad topped with a can of tuna when enjoying your wine.
5. The Pasta Aisle. Mamma Mia, why didn't I take a picture of the pasta aisle? It is like pasta heaven. All grocery stores have a large selection of pastas, but wait, theres more. The type of pasta and the region it comes from is most important! Not all pasta is created alike, in other words. Each region of Italy is famous for one type of cuisine. The flatlands of the Po Valley make a sweet pumpkin tortellini that is considered disgusting in Naples. Meanwhile, in the North you will find more Germanic meaty dishes and polenta (grits). Polenta is the meat and potatoes of the north! It is prepared a variety of ways: grilled polenta, fried polenta, polenta cake, polenta with melted Gorgonzola cheese, boiled polenta. You get the idea. Polenta is the thing in the north. The dozens of ways it's prepared reminds me of Bubba Gumps monologue on how many ways to prepare shrimp. Let's take short movie detour:
So, while you might see a lot of pasta in the grocery store, know that while it might taste great to a foreigner it will be condemned and shunned as a fake by the local people tasting it if they know it wasn't made in the region of its origin. They local people know what they grow, how to make it 50 different ways, and how to spot a fake. That reminds me of a country song by Alan Jackson where he sings "I'll be honest ma'am your biscuit ain't as good as mama fixed it". The same could be sung here considering its farm country covered with cows and John Deer tractors. "I'm sorry signorina your polenta wasn't as good as mamma mia fixed it."
6. Check out bagging: The cashiers don't care about you or your food. You must pay for each bag you purchase, around 10 cents as of today, and bag your own groceries. The cashiers will toss your bags aside like trash then slide your food down the food ramp and sometimes handle your eggs roughly. Don't expect courtesy, the customer is a pain is the motto here. Incidentally, if you are treated like a great customer, spoken to sweetly asked if you need anything then watch out! You might be getting a bad deal on whatever situation you are in. People don't care about you or what you like or don't like. It isn't in the society to treat others with kindness in the grocery stores.
So far, the grocery stores I have shopped at are:
1. Simply Market: Best for its bread. Their seafood sections are small though and the bathrooms are located by the coffee shop which means you need to drink a coffee before entering.
2. Conad: Small like a 7-eleven with old fruits and veggies. They have bad flakey bread that is good in the morning when fresh but hard by night. However they sell tabasco sauce, Heinz 57 ketchup, Heinz mayo, and both UK and US cereals.
3. Iper Leone: Super grocery store the size of a parking lot. They sell everything from TVs, clothes (made in Italy), to the best wood fire pizza in Italy. You will not find a better pizza in northern Italy than in the Iper Leone of Lonato. They also have a great yogurt selection, very fresh seafood (though look carefully at the mussels, sometimes they have very small ones). Their produce section is huge like a farm. Their meat is good but check the expiration date as sometimes they sell things expiring in 2 days.
4. Penny Market: Terrible produce, old meat, but cheap cheap prices. Avoid unless buying soda and water.
5. Bennet: Great grocery store! Excellent produce, bread, wine and prices! Good selection of pet food too.
6. Coop: They have good plastic bags at the check out.
And on that note I will sign out singing the song of where I come from...it's good corn bread and chicken!
Across the board, all have a few things in common:
1. Seasonal fruit: The best food is seasonal and local in Italy. Rather than importing produce from other countries Italy uses its long shape to produce a variety of great fruits, veggies and legumes. Most grocery stores have the fruit in crates, not fancy at all but at a lower price than Whole Foods that makes you pay for display. The grocery stores usually put what region in Italy the produce is from so that the buyer knows its characteristics, and if it is good or not. The best tomatoes come from the sun-drenched south of Italy. If it is not of Italian origin the store will also note what country it came from. Seasonal fruit is usually around for about 3 weeks. That means that you can only find it then. For example, now in October it is grape season. Grapes are super cheap, fat and sweet. In January it is broccoli ,rabe season and grapes, strawberries and other seasonal produce will be difficult to find. If you find it, chances are it traveled far, was picked young and won't taste right.
 | |
| Grape season is in October |
 |
| $1.25 for a box of grapes is great |
2. Scales and Printers: For Fruit and Veggies it is necessary to weigh and price the produce yourself, they don't do it at the check out. There is a little number next to each type of produce to identify it. Take the tomatoes, making sure you get the number for them, and put them in a bag. Look around for the scale and punch in the tomatoes number, say 22, and wait for the scale to print out a ticket showing how much your tomatoes cost.
