For those who love to cook... what did you buy?
 

For those who love to cook, what spices or other special cooking related gadgets did you bring back from Europe?

ohhhhhh....we brought back dried porcinis, sun dried tomatoes, an amazing chunk of parmesean and honey from italy.

Herbes de Provence & Fleur de Sel.

Stu Dudley

Olive oils, tapenades, fleur de sel, mustards, vinegars, cornichons, bottled pasta sauces, sausages and cured meats, jams and jellies, chocolates, macarons, nougat, cheese, pasta....god, I can't even remember.

I've also brought back antique French coffee grinders, mortars and pestles, a messaluna, pizza cutter, cheese knives, napkin holders, and again god I can't even remember.

Italy-Tuna in olive oil along with coffee;blanched almonds;mini bottles of olive oil with basil;wine;balsamic vinegar;cheese;chocolate truffles.
France-Herbes de Provence and other cheaper spices;chocolate crepes that you can reheat in microwave;canned pates and calamari;wine;cheese.Any type of cooking gear can be found there.
Germany-chocolates;wine;stainless knives;great toiletries from the DM drug store.
England-tea(cozy);smoked salmon;cookies;toast holder for breakfast.
Holland-cheese and more cheese.

Mustard, horseradish, chocolate from Germany. Oh yeah, and we developed a little addiction to Hanuta (sp?) cookies.

It's been a while but paprika from Hungary, Saffaron from Spain.

almost forgot.....really good olive oil and aged balsamic vinegar!

that should have been mezzaluna....

When I was 21 and biking through Europe with a young man (now DH of 25 years) I bought a set of copper pots in Paris and strapped them to the back of my bike.

I also bought an entire set of large glass canisters telling him "very rare" and stuffed them in my paniers and inside my sleeping bag stuff sack. It's been 26 years and he points them out every time we see them at an ordinary store saying they're "very rare." LOL

I bring back linens, shopping bags, and last year in Italy, black truffles, a huge hunk of parmesan, knives, a pie dish and on and on. It's what I buy when I travel.

Hello cooking experts,
StuDudley, I bought a pound of salt from France from a health food store, it is almost six times the price of regular table salt, but the sea salt does make a difference, somehow the salt brings out the flavor of the food. How was you Herbes de Provence compared to a regular herb mix?

StCirq, are the tapenades tasty?
How do you pack your bottles of oils and vinegar in your luggage?

Did any one of you buy any truffles? I wondered if they sell dried ones in Italy? This fungi I heard is s a delicacy in Italy.

Hello randola, how do you use your porcinis? Are they similar like the dried shiitake mushroom where you use in soups and dishes?

Some of you mentioned bringing home parmesean, is there any big difference when compared to our Kraft parmesean?

Hello Rosetravel, you mentioned black truffles, where did you buy it from?

I will visit Rome, Florence, Venice and Paris in May. I want to buy something exquisite that will excite the tastebuds at home!

Australia's quarrantine laws mean that we can't bring much food back so all I brought from Italy was

Aceto Balsamico tradizionale di Modena - 12 years old.

"Some of you mentioned bringing home parmesean, is there any big difference when compared to our Kraft parmesean?"


I don't want to be dramatic but the answer is:

"OMG YES!

I am not sorry I carried 10 plus pounds of parmesan cheese.

I always bring back parmesan cheese, dried porcini, pasta, herbes de provence and clotted cream.

for the porcinis we just soak them and use them ....very easy.

as to the parm......absolutely nothing like kraft!!! sweet, creamy, delicious. makes the stuff here taste like cardboard! brought back a couple of pounds and jonsing for more now!

Truffles! truffles! can anyone write something about this fungi that Italy is so renowned for? I would like to buy some if I can.

Hello cafegoddess, ten pound of parmesan is a lot of cheese to bring back, but like Randola said, 'absolutely nothing like kraft!!! sweet, creamy, delicious. makes the stuff here taste like cardboard!'
I guess it is worth the effort. Maybe once when I tasted it I will buy ten pounds too!

I am so used to the cardboard taste sprinkled on my sphagetti that I cannot imagine how my tastebuds will react to the sweetness, creaminess, and delicious parm!

Hi GoPlanB,
We saw lots and lots of jars of truffles in Italy. This last trip, in Rome, there were a number of food stores with big displays. I bought mine at a street market near the Vatican.

