At the Grocery Store

I know that I have written several posts before about grocery shopping but I can't resist another. The thing is, we all eat everyday, several times a day, so food takes a prominent place in our lives. We actually did visit the Volcano Buono (Good Volcano) shopping center in Nola today and visited some other shops before we ended up our trip at the Auchan again.

Seafood
Keep in mind Italy's location and you will understand why seafood is such a huge part of the diet here. We are anxious to learn how to cook the various fish and shellfish we see. These photos were taken middle of the afternoon when quite a bit of the catch of the day was already sold. Fresh is the key for all Italian groceries, so very little seafood is frozen. What is for sale is what is caught that day locally.

An amazing assortment of fish

Do you recognize this fish?

Squid, octapus

Lower left - large langoustinos (similar to shrimp)

Verdura (Produce)
Another really fun section of the grocery where we always spend time looking is the Produce section. Not only do you have the different local varieties of things grown here, but imports that cater to the immigrants of Italy. So you find middle eastern vegetables and fruits, Indian, and of course Northern European fare. We are pretty adventurous eaters, so once we figure out how to prepare something, we'll try it. Big items in the Italian diet are squash, seasonal fruits, eggplant, and greens. Here are a few things we see quite often.

Indian fruit, like a prickly pear

Johnnie surveys the Melone Verde

Scarola (escarole) - (center) is even put on pizza!

Melanzani - prepared many different ways

Meats and Cheeses (carne i formaggio)

On to the cheese counter where we are faced with so many varieties of cheeses it simply boggles the mind! This is actually just the one counter where the large chunks of cheese are cut to order; there is an entire aisle on both sides filled with pre-cut  chunks and slices of cheese. What will you find here? Goat cheese, cow's milk cheese, sheep milk cheese, water buffalo cheese, fresh cheese, smoked cheese, soft cheese, hard cheese, but, you will not find Cheddar cheese! That is strictly an American cheese and no one is interested in even importing it.

The cured meats are really amazing as well. I know I have mentioned this before, but I guess I continue to be amazed by the variety and flavors. We could not even begin to sample all the different types of meats in the two years we will be living here. Because of the language barrier, we tend to select things from the pre-cut packages but eventually I will learn to ask for how much and how I want things cut. Then watch out! We will be sampling our way down the aisle.

Cured meats

Cheese counter

Wines

Then there is the wine selection. Remember, wine is considered a food here. It is consumed in small quantities often but drunkeness is frowned on. It is such a different attitude toward wine that it is hard to explain to people in the US.

I have no idea about the different regions of Italy where most of this wine comes from. I have been told that very little is exported, simply because they tend to consume all of their own products locally. Many of these wines are made in small batches at a regional level by small family vineyards. This one aisle is organized by region; then in a completely different part of the store, we found another aisle of wines. Many of the wines are 1,5 euro (about $2 -- like Two Buck Chuck) and around that price point. Certainly there are lots of excellent wines under $10 a bottle.

By region of Italy

On sale - Offerta

Pasta

Then, one cannot neglect talking about the pasta. Pasta is a staple in the Italian diet, and practically it's own food group here. These photos are of the dried, packaged pastas, but keep in mind there is an aisle in the refrigerated section with all fresh pastas as well. I have been told there are over 200 different types/shapes of pasta here -- I believe it! Several different types of wheat, some without gluten, some made from rice and other grains, with egg and without egg, every imaginable shape, length and thickness; it is pretty incredible. I suppose a good Italian cook knows what to do with each of them. I will have to take a class or buy an instruction book to sort my way through all these choices.

Over 200 types of pasta

And more pasta

There are a couple other things about the grocery experience I should mention. We take our own reusable bags; they are very sensitive here about that. You sack your own groceries, even at the small stores you do your own unless you specifically ask for help. Then, usually a tip is expected.

I have not mentioned the fresh breads that are abundant and such a huge part of the Italian diet. We are not big bread eaters, so we have not spent as much time there as others might. The selection is huge and portions very generous.  I may devote a completely separate blog one day just to bakery goods.

Prices are similar to the US. Some things might be cheaper, some more expensive but the key is everything is very fresh. Hormones, pesticides, preservatives, genetically altered types, and all those man-made interventions in the food chain are very limited here, so things are very tasty but need to be eaten in a few days because they will spoil faster, even in the frig.  A few imperfections in the fruits and vegetables are tolerated here and it does not stop their sale. In the US, people generally won't buy a tomato, for example that is misshapen or has some discoloration but here, that doesn't really matter.

Speciality items/Organic (Biologica)

There are a couple of aisles dedicated to organic foods and specialty dietary items. For example, one entire aisle to senza gluntine (without gluten) which has a full range of breads and pastas and many other products I had no idea even contained gluten. So glad I don't have that to deal with!. Another aisle is Biologica and is more than what we think of as organic; it includes a smattering of items we might see in a Health Food store, such as Herbal ingredients (erba) and diabetic substitutes. There are Health Food stores here and one not far from us which I will explore. That is where I get my oatmeal, since that is a grain not commonly eaten in Italy.

Taking photos at the grocery store

You will look like a tourist if you take your camera to the grocery store and start taking photos of the food. People looked at us like we are nuts. We were tempted to take photos of a few fashion faux pas while there but we resisted. We managed to contain our amazement and giggles until we got to the car. Wow! Lots of sights to see, and who would have thought going to the grocery could be so much fun! Ciao!