Italian food and drink!

[champagnetruffleshuffle]

Following on from a great thread I read about food and drink in France, that reminded me of all the delicious treats France had to offer. Please can you all share your knowledge of what is good to buy in Italy?

We are currently staying in North Italy for 2 weeks, it's our first time and we would love to make the most of it!

NB We have already stocked up on Aperol! 🍹😁

Gianduja
Torrone
Baci chocolates
Limoncello
Pistachio paste
Cremino

plum cakes ( a sponge cake similar to madelines that you get in supermarkets - made with yoghurt)

Stracchino cheese

These are great thank you! Lemoncello, of course!

Will definitely try Stracchino cheese. My husband came home with brie and leerdammer yesterday!! 🙈

Wild boar sausage (salsiccia di cinghiale secca)

I missed the French thread - is this about things to eat while you’re there or to take home? For the former I’d have to put visiting a bakery and buying slices of different focaccia and pizza (soft bakery pizza is totally different to restaurant pizza and is really nice cold). Depending on where you are in the north you might get farinata and cheese focaccia (made with stracchino) too. Loading up with goodies from the bakery is one of the great treats of being in Italy - don’t miss it!

Stracchino is like a more runny buratta - its my absolute favorite on fresh bread / crackers with fig conserve.

Freshly sliced Mortadella - nothing like the stuff in supermarkets here.

Fresh truffle and porcini mushrooms

You also need Ferrari to go with your Aperol.

In Sienna I had this amazing gorgonzola "soup" with a soft egg and white truffle. And I think about it daily.

If it’s stuff to eat now and not take home, then cold meats (prosciutto crudo, prosciutto cotto, bresaola etc) sliced at the supermarket deli counter. Sliced super thinly so it melts in the mouth. remember my Italian mum being horrified at how thickly cold meats were cut in English supermarkets.

Cheese wise you can do a lot better than stracchino! Mind you I’m not a fan of soft cheeses, much prefer hard. Depending on where you are you can get local cheeses often at the deli counter (for instance alpine cheeses if in north Italy) which are often worth sampling and not found outside the area.

I second the focaccia from a bakery, many have loads of varieties and fresh focaccia just out of the oven is divine. Not the same from a supermarket!

loads of olive varieties, veg in oil (I love artichokes or dried tomatoes), veg pâtés that can be used for bruschetta. Try to select the ones in olive oil and not sunflower, although they tend to be pricier. Loads of fruit and veg which does tend to be in season, local and super fresh.

Alcohol wise you can get great wines at a relatively low price (compared to France and U.K.!) plus there are the usual liqueurs like amaretto. I would steer clear of anything digestivo/amaro and whatever you do don’t go near the Branca Menta, it’s possibly the most disgusting thing I’ve ever tasted. And I’ve drunk artichoke liqueur (also to be avoided, it’s called Cynar).

Ah wow this is all amazing, thank you, I'm getting hungry! Initially it is to eat here, but I'm not adverse to bringing some things home. I have paper and pen and I'm making a long list!

@MimosaSunrise here is the French thread, enjoy!
www.mumsnet.com/talk/holidays/4585178-france-food-and-drink?page=3&reply=118787940

The alcohol tips are great, has any one tried Grappa? I had it years ago and can't remember the taste. @Eve what is Ferrari please? I usually mix my Aperol with prosecco and soda water.

Prosecco and soda water is exactly what you need for a spritz! Ferrari is just a fizzy white wine, imo brand name over quality but each to his own.

grappa is essentially the same thing as eau du vie, usually produced where it tends to get cold as it does warm the cockles as it burns its way down. If you’re in Veneto you can visit Bassano del Grappa. I’ve had some very nice grappas and others (often home made with berries or something in it) which have burned the hairs from my nostrils.

In northern Italy it's all about the pig. Eat and buy all the pork you can.

Super sour yoghurt gelato is delicious. Pizza funghi in the north is also amazing. You're too early for truffles but see if they have been incorporated into commercial sauces.

All the salami!

Eat local pasta shapes and sauces.

Find some local grappa - it varies. Venetian white wine is delicious if you're in the area

Stracchino is definitely a soft cheese

Ferrari is a sparking wine made in Trento - like processo but not called processo as not made in the correct area ( bit like champagne only comes from champagne!)

Grappa - is a strong liqueur - made from the grape skins left over from wine making. Like Whiskey the higher the price the better the quality

I have a 20 year old bottle of the stuff made by my husbands grandfather in the house - anyone is welcome to try it - I am not responsible for the outcome ! ( it was rough when made! )

Grappa is aniseedy…and very strong!

