far spese in Italia / shopping in Italy

When I visit my country of origin, I do a bit of shopping, as you can imagine. A couple of people have asked me about my purchases (acquisti), so I thought I would write a few lines to satisfy their curiosity.

Books — I usually buy a dozen books (libri). I enforce upon myself such a limit, otherwise I would easily go overboard. This time, my purchases included¹:

• the latest Montalbano novel
• a crime novel by Andrea Camilleri (not featuring Montalbano)
• two novels by the Swedish couple Maj Sjöwall and Per Wahlöö (Roseanna and Cop Killer)
• the first novel with Pepe Carvalho as protagonist, about which I wrote a post for the most recent edition of Novel Food
• a mystery set in a town in Tuscany, where the sleuth is a barista
• the first novel of Jean-Claude Izzo's Marseilles Trilogy, whose protagonist is of Italian origin
• bread recipes from my own region, Umbria

I also brought back with me a couple of books I had bought many years ago:

• the complete poems by Trilussa, written in Roman dialect (on this page there is a sample poem with the English translation)
• poems with recipes for soups and musings, also in Roman dialect, by actor Aldo Fabrizi.

An aside on a couple of book-related words that may cause confusion: libreria is Italian for bookstore, while biblioteca is the library.

Food items

Cioccolato (chocolate), mostly single origins I wanted to try. I would like to clarify that I am not in any way advertising the items in the photo: I am very curious when it comes to chocolate and allow myself to be tempted.

Liquirizia pura: pure licorice (in the small bag on the left in the photo). This liquirizia spezzata (broken) is kept in a big glass jar at a torrefazione (coffee store) close to the Lambrate train station in Milan. I used to work nearby, which is how I came to know the place. It is the real thing: pure licorice, unsweetened and without any other flavors. People used to eating sweet, gummy licorice are in for an intense experience when they taste liquirizia pura.

Semola di grano duro rimacinata (durum wheat semolina re-ground): the brand my mother uses for making fresh egg pasta.

Amido di frumento (wheat starch): I looked for this ingredient last summer, when I was developing my recipe for gelo di melone, but could not find it. I will now be able to see how wheat starch performs in the dessert compared to corn starch.

Ammoniaca per dolci (baker's or baking ammonia): used as leaving agent in a recipe for cookies that I wanted to try (and did try: they were good and would have been better had I not created a problem with the oven. I will make them again and then tell you about them).

Lenticchie di Castelluccio: the prized small lentils from my home region (see this post and also this one).

Fagiolina del Lago Trasimeno: a very special legume, also grown in my home region.

Two kinds of biscotti (cookies): Novellini and Oswego. In Italy, the word biscotti has a different meaning from the US, as I briefly explained in this post.

Kitchen items — Replacement gaskets for my one-cup Bialetti stovetop coffee pot. They only sell bigger pots here, so I find only bigger gaskets.

Other items

Something for the table (a pair of objects, actually), which I will describe in a future post.

A ceramic container from Deruta, already featured in this post (and by now in need of being replenished).

What have you bought or would you have bought during a visit to Italy? (Maybe I did too, and simply forgot to mention it.)

¹ The following books are available in English: the first 11 Montalbano novels, Maj Sjöwall and Per Wahlöö's Martin Beck mysteries, Manuel Vázquez Montalbán's Pepe Carvalho mysteries, Jean-Claude Izzo's Marseilles Trilogy, Tales of Trilussa (a selection of Trilussa's collected poems).

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

far spese in Italia

or launch the far spese in Italia  audio file [mp3].

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I started writing this post before the magnitude 6.5 earthquake that shook our corner of California and before the devastating one of magnitude 7 in Haiti. You may have seen images of the first one and have certainly seen reports of the second one. My mind also went back to images of the magnitude 6.3 earthquake that caused death and destruction in the Italian region of Abruzzo last April. We follow the news and help however we can.

