What specifically Italian items could you not now do without?

It can be quite easy to think of the things from the UK that you miss but what specifically Italian items could now no longer go without?

I can think of a few:

My shoe cupboard - marvellous invention. I no longer have shoes lying around wherever anyone kicked them off.
Bidet - what can I say?
The zappa - half hoe, half fork and easier than both
Long-handled shovels - so much kinder on your back
The ability to pay at the end in bars - so much more civilised

Informal credit in shops and bars when you haven't got change or cash on you
Italian coffee

Anyone else?

Sunshine... well most days!

... but the thing we miss most when in the UK is the fresh, quality produce, both grown and that in the shops. Nothing compares with Italian produce. We came back the end of Feb and have since been buying most of our fresh produce as we were away so long this winter we grew little. The quality and cheapness of the fresh stuff was superb to come back to.... Don't know where they get tomatoes (Sicily?) that time of year but the datterini we have had have been amazing - one to watch as we've seen them sold as plants in a few places this season...

Wine....... top notch Merlot/Sangiovese from the 'petrol pump' @ €1.40/Ltr.

I would miss the views, the people, the fresh veg as Steve says and of course my afternoon nap (not possible / acceptable in the UK) !

Frozen ready chopped veg for soffritto- took me ages to do it the last time I was in England :-)

Ah Ha HelenMW, good news is apparently Waitrose on-line sell it !

Olive oil. I use it for absolutely every cooking purpose in my kitchen in England. The only olive oil I find better than Italian, is from N Cyprus, but that is probably because it comes home pressed. I don't know where to find the equivalent home pressed stuff locally in Italy.

the magical display of fireflies.

It's got to be coffee!! good coffee available everywhere!!  closely followed by bread!

JulianaAlice wrote:Olive oil. I don't know where to find the equivalent home pressed stuff locally in Italy.

Does anyone know where to go to buy the fresh, green, home pressed olive oil? The stuff farmers like to keep for their own consumption.

You need to buy it direct from a farmer or local market where they often sell it. Do you really mean pressed at home? That is pretty rare and tends to be the bigger producers that do this as it is expensive to buy a mill and have all the necessary certificates etc to then sell it. The only advantage to having your own mill ( assuming you have a decent one nearby) is how quickly you can press. Otherwise it really doesn't make any difference to the quality.
Also the green colour is the chlorophyll and is at it's greenest when first pressed. The colour fades (how much depends on the variety of olive and how it is stored) as the chlorophyll level lowers. It doesn't affect the good properties of the oil. In fact at tasting panels they taste the oil in blue cups so that the colour doesn't influence them as it is irrelevant to the quality. Personally I too like it best when it's just pressed.

Admin wrote:You need to buy it direct from a farmer or local market where they often sell it.

Yes, well I have not seen it in a local market. Only bottled, labeled, stuff that they are marketing. I want it straight from the press, but I don't know any farmers. I was hoping someone knew of  place, perhaps on theLigurua/Tuscany border.

But we put our just pressed oil in bottles too so that doesn't mean anything. You can usually buy direct from your local mill too as they often buy olives from farmers and press and sell it themselves. We're the other end of Liguria but will happily sell you some after this year's harvest. We had no olives last year so have no oil at the moment.

There are loads of Mills around JulianaAlice just ask around. During pressing time (Nov Dec Jan) depending on Harvest you can just rock up with your 5 gallon jars and buy some fresh pressed there and then. We go to our local press in Ponte a Moriano and depending on the quality is the price you pay.

Flip wrote:There are loads of Mills around

Well that's exactly what I want, to turn up with my own bottles. Trouble is, I have never seen a mill. Plenty of advertisements around for wine, but not olive oil. I want the rich green fruity oil, full of flavour. Perhaps to you residential people who have your own trees, it seems an every day thing to have your olive oil stocks. However, for me, turning up for a few weeks, it is Conrad, the local market or posh tourist shops. Even at farmers' markets, I have not seen what I want. I could ask the neighbours

That is really interesting, about the colour fading with time but not affecting the quality. The oil I like from Cyprus has been pressed in the village and brought straight home to England as a gift. I'd love to get hold of the Italian equivalent - I'll definitely ask the Italian neighbours, and make sure I am around at the right time of the year. Thanks for the info - I'll start researching. It was the heading of this topic that got me thinking .....

JulianaAlice wrote:That is really interesting, about the colour fading with time but not affecting the quality. The oil I like from Cyprus has been pressed in the village and brought straight home to England as a gift. I'd love to get hold of the Italian equivalent - I'll definitely ask the Italian neighbours, and make sure I am around at the right time of the year. Thanks for the info - I'll start researching. It was the heading of this topic that got me thinking .....

Amazing, I've just realised what is being discussed here at what seems to be crossed purpose ... Well I think...? Is this not just "normal" olive oil production that's seen everywhere in Italy? The olives are hauled off to the frantoio, processed and you come back with your oil...   Could it be this is not the case in all areas... JA, look up "frantoio" [url=http://www.paginegialle.it/ricerca/frantoio /Pescara %28PE%29]on HERE[/url] for your area, I'm sure you will find the very oil you describe that you get from Cyprus (only better ).

Away from olive oil.  I couldn't do without Italian football teams steadfastly retaining their 'English' names.  AC Milan, Genoa, Inter Milan.

Imagine if British teams did the reverse.  Piscina Fegato!  Palazzo di Cristallo!  Prosciutto da Ovest!  Cigno Mare!  Nuovo Castello!

I expect you can buy them in specialist places in the UK - but my Italian steam iron, where the water gets boiled up in a separate container, attached to the 'iron' bit with a big tube, is a wonderful thing. They are on sale everywhere here, at a huge range of prices, but I never once saw one in England.

Another useful universal Italian 'thing' is the drying rack, especially the ones which you can hang over a window sill. (Very Neapolitan, probably banned in Tunbridge Wells!) However, my (John Lewis import) rotary clothes line is much envied by my neighbours - these do not seem to have caught on in Italy. I think that's peculiar, and I've thought about designing a rather special one which could double as a sun umbrella - I'm sure that would sell well!

I bought a rotary one here but confused the sales person as I didn't want the stand (?) which I assume is for your terrace..

The Original Relaxed wrote:I expect you can buy them in specialist places in the UK - but my Italian steam iron, where the water gets boiled up in a separate container, attached to the 'iron' bit with a big tube, is a wonderful thing. They are on sale everywhere here, at a huge range of prices, but I never once saw one in England.Another useful universal Italian 'thing' is the drying rack, especially the ones which you can hang over a window sill. (Very Neapolitan, probably banned in Tunbridge Wells!) However, my (John Lewis import) rotary clothes line is much envied by my neighbours - these do not seem to have caught on in Italy. I think that's peculiar, and I've thought about designing a rather special one which could double as a sun umbrella - I'm sure that would sell well!

Superb idea, go for it!

The Italian art of not knowing what a queue is.

la alma wrote:the magical display of fireflies.

We've has many a spectacular display in the past but nothing quite as dazzling as tonight's.

ghiro wrote:

la alma wrote:the magical display of fireflies.

We've has many a spectacular display in the past but nothing quite as dazzling as tonight's.

Are you sure that it is fireflies   Looks like some thunder and lightening over on the east coast..... Track them here