The parmasan we bought was just at the nearby grocery store and it was on sale (really inexpensive) and we bought 3 giant chunks. 1 for us, 1 for our daughter, 1 for my sister-in-law. It was dreamy.

At home I always buy chunks of imported parmesan but there's just no comparison to the stuff we imported in our suitcases.

And as for the Kraft...you'll never touch that again!

In 1989 I took a trip to Normandy France with my then-husband. We had read about a little town named Ville de Poele (the town of the copper pots), where, as the name implies, most of the copper pots imported to America were made. And more than that, we discovered they had an outlet store! We purchased an entire set of copper pots and actually lugged them by hand back to the States! The cost was more than half of what it would have been to buy them at William Sonoma, and the town was charming, and we had something to split when we got divored! (I got the good stuff) ;->

I was reading this and almost sobbing until I got to Aussiefive. I am also from Australia and we are very limited. How amazing to be able to bring back all those fabulous things.Last time when we came home a smart alec at customs tried to challenge me re some boiled lollies I had bought at Harrods duty free!! I was so tired/jetlagged I could have screamed. She let me through, she was just trying to be funny.

In addition to all of the great suggestions above, the one thing I always get back is Truffle Oil - basically truffled flavoured extra virgin olive oil. Lasts a long time and a few drops on a basic pasta dish before serving or grilled vegies or anything baked just completely lifts it!

How do you guys manage to carry so much stuff home with the airline luggage restrictions!!! I only ever manage 1 bottle of olive oil.

Well, living in Europe, most of the things listed I can get in my local supermarket, deli or cookshop. What I do bring home from Spain (or actually the Canary Islands) is roasted paprika powder and Mojo. I love Mojo!
I also brought home some Laguiole en Aubrac knives from the Auvergne in France a few years back as they were considerably cheaper there than here.
From the US I bring back maple syrup if I'm in the right area for it, so I wouldn't bring it back from Ca for instance.
What I get asked to take to people I am visiting includes stroopwafels, drop (licorice) and borrelnootjes (coated nuts). I also tend to take cheese from our local cheese farm - things like stinging nettle cheese are always popular, and, in the season, asparagus from our local asparagus farm.

On the non cookery front I bring Levis back for my sons, embroidery stuff for me, and if I can photography stuff too - like a nice new lens. All are much cheaper in the US. But don't tell the customs in Holland that I do this - officially I am only allowed to bring back €125 worth of goodies withour having to pay taxes on them.

From London, a year's worth of loose-leaf tea & Stilton, Maldon sea salt & don't get me started on Divertimenti. Love that shop but luckily the weak dollar is keeping me in check.

When Scarlett visits the US for a wedding party I suspect it will be Skippy (the Creamy variety of course). Me? Paprika and Fleur de Sel. I used to bring back wine, cheese etc. but found that I could buy those here more cheaply. I still drool over the Truffled Salsa in Montelchino that got left in the motel fridge!

Randola,
Did the same thing. Went to the market in Florence and got Dried Porcinis, Sun dried tomatoes and Cheese. The lady who sold us the Tomatoes and mushrooms also vacuum packed the cheese for us. We also brought back tons of wine and Fleur de sel and of course olive oil.

Hi G,

I buy saffron, dried cepes or porcini, olive oil.

I got a very nice corkscrew and a Japanese Mandolin on our last visit.

((I))

Is there a specific and breakproof way to pack your olive oils in your luggage? Because once when the bottle breaks, it will leak all over your luggage.

Hello DeepaSingapore, truffle olive oil seemed to be a great idea especially when a few drops will do the trick.

I brought back two tubes of paprika paste from Budapest and now wish I had brought a case of the stuff. I also brought back a nice salami sealed in plastic, but customs took that for themselves. I hope the little bag-sniffing beagles enjoyed it.

Hi, GoPlanB:

I bring back the bottled stuff inside socks in my suitcase.

I've brought back truffles from the Perigord on occasion, but mostly my neighbor there gives me a couple and we eat them while there. The ones I bring back are in small jars with "juice" and I pack them in socks, too.

I also always buy saffron and dried mushrooms.

From Paris, I brought back mustards, tapenade, truffle oil, and an oil cruet in Provencal pottery that I use daily...love it!