Let me offer something for consideration. A few years ago, I took several disaster preparedness classes organized by the city of Berkeley's Office of Emergency Services. Acquiring knowledge that allows us to more appropriately handle emergency situations is beneficial to us and to our community.

Comments

[Vanessa]

Ciao Simona,
Very interesting how my suitcase looks very similar to yours on the way back, especially where books are concerned!
I bring back Waferini and Viennesi from Babbi, a specialty from a local producer in my area (but only in the winter months!), and I fill my suitcase with Mulino Bianco cookies. I also bring back real Nutella, good balsamic vinegar, some wine, Grappa for my collection, gianduiotti,ceramics from Faenza, Formaggio di Fossa, and whatever specialty food strikes my fancy!
Grazie for a fun article!

[Lori Lynn @ Taste With The Eyes]

Neat post. I always get something for the table when I travel too. Usually a plate. Can't wait to see what you got...
LL

[Simona Carini]

Ciao Vanessa. You are welcome. One of these days I should write more about Mulino Bianco cookies. I think that they are in our genetic material by now: every Italian expat I know misses them. One could philosophize on the subject (dimmi che biscotti del Mulino Bianco mangi e ti diro' che sei). By the way, when we were in Italy, we tasted some aged balsamic vinegar, the artisanal stuff: thick and aromatic, it was amazing.

Thanks, Lori Lynn. Hopefully, it will be a fun post.

[Baol]

La trilogia di Marsiglia di Izzo è meravigliosa, come gli altri libri dello stesso Izzo.

Hai fatto benissimo a comprarlo

Un abbraccio

[Paz]

I like your shopping list. ;-)

So, what's going on in the Abruzzo region now? I haven't seen anything on the news about them anymore. Have they been able to rebuild? Have things returned to normal for them? Yes, we should be better prepared for these disasters.

Paz

[Ivy]

Haha! Whenever I visit my country I need a second suitcase to bring all sorts of things I can't find in Greece :)

[Simona Carini]

Ciao Baol. Mi fa piacere che approvi le mie scelte. Non vedo l'ora di leggere gli altri libri.

I am glad you do, Paz. The priority for the people in Abruzzo was to provide them with houses and move them out of the tents before the winter started, something that I believe by and large happened. Rebuilding and restoring will take longer.

Ciao Ivy. I like the idea of a second suitcase!

[buy r4i firmware]

Hello
It is good to know about your items of shopping.Hey I also like shopping and reading.I must say that you have recommended me some books which you bought.I really like that you have shared this with us.

[Susan]

Ciao, Simona!

What treasures you brought back with you. I've got my eye on that licorice, and am fascinated by the baking ammonia. I keep wondering what it's like to use vis-à-vis the other leavening agents we usually use here. And, of course, the legumes! If it wasn't so late now, I would perc myself some espresso on my Bialetti. I had one of the old-styled models, with the very angular handle, but I did not maintain it well; the inner metal got rather gritty, almost rusty. I replaced it w/ the newer model, but the arm just isn't the same.

[Simona Carini]

Ciao Susan. I have read that baking ammonia is used in traditional cookies like springerle. In my case, it is called for in a recipe from the Artusi cookbook. I hope to post the recipe at some point. On this page there are some notes on it. I know, in the more recent Bialetti, the handle is no longer as angular as before. I wonder if you can find liquirizia spezzata in some Italian specialty stores. Let me know if you do.

[Marta]

Ciao Simona!
Chocolate, cheese and wine or liquors are my favorite items to bring back. I think now that I'm in Canada bringing back wine will be more complicated but you can be sure that we'll try!

[Simona Carini]

Ciao Marta. I have actually never tried to bring back either cheese or wine, though I've certainly thought about it. Good luck!

[caravaggio]

che interessante e ottima lista della spesa, complimenti x il tuo blog, provengo dal blog di placida signora buon inizio di settimana

[Simona Carini]

Ciao! Grazie della visita e dei complimenti.