Grocery Shopping in Italy
There are many places and situations in Italy that can baffle the uninitiated. Undoubtedly attempting to procure survival basics is up there as one of the most fraught. Here is my guide to shopping for groceries in Italy!
It is quite normal in Italy to buy food supplies on a daily basis, and to visit multiple different shops to collect various items. Locals are fiercely passionate about protecting and supporting “their” chosen greengrocer, butcher, baker, etc.
There are a number of explanations for this.
The first (and most practical) being that many Italians do not drive regularly. Cars are not allowed in many town centres in Italy, and parking is famously atrocious. Therefore shopping must be able to be easily carried, or fit in the basket of a bike. At a stretch, some Nonnas will bring a small shopping jeep with them. The concept of a weekly shop is just not really a thing.
The second is that Italians are much more in touch with seasonality and the origins of their food. Most gardens here include a vegetable patch, and even younger Italians are aware of the basics of tending to them. This is the cultural outcome of many, many generations of peasant farming, where every family would grow their own food on even the smallest patches of dirt available to them. They like to use what looks most delicious, and will often plan a meal during or after a shop, rather than the reverse.
The third is that Italians love to talk about how their chosen regular shop is the best in all of [insert town / region / Italy]. You will never escape a conversation with an Italian about food without a recommendation for a local store. The great thing is, most of them are right! The quality of produce here is such that every purveyor offers amazing quality. And the high standards of the Italian customers mean that anyone who does not perform to expectations will quickly run out of customers.
Frutti e Verdure
Walk slightly out of the main tourist area. And then walk into pretty much any greengrocer or delicatessen you see. The older and more dated the signage out front and decor within, the better. If you can see a flickering fluorescent tube light from the front window, you know you’ve hit the jackpot.
It is very important that you do not handle any of the fruit and vegetables! I’ve seen tourists squeezing a peach to test for ripeness run out onto the sidewalk in near-tears. The grocer didn’t quite chase them out with a broom to tell them to never return, but probably only because they had other customers to see to.
First, assess to see whether this is the kind of shop where the grocer will choose and pack the items for you. If so, you need to signal that you want them to serve you. This will take courage, as you’ll need to assert yourself over the seven Italians who have entered the shop after you and are all shouting for attention.
If, on the other hand, the grocer gives you the green light to pick your own items, do not do any squeezing. This is not a Costco. If the fruit is on the shelf, it is good. Just pick up what you want and don’t touch anything else. If you ask for recommendations or attempt speaking any Italian at all, you’ll often be rewarded with free items. This goes for all small shops.
Macelleria
Again, courage. If you don’t see what you want, it doesn’t mean it isn’t there. I almost left our nearest butcher shortly after arriving because I couldn’t see any mince. Little did I know that mince is ground to order. The butcher selected the hunks of meat he was proposing to grind for us, and after receiving our stunned approval (like we had any idea what we were looking for) he got to work mincing it for us on the spot. The taste when we cooked it that evening was out of this world.
Since then I’ve seen many passionate discussions take place between butcher and customer about the fat ratio of the chunks being ground, where the butcher provides his expert opinion after being told exactly how the meat will be prepared. Ask for a recommendation on what to buy and how to cook it and you will never be led astray.
Supermarket Food
Despite the preference for small, local shops, Italian supermarkets also offer quality food and ingredients. Food standards here are incredibly high, and the use of preservatives and other chemicals is rare. Most supermarkets have a ready made section which you should not be suspicious of (like at home) - this food is excellent and generally made in house. Go here for a quick and cheap lunch in the park or a low key dinner in your rental apartment.
The fruit and vegetable section is all clearly labelled with where each product comes from (mostly from Italy, rarely anything from beyond neighbouring countries in Europe). A word of warning about one of the all time tourists traps though! In Italy, you weigh your own fruit and vegetables and label them at the point that you pick them off the shelves. Collect what you want, and then look for the scales. You will have to enter the number on the shelf corresponding to the produce you are holding, and print a little sticker to affix to the item / the bag they’re in.
If you make the serious error of going to the register without having done this, one of two things will happen:
The attendant will send you away in shame. You will have to go back to the scales and weigh everything, which will take immeasurably longer because you have to return to each shelf and input each number one by one. You will also then have to go to the back of the queue when you return to the checkout. You will probably add 20 minutes to your shop.
Even worse, the attendant will look upon you with a mixture of disdain and resignation. They will decide that they can’t be bothered with the inevitable explanation of how to do what you need to do, and they will take your fruit and veg and go and do it themselves. This will delay everyone in the queue behind you as well. No one will be impressed and many eyes will be rolled.
Cleaning Products
If the Italians don’t allow chemicals in their food, they make up for it (and more) in their cleaning products.
The most popular brand of spray and wipe is called Chanteclair Sgrassatore (degreaser). Do not be fooled by the lovely retro yellow and white bottle, this is paint thinner. It could be used to dissolve the lock on a safe in any heist movie. Cleaning with it is immeasurably satisfying, although the fumes require that you only use it with the windows open and any small children in a different room. Safe to say that there are no problems with pasta sauce residue on anything.
Dishwashing liquid, washing detergent, and toilet bleach are all similarly violent in their approach. And there is an entire category in the laundry section for little spray bottles and powders that are designed to be applied immediately to any sauce stains you may suffer at mealtimes. I laughed at this originally, but since Raffy and Leo (not I…) have ruined more than a few white t-shirts I have since taken to carrying one with me everywhere.
Oh and finally, wine and various aperitifs and digestives are available to buy everywhere. Absolutely everywhere. Corner shop, supermarket, butcher, grocer, etc. You needn’t spend more than 5-10 euros on a bottle of very nice wine that would likely cost four times as much at home.
Happy shopping!