From Italy, I bring back double concentrated tomato paste in tubes, Fiesta orange/chocolate cakes, tuna in olive oil (yes, the tuna IS different!), olive oil with basil, spices from the guy in Campo de' Fiori (the selection is amazing), Parmigiano Regianno cheese (not even from the same planet as Kraft...), Pecorino cheese (love both the Tuscan and Romano varieties, not to mention Pecorino dei Basilischi, very expensive and worth every penny), and of course, Limoncello. I got a really cool set of salad fork & spoon that hangs on the side of your bowl instead of sliding down into the salad at a D Cube, a little shop near Piazza Fico in Rome.

To pack the bottles, wrap in bubble wrap, put in large zip-loc bag, wrap clothes around it. I've never had any break.

Hi G,

>Some of you mentioned bringing home parmesean, is there any big difference when compared to our Kraft parmesean?

It is Parmigiano Reggiano.

It is not related in any way to Kraft parmesan.

DNA tests show that they it is of a different genus entirely.

>how do you use your porcinis?
Like any other dried mushrooms. They have a very strong flavor.

>truffles! can anyone write something about this fungi that Italy is so renowned for?

It is a fungUS. (two fungi).
Italy is known for its white truffles. France for the black.

Use very, very sparingly. Very strong

You can buy Parmigiano Reggiano by the kilo. Most stores will vacuum pack it for you.

Also look for real Tuscan olive oil. Don't settle for "product of Italy", it can come from anywhere. Make sure it says Tuscany.

In Paris, look for spicy olive oil.

Everyone selling olive oil should let you taste.

((I))

From someone who flys to Europe everyweek and does her grocery shopping there for the "goodies"-just be careful on some of the stuff you bring back in regards to agriculture in the US.
Clotted cream-is usually taken by the ag agents.All cheese must be HARD or it will be taken as sausages or hams that have been cured(see alot of those from Italy and Germany taken away).
Go to the US govt. website on customs and agriculture to check for particulars so you don't lose your treasures.

Ira, if you are still on, what is the difference between Italy's white and Frances black truffles?
I will be going to Rome and Paris and I can buy both but it is nice to know something beforehand.

I also wondered if they sell truffle powder? [I can buy more and easier to carry in this case!!]

In France, I buy fleur de sel, olive oil, white wine vingar, dried buillon powder and dried porcini.

In Italy, parmesan, oil and vinegar. (the person who asked about Kraft, needs to go and was their mouth out- meptaphorically speaking).

In Greece dried herbs and olive oil. On one of his trips my husband asked what he should bring from Dubai (he was getting good by this stage) and the whole dinner table, to a man, shouted "Gold!! (and he did, too.)

I once got a fresh white truffle in a deli in London. Never before and never since. Preserved truffles are easy to find, but fresh? fuggedaboutit.

Gadgets? There's not much one can't get at home.

Once, on holiday in the Dordogne, my pals went off to Limoges and brought me back a late birthday pressie which was just the right shape for the Mandolin I'd been lusting after. And it was..... a truffle slicer.

Foie gras.

My plan for my upcoming trip? I'm seeking a cruet like SusanP found. I'm buying truffles. Cute bags for groceries from the little shop on the Rue de Rivoli.

And now that Air France flies non-stop, I'll go the bakery early, buy some pastries for my son, carry them on in one of my new cute grocery bags and he'll have them for his afterschool snack the same day.

On our last trip to France I bought back another beautiful tablecloth, a couple of everyday type dishtowels and some sponges.

I have bought back many beautiful things over the years but I really enjoy something that I see and touch everyday...it just brings back France to me.
loveyblue

Great topic!

Last time I went over was my first time in Paris (ahhh, Paris!). I discovered Dehillerin (sp?). Oh holy cow...one of the coolest shops ever, and it's all cooking utensils -- floor to ceiling. I was on a budget (as always), so I got one heavy copper saucepan for my cousin -- a budding gourmet chef. She loves it. I'd love to go back when I can buy more stuff!

As for food, I really need to read up on food rules in Customs. I desperately wanted to bring goodies back (something more adventuresome than the usual chocolates), but I had no idea what I could get away with coming back into the US. Darn...there's always next time, I guess!

I brought back a paella pan from Spain. I was originally there in high school and college, and it seemed like any women over about 25 looked at us like we were evil. So, when I went back in '94, I was thrilled to find myself in a hardware store sort of place, chatting with a woman around my age (40ish) about which was the best sort of paella pan to buy. It was a great experience, and I do make a mean paella in that pan. Oh, and I also got a churro maker which is pretty much like a cookie press but Spanish!