ira

Hi Mamma,

>From our last trip to Italy we brought back Salami,...<

You were lucky.

Barb

Mama, they didn't say anything about the salami? Wow, that's interesting. As to why not buy cheese here instead. All you have to do is taste the cheese there, the wonderful flavor, texture and the aroma are just over the top. Everytime I open a packet of cheese that I bring home, the aroma fills my kitchen and lasts for hours. You just don't get that from the pecorino from Safeway, or even from the speciality stores. It's just not the same. It is absolutely worth the effort to bring it home.

flanneruk

It's fascinating to see people from a country that proclaimsc its commitment to free trade believing they're being patriotic by supporting inefficient or incompetent producers.

If your (or my) country's farmers and agribusinesses can't make food up to the standard of the world's best, they deserve to go out of business. That's not insensitivity: I thought it was the American way.

It most certainly is the British way. Why are so many self-styled American patriots so shaky on one of America's fundamental principles?

logos999

>single American food item of the same type and quality

All this makes me soooo hungry. I don't think American food items of the same quality even exist? I have got my selection of 250+ types of cheese at my local store. I would surely die, if I were forced to live in the United States!

TexasAggie

logos,

You did not read/interpret my remark properly. I suggest you re-read my post carefully and hopefully the point should be more clear. One can't really limit oneself to buying in just one country if you really do want the best and most unique!

I brought up the suggestion that even IF it is your desire to solely buy products produced in your country of residence, it simply isn't always possible (or at the very least you cannot get the same quality of the item).

Personally I happen to agree that many European food products are of very superior quality to what I can find in a grocery store here, or my grocery store simply doesn't carry the very unique varieties of food items (such as cheese) that I can find in Europe. Hence I happily truck home as many edibles as I can from each trip.

At the same time and as an example, I've yet to find the quality of pecan nuts anywhere in Europe that I can find in the southern states in the United States.

Barb

You go girl!! Likewise, you will never find Dunganess crab in Italy like I have right here in the Bay, or you won't find good cheddar cheese in Italy like we have in this country -- but we don't have truffles, or fresh porcini mushrooms. So why not bring some of these wonderful things home. Gee flanneruk, maybe you should go eat some good cheese and chill out.

logos999

Peacan nuts aren't my problem at all, I want cheese, sausages, bread! (baguettes, white, dark rye) croissants, pasta, lasagne, wine, beer, coffee, tea, jam, jambon, moutarde, cake, FOOD...
People need tose things to stay alive...

And what do I get, MC D, Burger.., Kentucky ...

FainaAgain

Barb, fresh porcini mushrooms were $26/lb last time I saw them at San Francisco market (Embarcadero). Don't know if the taste is similar. Don't even dare to suggest "the same"

logos999

Barb,
tell me where I need to go. I'd love to try, but it seems those places don't exist in the U.S??? Only a few expensive and low! quality places in the big cities???

Barb

logos, I'm not sure I understand your question. Where to go here in the US, or in Italy? I have managed to find a really good Italian deli and market in Vancouver, but I'm still stuck with the dilemma of bringing meat or animal products into the US. But I am able to buy canned San Marzano tomatoes up there and some good imported pastas and olive oil and vino. But I have to say, even their imported cheeses are just not the same as the ones I bring home from Italy. Not sure why that is.

FainaAgain: $26 lb, ouch. It would be awful to pay that much and then have them not be great. I bring home the dried ones and they are ok, but nothing compares to the fresh ones in the fall - especially good at Osteria Le Logge in Siena. My mouth is watering just thinking about that heaping plate of freshly sauted porcini.

logos999

US. I am looking for places to have dinner without spending a fortune and where they sell local, but good quality cheese, bread etc. In Canada, if you know where to go, this isn't a problem, even in rather remote towns. In the US i.e. you have a big choice in different varieties of bread. They look different but they all taste the same.

DRJ

I brought back some salami from Italy several years ago and declared it without knowing that it was verboten. The DofA agent in Atlanta dug through my bag and confiscated it. When I asked him if he would eat it later he took me into a roughly 10 x 10' room that contained only one huge grinder and ground my salami to bits. Neat.

Putty_tat007

Just isn't worth it see below.

Failure to declare food products can result in up to $10,000 in fines and penalties.

Permitted,
-Cheese- Solid cheese (hard or semi-soft, that does not contain meat); butter, butter oil, and cultured milk products such as yogurt and sour cream are not restricted. Feta cheese, Brie, Camembert, cheese in brine, Mozzarella and Buffalo Mozzarella are permissible (USDA Animal Product Manual, Table 3-14-6). Cheese in liquid (such as cottage cheese or ricotta cheese) and cheese that pours like heavy cream are not admissible from countries affected by foot-and-mouth disease (FMD). Cheese containing meat is not admissible depending on the country of origin.

See below for other foods you can travel with and not go to jail or pay $10,000.
FOUND AT, https://help.cbp.gov/app/answers/det...r-personal-use

adrienne

Putty - this thread is from 2005.