I’m more familiar with southern Italian food but my favourite things to eat in Italy are

pizza! Always better than what you get here - ask the locals where the best place is

foccacia from the bakers in the morning before it’s all gone. The stuff you get here called foccacia doesn’t even vaguely resemble the real thing.

salumi from the salumeria (not the supermarket!) ask them what is local. My favourites are speck (lightly smoked and flavoured with juniper berries), mortadella, coppa and finochiona (deliciously fennely)

the local speciality wherever you are - Italian food is very regional. Again, ask a local!

Came home yesterday from tuscany ... sad times.
I'd go crazy at the cheese counter. We found a delish percorino. Some great scamorza too.
Huge ugly but tasty tomatoes

Lots of sliced meats.
Some exciting pasta shapes.
Lots of great ( and cheap) red wine.
I always make at least one proper tiramisu whilst away and enjoy for breakfast watching the sun rise.
Also a top tip if you like cooking is to buy a cheap italian cookbook in the supermarket. Google translate can help with any language snags ... I found a great recipe for aubergines with beans and tomato which has become a family favourite

Stracchino is absolutely gorgeous. We had some on focaccia from Pasta Evangelists last week and DH loved it, even though he's not a fan of the softer cheeses.

I'm going to Rome with my auntie next month and looking forward to buying cheese, breads, cooked meats etc to have for lunches.

We've stayed at the top of Lake Garda, & there's quite a difference to other areas of Italy - more Germanic influences.
Brought back a lot of cooked meats & cheeses ; it was winter, I'd probably just stick to cheese in summer.

I live in North Italy and I recommend you to ditch the Prosecco and buy some Metodo Classico or Franciacorta, both far nicer to drink IMO, but for a Spritz stick with Prosecco as these cost more.

Absolutely the wrong weather as it's so hot but if you get the chance try some Pizzoccheri or buy a box of it to bring home for autumn days
An alternative to Limoncello is Mirto ( comes from Sardinia but you can get it everywhere) made from Myrtle berries, serve it ice cold as you would Limoncello

I'm an Amaro fan but not the really really bitter ones, I love Amaro del Capo which has an orangey aftertaste. If you can get your hands on it, Jefferson Amaro Importante is amazing.

Why has no-one mentioned gelato?! Get some to bring home from the gelateria. I'm obsessed with nocciola gelato. Just heavenly!

When I'm in Italy, I go to the local Pasticceria to get a box of pasticcini. They are lovely little tiny cakes and biscuits, sold by weight (100g = un' etto, 200g = due etti etc) and are usually packaged beautifully in a lovely box. Some places try to make up the weight with rather disappointing wee biscuits so pick out the creamy, gooey cakes you think look nice.

I eat masses of prosciutto cotto when I'm there (although it seems to be more and more common in supermarkets in the UK now).

I usually buy a couple of boxes of amaro cocoa powder to bring back with me.

We live in northern Italy and we live on piadina, stracchino and rucola in the summer so I would recommend all of that! Depending on where you are there will be local delicacies. We have just got back from a holiday 3 hours up the road and there was lots of food we cannot get back home. Other things to look out for:

• jars of Amarena Fabbri cherries - so pretty and delicious with icecream


• all the salami! (especially with fennel seeds in Tuscany)


• friselle for making bruschetta-like antipasti


• gorgonzola piccante


• mulino bianco biscuits (I always miss these when not in Italy)

I also recommend going to a proper baker and getting whatever breadsticks/streghe/crackers they have as they are bound to have a local type which is nice.

Another thought, if, like me, you find limoncello unbearably sweet you might find a nice nocino (nut liqueur) or liquorice liqueur instead.

These are all so helpful, thank you all for taking the time to comment.

So far we've tried Stracchino, which was delicious with (all the) salami and fresh bread. Lemoncello, grappa and copious amounts of local wine. Multiple gelato - i saw the yoghurt flavour, that's next on my list now! Plum cakes went down well too.

We had a pork based bbq last night that was delicious.

Definitely going to try mirto and I'm intrigued by Amaro now, but will tread carefully!

@Stickortwister tiramisu is on the list, I like your eating suggestion! You've reminded me that one of my favourite cook books at home was an authentic Italian one, must dig it out again when we're home.

We had an amazing drink in Italy many years ago. It was like a strawberry liqueur mixed with champagne (or possibly Prosecco). It was called a Fragolini I think.