fare la spesa (seconda puntata) / to shop for groceries (part 2)

Some time ago, I wrote a post about shopping at a supermercato (grocery store). I hope you are ready for a few more tidbits.

In the earlier post, I explained how you, the customer (cliente), need to weigh and label fruit and vegetables by yourself. Before you start choosing any fruit or vegetable, you need not only to get a plastic bag, but also to don plastic gloves (guanti). Bags and gloves are usually located close to each other and also close to a bin where you can deposit the used gloves. The only tricky thing here is that the adhesive label with the bar-coded information tends to stick to the glove, so you may have to rescue it before proceeding with your next purchase.

When I was a kid, there was no supermercato and therefore, in order to fare la spesa, something I often did for my mother, especially when I was off from school, I had to visit several stores. Each store can be referred to either by its actual name or by the name of the owner, so we may say vado in panetteria or vado dal panettiere:

• panetteria / panettiere or fornaio (bakery / baker)
• macelleria / macellaio (butcher's shop / butcher)
• negozio di frutta e verdura / fruttivendolo (fruit and vegetable store / greengrocer)
• salumeria / salumiere (deli)  
• pescheria / pescivendolo (fish store / fishmonger)
• pasticceria / pasticciere (pastry shop)

My favorite store to visit is a salumeria, especially when I am in Rome, where it is popularly called a pizzicheria, presided over by a pizzicagnolo. The smell in the store is divine and the arrangement of cheeses and cured meats is a work of art of balance and efficient use of space. When the salumeria is strategically placed next door to a panetteria, you have no way out: get some fresh bread, put some freshly sliced cured meat or cheese, or a mix of both in it, and enjoy your life then and there. When you are done, walk another few feet and get yourself un caffé.

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Click on the button to hear me pronounce the Italian words mentioned in the post: 

fare la spesa (seconda puntata)

or launch the  fare la spesa (seconda puntata)  audio file [mp3].

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Comments

[Lucy]

Oh, Simona! If only I'd had your sound advice when we were in Spoleto! I was looked at with such disgust when I presented my un-labelled bags of veg and fruit to the cashier. Luckily they were nice to us when they realised we were Australian...something about aunts and uncles living here. Phew.

[Baol]

Hai ragione! Del pane fresco con i salumi appena affettati...mmmmm....sono le 12:00 ora e mi ha fatto venire fame ;)

Nel paese dove vivo anche se ci sono i supermercati i piccoli negozi riescono ancora a sopravvivere :)

[fabdo]

Those little moments of pure joy I do miss!

;)

[Maryann]

I miss the days when I shopped in our village with my grandmother. There was a shop for each food category. Nicky the fruit and vegetable man who's store we called the "shalabobe"sp., the butcher, Genung..the shoemaker,the bakery. Everybody knew everybody. No more, I'm afraid .

[Joe]

great post... I need a panino now! In my dad's small town in Calabria they only had 1 small store but the rest would show up in their trucks, the pescivendolo, frutavendolo ecc. and they would yell out as they drove to the piazza. great memories. Joe

[Marta]

Simona, why do you torment me with these memories?!?!? :) You collected almost all the minute things I miss of Italy. Well, in Torino one may go for a bicerin instead of caffe' afterwards :) - or why not a famous cioccolata calda?!?!? :) :) - or a gelato al gianduja?? - or....... ok, I'd better stop it now. :) Congrats on such a nice and informative post as usual

[baking history]

I enjoyed reading your description of fare la spesa Simona, it reminded me of going a fare la spesa with my mom when I was little, my favorite was the bakery where they would always give their customers' children a free piece of focaccia or a crunchy grissino to munch on.

[Simona]

Lucy, I hope the information will be useful the next time you visit Italy.

Ho paura che i piccoli negozi siano una categoria in via di estinzione, purtroppo.

I hear you, Donatella.

I am afraid so, Maryann. In Italy there are still some survivors, especially bakeries, my dream stores.

Hi Joe and welcome. The trucks: that's a whole story and maybe I will talk a bit about it. Another dying tradition, I am afraid.

I know, Marta, these are things Italian expats miss a lot. When I am in Italy I drink a cappuccino every day. Gelato al gianduja: what a dream!

Hi Manuela: those memories are indeed precious.