11806 Things We May Miss in Italy

We are in the middle of packing our few final "bits and bobs" ready for our move to Italy. So I thought it might be a good idea to check with all you people that have done this in the past and have experienced problems buying that particular item that was a favourite back in the UK. Heinz baked beans, lime cordial, marmite etc.

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General chat about Italy

Wouldn't worry about baked Beans- heinz are quite widely available in this area, but do cost a fortune- however the Lidl beans are really nice & much cheaper. Cannot get cordial- I too miss lime cordial like anything, along with salt & vinegar crisps, golden syrup, custard powder, beef stock cubes & Bisto gravy browning. Also if you are aver thinking of having a lawn & think you might need Weed & Feed bring some of that with you as you can only get "weed" or "feed"

The M25 :laughs:

Here's one for you - watercress :yes:

Good luck with the move.

Just don't forget the Teabags!!!!!!!!!!!!! :no:
I think I brought back about 15 packets at Christmas time, they do stay fresh at least a year and a half.
A cuppa might just be the first thing you need when you get there. :yes:

Bacon
Parsnips
Goose fat
Coriander
Cheddar * you can get it but it costs a fortune
Branston pickle
HP sauce
Lemon grass
Fresh ginger
Good old white sliced loaf
Cadburys Dairy Milk

Don’t worry you will soon get used to enjoying the fantastic Italian food and will have only the occasional pang for the stuff you can’t get here.

I’m sure if I went back to the UK I’d miss the Italian food more.

Good luck with the move.

Can't say I'd miss any of the above! Sorry but what I'd think about taking were garden plants (nurseries apart from in Toscana are a bit basic and very dear) and raid tkmaxx for bedding and towels which are dearer and not so good in cheaper Italian outlets.

Plenty of books and dvds until your Italian's good enough to read them in Italian.

There's no FairTrade products to be had in Italy so Fair Trade M&S tea and Coffee. Greetings cards are rubbish and naff so either cards or blanks to make your own.

Women's size gardening/building gloves and boiler suits if you are a small size 10 like me you won't find anything in Italy !!

And after all that most importantly don't forget your sense of humour as you'll need that most of al!!!

It simply isn't true that you can't get Fair Trade products in Italy. Coop Centro Italia have an extensive range.

However, one thing I have never found in Italy is the 'fur catcher' that you will almost certainly need in your kettle!

A good bike(MTB) shop.

You'll soon get over the need for the trappings of UK life, but Tea Bags are a must unless you love Liptons. Why bother with Baked Beans when you can do your own with the wonderfull selections you get here. Books and DVDs etc can be got online from Amazon.

[quote=Charles Phillips;112558]It simply isn't true that you can't get Fair Trade products in Italy. Coop Centro Italia have an extensive range.

[COLOR=Red]However, one thing I have never found in Italy is the 'fur catcher' that you will almost certainly need in your kettle![/COLOR][/quote]

I think that very much depends on where you live.... Four years now in this house and my kettle hasn't needed 'de-scaling' once (back in Dover it had to be done once a month without fail). Plus - I only have to use half the normal dose of washing powder/liquid and have been warned NOT to use salt in my dishwasher.

The water here is [I]sooooo[/I] soft it is unbelievable. :yes:

[SIZE=6]CIDER![/SIZE]
There is sometimes extremely sweet nasty french stuff. I didn't miss anything until somebody brought me a few bottles of Thatchers and Burow Hill. Once they are gone I dareay I'll cope again. Sipping slowly. Very slowly

Hey there is no need to miss it. Make your own. Many website found in the various search engines.

Marmalade or at least marmade to enable you to make your own. I have to drive to either Florence (where a jar of Tiptree is Euros 5.20) or Spoleto to stock up when the supply brought in by friends dries up.

We find it terribly difficult to buy certain spices and fresh herbs, in fact corriander, in the fresh form they just dont do. I have taken to growing a small pot and at it's height freezing, and macerating some in oil to keep in the refridgerater. The other thing we found difficult to find was a decent gas kettle. Also may I add that some tools are very expensive. As someone has already mentioned, bed sheets are quite expensive and mainly loudly patterened. The beds here are wider than in the U.K, so if bringing sheets over make sure they are king sized,(of course this only applies if you are buying your beds here too). Plastics are expensive here?
Bunch

You can buy fresh corriander, and PG tips tea bags in the Asian shop in Corrodonia (thank you Keith) but getting friends to bring out seeds is a good idea, and it grows very well here. Instead of watercress as mentioned before why now use rocket?, freely available here and very cheap in comparison to UK prices.
If you like reading, search all the charity shops before you leave and stock up, then you can swap with friends out here as we do, as we are avid readers. You can also buy a marmalade type jam here, but this is Marche so other regions may not have it, gas kettle from Ikea, and thats it.
3 yrs down the line, dont yearn for anything except perhaps for M&S underwear, so stock up before you get out here!, and dont put on any weight after you arrive:winki:
A

Aside from any items of food you think you can't do without (but will probably not really miss if you don't have them!) if you are bringing over any table lamps you will also need a supply of bayonet light bulbs as they are not available here. Also, although available in any farmacy but at a price to make you feel even more unwell, I would bring over a good stock of basic medicines such as aspirin, paracetamol, ibuprofen etc and if you have children calpol and the childs version of ibuprofen. I would also agree with greetings cards and household linens. Not the right time of year at all for either, but big bags of garden bulbs are hard to find and tend to be very expensive and traditional Chirstmas things such as crackers just do not exist.