3. The Cart: It costs to borrow the shopping cart in Italy. You need a one Euro coin to unlock the cart and use it. When you are done and return your cart, you lock the cart back in place with the other carts and get your coin back. It is the grocery stores way to make sure the carts are put back in place.
 |
| For the cart |
4. Wine Aisle: The beloved wine aisle. All grocery stores have this. Being the top producer of wine makes Italy a very smooth country where good wine is available year round and at great prices. Most of the country side here is blanketed with fields of grapes. Snooty sommeliers will contend that the expensive ones are the best but I disagree. There are dozens of $1.50 Euro wine that cross the spectrum of delicious wine: bold, sweet, floral, kick in your face strong and just plain good. One thing to look for is the DOP stamp on the wine. This is an national certification stating that the wine was grown produced in Italy and its production adheres to certain laws. If it doesn't have the DOP certification you could be buying something with added aromas or cheap cologne. The best way to enjoy your wine is with food, even a snack. Wine alone is sad. Go for a slice of pizza, a sandwich or even a salad topped with a can of tuna when enjoying your wine.
5. The Pasta Aisle. Mamma Mia, why didn't I take a picture of the pasta aisle? It is like pasta heaven. All grocery stores have a large selection of pastas, but wait, theres more. The type of pasta and the region it comes from is most important! Not all pasta is created alike, in other words. Each region of Italy is famous for one type of cuisine. The flatlands of the Po Valley make a sweet pumpkin tortellini that is considered disgusting in Naples. Meanwhile, in the North you will find more Germanic meaty dishes and polenta (grits). Polenta is the meat and potatoes of the north! It is prepared a variety of ways: grilled polenta, fried polenta, polenta cake, polenta with melted Gorgonzola cheese, boiled polenta. You get the idea. Polenta is the thing in the north. The dozens of ways it's prepared reminds me of Bubba Gumps monologue on how many ways to prepare shrimp. Let's take short movie detour:
So, while you might see a lot of pasta in the grocery store, know that while it might taste great to a foreigner it will be condemned and shunned as a fake by the local people tasting it if they know it wasn't made in the region of its origin. They local people know what they grow, how to make it 50 different ways, and how to spot a fake. That reminds me of a country song by Alan Jackson where he sings "I'll be honest ma'am your biscuit ain't as good as mama fixed it". The same could be sung here considering its farm country covered with cows and John Deer tractors. "I'm sorry signorina your polenta wasn't as good as mamma mia fixed it."
 |
| Tortellini di zucca (sweet pumpkin): the pride and joy of the Pianura Piadana |
6. Check out bagging: The cashiers don't care about you or your food. You must pay for each bag you purchase, around 10 cents as of today, and bag your own groceries. The cashiers will toss your bags aside like trash then slide your food down the food ramp and sometimes handle your eggs roughly. Don't expect courtesy, the customer is a pain is the motto here. Incidentally, if you are treated like a great customer, spoken to sweetly asked if you need anything then watch out! You might be getting a bad deal on whatever situation you are in. People don't care about you or what you like or don't like. It isn't in the society to treat others with kindness in the grocery stores.
So far, the grocery stores I have shopped at are:
1. Simply Market: Best for its bread. Their seafood sections are small though and the bathrooms are located by the coffee shop which means you need to drink a coffee before entering.
2. Conad: Small like a 7-eleven with old fruits and veggies. They have bad flakey bread that is good in the morning when fresh but hard by night. However they sell tabasco sauce, Heinz 57 ketchup, Heinz mayo, and both UK and US cereals.
3. Iper Leone: Super grocery store the size of a parking lot. They sell everything from TVs, clothes (made in Italy), to the best wood fire pizza in Italy. You will not find a better pizza in northern Italy than in the Iper Leone of Lonato. They also have a great yogurt selection, very fresh seafood (though look carefully at the mussels, sometimes they have very small ones). Their produce section is huge like a farm. Their meat is good but check the expiration date as sometimes they sell things expiring in 2 days.
4. Penny Market: Terrible produce, old meat, but cheap cheap prices. Avoid unless buying soda and water.
5. Bennet: Great grocery store! Excellent produce, bread, wine and prices! Good selection of pet food too.
6. Coop: They have good plastic bags at the check out.
And on that note I will sign out singing the song of where I come from...it's good corn bread and chicken!
By the end of that post, I was craving pasta like never before. But I only have the lame American kind. Blat.
ReplyDeleteAs long as you enjoy it is all that matters. If you get Barilla it is the same exact thing I eat here :) The Barilla factory is 2 hours away.
ReplyDeleteField Trip!
ReplyDelete