Italy - grocery questions
 

Hi all,

Departing tomorrow for a few weeks in Italy with our 1 yr old (and 3 yr old) in tow. I've looked online for proper translations but came up with differing results on a few items. How would I request the following in supermarkets (or what terms on the label should I look for)?

Whole milk (not low-fat)
Whole milk yogurt (not low-fat)
Mild cheese (dolce formaggio per bambino?)

Many Thanks!
Best,
TA

Latte intero - Yogurt intero

Latte (or yougurt) intero is the full fat milk.
Latte parzialmente scremato is half fat milk.
Latte magro o scremato is low fat.

I guess you are looking for a formaggino - the soft and mild processed cheese easy to spread or to melt in a soup. - Philadelphia cheese can be found everywhere and should be similar to the US variety. - If you do not want processed cheeses, you can try ricotta or robiola, that are very creamy and mild cheeses.

Be aware that many supermarkets are much smaller than in the US, though not all, and even the largest may not be open on Sunday and/ or one afternoon a week so you have to plan ahead.

Smaller groceries may close in the middle of the day on the other weekdays and reopen late in the afternoon. We have also found very few places outside cities where you can get food in any variety outside normal meal hours.

You may already know tis, but we had to learn it the hard way.

Stracciola is a good soft cheese for children. There are also many local cheeses, depending on where you're going. If you see something at the cheese counter, ask to taste it.

Many Italians use super-pasteurized (shelf) milk, so you may not find a wide choice of fresh milk, especially in smaller groceries. Probably the most common type is parzialmente scremato, which has about 2% butterfat. Small groceries may not sell intero milk, or only in small containers, because people tend to use it for cooking. Scremato is skim milk; in the US, low-fat is usually 1%, but scremato will typically have only about 0.1%.

Fresh milk is sometimes sold in small bakeries or butcher shops, so don't forget to look there if you don't see it in a small grocery shop.

Were it me, I would only give small children pasteurized cheese when traveling. Others feel differently, but for a short vacation I wouldn't risk it. If you like to sample new cheeses from a vendor, you can inquire: "Pastorizzato?"