A Lesson on Produce

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One of the (obvious) things we loved about living in Florence was the fresh produce.  In the mercati, Centrale e Sant'Ambrogio, there are vendors upon vendors selling in-season produce.  Some only sell leafy greens, others only fruit, and still others the whole kit 'n' caboodle.  There are also green grocers sporadically located throughout the city, and many locals have "their" guy.  I am sure there are pros and cons to hitting the market vs. the green grocers, but we'll leave that for another post, shall we?

NON TOCARE!
Before you go produce shopping, mind the signs reading "Non Tocare", DO NOT TOUCH! The grocer will pick out the produce for you, and will be offended if you start putting your dirty hands all over their product (I don't mean to be judgmental.  Let's face it: unless you literally just scrubbed you hands on premises your hands are dirty, capisce?) They are the "experts", and will pick out the best of what is left.  They want you to come back so they aren't going to give you bruised apples! If you feel really strongly about getting a different pick, very politely say per favore and point the one you would like. 

Shopping In-Season
You will rarely find something out of season, aside from tropical items like bananas, though I remember not being able to get those too.  I would imagine about this time of year on Florence, the apples are getting fewer and the first plums, peaches and apricots are popping up.  Soon the grapes will appear, and the figs, and the tomatoes.  Mamma mia, the tomatoes!

Anyway, where was I? Right, so the year in produce is like a story, a lesson itself.  No spinach? ah yes it is too cold now, but it will come back again in the spring.  You learn why things are not available, and when you can expect them again.  I would get so excited knowing that I may arrive to find the grocer shelling cannellini into a bowl for the first time in many months.


Another advantage to having only seasonal produce available is that you are forced to try new things. One of the things we discovered was tromboncino.  This pale green summer squash can grow up to 3 feet long, and the flavor reminded me of artichoke hearts.  What I loved about this vegetable wasn't so much consuming it, although that is definitely a close second, but the way it was sold.  Just like with melons or other larger produce, you could buy just a piece.  You can ask for un mezzo kilo, one half a kilogram or about 1 pound, or whatever amount you like.  The grocer, who always has a knife for keeping his/her produce tidy, lops off about the amount requested.  Sort of like getting the milk without having to buy a whole cow. Of course, there are many other things to try, and more than we were able to in one year. 


Not All Produce is the Same
Some text you may notice while produce shopping is artigianale, which means homemade or homegrown.  This means that the grocer is selling produce that he/she has grown themselves, or that they bought it from someone locally, as opposed to buying wholesale.  Some grocers will exclusively sell artigianale and some will just have a few selections.  This of course must lend itself to having very few out of season selections.

At one point I began shopping at one particular vendor whose produce seems much less expensive than the rest.  The quality wasn't very good, and I think she may have been selling over-ripe produce.  But did I stop going to her? Sort of.  I would buy arm-fulls of bananas to make banana bread, and bags of mealy apples to make applesauce, and only for a few Euro.

So the point being, use the differences wisely! Shop cheap for things that are good over-ripe, and only buy artigianale tomatoes if you are making a tomato based sauce, for example.  Use your noggin.

ABOVE ALL, enjoy it!  
Most of my memories of being in Italy center so much around food.  And that is because so much of what we did was about food.  The Greve Chianti Festival, large meals prepared at home with friends, discovering new restaurants with new friends, getting to know our grocer/butcher/delicatessen, coffee with fellow expat bloggers, passing vegetable garden after garden on the train, a glass of wine and a book on a beautiful day. The colors, the smells, the flavors, combined with the setting....woah baby.  EAT UP!

Thanks to Kake for letting me use her pics, as always! xoxox