Good luck with the move.

Regarding gas kettles, Alessi makes some beautiful ones in Italy. Expensive but top quality. But I agree with Angie, the Ikea one is quite good and it costs less than 20 euros.
On the subject of herbs, spices and condiments, you can find coriander, fresh ginger and many other at large supermarkets such as Esselunga. The Italians also sell a good fresh variety of the herbs they use in cooking which is excellent and you find these almost anywhere.

Thanks to everyone for the ideas some good some not so good, we are lucky in the sense that we have taken lots of bedding and towels out over the last couple of years plus the books and DVD's. but the tea bags and sauces are important. once again many thanks.

The Very Best Of Luck Mick Chick

Hi Nielo.

As Gala says, you can usually get fresh ginger in the larger supermarkets. I bought some a few weeks ago at Cityper. Lemon grass, you can get a dried version from this site, as have just placed another order with them. (Thanks to Anne2 for finding it).
[url=http://www.asiaminimart.it/shop/citronella-secca-a-pezzi-100-g-p-465.html]Citronella secca a pezzi - 100 g. - 0.90EUR : Asiaminimart.it, Delizie dal mondo direttamente a casa tua![/url]

That's a good link Geo/Anne2 thanks as I've struggled to get bits for an occasional Thai etc.

[quote=Geotherm;112628]Hi Nielo.

Thanks Geo. I got some fresh ginger once at Iper. It was in Kilo packs so I froze a lot and can grate it from frozen when I need it. I have never seen it again.

For me the problem is that although you can get most things here, the supply is unreliable. I have learnt to ‘buy it when I se it’. I have a shelf in the camtina where I store all the ‘English stuff’.

Fortunately I have many friends here with holiday homes, who go back and forth and bring me the bits and pieces I can’t rely on finding.
:smile:

[quote=Ghianda;112629]That's a good link Geo/Anne2 thanks as I've struggled to get bits for an occasional Thai etc.

Lidl has a Thai Food Week once a year and you can find many of these articles there as well.

[quote=PAS 55;112559]A good bike(MTB) shop.[/quote]

Try Wiggle who are now shipping bikes to Europe and deliver everything else free to Italy within a few days. It's a very good service we use a lot.

Evans also ship bikes to Italy for £40 each but we don't find them as cheap.

[quote=Mick Chick;112541]We are in the middle of packing our few final "bits and bobs" ready for our move to Italy. So I thought it might be a good idea to check with all you people that have done this in the past and have experienced problems buying that particular item that was a favourite back in the UK. Heinz baked beans, lime cordial, marmite etc.[/quote]

Hi Mickchick
Go to my second favorite porn site,,,,,,,,,,,,,screwfix, and load up on everything

[quote=Ghianda;112629]That's a good link Geo/Anne2 thanks as I've struggled to get bits for an occasional Thai etc.

However, the thought of this one brought tears to me eyes :laughs:
[URL="http://www.asiaminimart.it/shop/green-curry-paste-cock-brand-400-gr-p-45.html"]green curry paste - cock brand 400 gr. - 1.98EUR : Asiaminimart.it, Delizie dal mondo direttamente a casa tua![/URL][/quote]
Ghiandi.
Just had a "Green Curry" for dinner tonight. Chicken that melts in your mouth, coconut milk, lime leaves, bamboo shoots, green peppers, green beans, peas and Basmati rice.

Geotherm, that's culinary cruelty at its highest!

Why is that Gala? Thought we all like variations on a theme :yes::yes:

Simply I would kill for a nice Thai Green Curry and yours sounds lovely. So you made me feel miserable. A nice Thai Curry is glorious food.

[quote=Gala Placidia;113199]Simply I would kill for a nice Thai Green Curry and yours sounds lovely. So you made me feel miserable. A nice Thai Curry is glorious food.[/quote]

A nice Thai Green Curry would help you sweat out that flu you've got Gala, unless your craving means you are feeling somewhat better.
I do hope so. :smile:

Pity you are not nearer Gala, otherwise you could come over for dinner. Can also make the red or yellow versions and for dessert rambutan or jackfruit.:yes:

Yummy, yummy. I think that I am going to start considering moving towards The Marche.......

Ciao Mick and Lesley!

Looking forward to enjoying the italian lifestyle here with you both very soon.

Lots of love

The Walfords xxxx

Have found that most large Supermarkets (Le Clerc, Esselunga etc) stock a selection of Thai and Mexican foods/ingredients, together with exotic fruits. Ginger seems to be widely available around here and I've even espied Lemongrass on occasions.No luck on Corriander though; or Wensleydale for that matter..........:laughs:

Grow your own corriander, it grows like a weed, then whizz it in a mixer with olive oil and store in your fridge. Do the same with your Basil, ginger, parsley..
Sprat

11806 Things We May Miss in Italy

After 5 years, find that I miss....

Youch!