ekscrunchy,

I haven´t seen my catalan friends dipping ham in olive oil, they would probably think of it as a sacrilege ... Pouring some olive oil on bread to spread tomato and then eat it with ham ... yes ... but not dipping ham in oil ( I have seen some americans in Barcelona and here in Madrid asking for a bowl to put olive oil and dip bread in it, and I have found it strange ). Mind you, there is a cured meat, cecina ( think it used to be horse, but now it is mostly dried beef ) that it is served cut very thinly and then you pour a bit of oil on it, and tastes great.

BTW, if you want to buy pimentón de la Vera in any of its flavours ( sweet, sweet-hot and hot ), you can do it at one of the small shops in the Mercado de San Miguel, the one with the pasta fresca and truffles near the oyster bar. The price is pretty decent for such an upmarket place, and they carry a label with D.O., and that´s important ...

Bye, Cova

Thanks, Cova! I thought it sounded kind of crazy to dip the Iberico in oil. The whole idea of asking for oil for bread-dipping maybe have started here in the US when people somehow got the misguided idea that that was done in Italy. So now you will hear people, especially in Italian restaurants, asking for a bowl of oil for their bread rather than eat the bread dry like in Italy. Some US Italian restaurants might even put the bowl of oil on the table along with the bread. So maybe that is why Americans might ask for this in Spain..(???) (In the US we usually have butter on the table for the bread which of course is not usual in much of Italy.)

Thanks for the tip on the Pimenton...it is one of my favorite spices and I plan to bring home a few tins of all three varieties! It is quite pricey here in the US. I brought some home from La Vera a few years ago and gave it as gifts to a few friends, too.

Oh I am telling again I am sorry not to have any more rose petal rosaries. As for gift baskets now that the holidays are coming, I too use the pimenton, perhaps some olives, safforn (if they are really good friends) and even some of those custey kitchen towels made for tourists. They make great additions to the gift baskets.

I will be in Costa Del Sol (Marriott) in last two weeks of December. Any stores nearby where I can find Saffron & Black Soap. Thanks.

Any supermarket or large food store will sell saffron. You might find the black soap in a department store.

This may have been mentioned, but this is a great sherry vinegar:

http://www.lustau.es/en/lustau_43.html#43

I'm too lazy to read all the posts again but I spose you should know that saffron in Spanish is "azafra'n".

Thanks to ekscrunchy & sobster, I was able to find the items I was looking for. It is pouring rain. Now, if only the weather would clear up.

Sen`or Rani2010-Specifically, what did you finally get and where did you find it. Gracias.

I was able to find azafra'n at the grocery store next to El Corte Ingles in Puerto Banus. Sorry, but forget the name but looks like that store & El Corte Ingles have the same parent company. I was also able to find black soap there. These were huge stores.

A little tip - Ive been trying to perfect paella cooking for well over 30 years now, and Rick Stein (UK fish Chef) suggested a teaspoon of smoked ground paprika per 4 portions and it definitely adds something special.

Yes! Smoked paprika, or pimenton, always finds its way home with me. We can buy it in the US now but it is much less pricey in Spain. I buy all three styles--sweet, hot, and bittersweet.


http://www.tienda.com/food/smoked_pa...FUdN4AodiAedoQ




Will I be able to find the "new" olive oils from the 2010 harvest in stores in early January? I will check the dates on the bottles, but just wonder if these oils are even available yet..

After reading that we cannot bring food back into the U.S., I'm wondering if anyone could point me to a list of items ... in case there are other things.

Of course you can bring food back to the US!

You are not supposed to bring meats from Spain. No fresh fruits, either.

Food vs. meat, fresh vegetables, fresh fruits.

The way USDA phrases the question is somewhat confusing. They do ask if we are carrying "food", which is usually yes. Then they ask question if they are meat, vegetables, or fresh fruits. They always said "fine" when I said what I was bring home were cookies, chocolates, mazapans, olive oil, wine, cheese, etc.

So "food" in itself is not an automatic no. What USDA is looking for is a sub-set of "food."

The big one is meat, since very few people are going to be bringing home fresh fruits or fresh vegetables in their luggage. For one thing, they would get pretty crushed. I do bring garlic home once in a while, as the garlic in Spain, from La Mancha, is excellent.

I'm not a USDA expert, but I'll bet garlic is on the no-no list. There are dogs at O'Hare that are trained to sniff out fruits and vegetables, which apparently is a huge problem for disease transmittal (to plants, not to human beings, I think). I once had an apple left over from my in-flight stash of fruit from a Madrid market, and a dog at O'Hare alerted the agent to the contraband in my backpack.

But all the things Greg refers to are fine, I think. This past summer I was surprised to learn that although dried beans are fine, rice is prohibited. Unfortunately, I always learn these lessons the hard way.

The garlic issue is confusing, to say the least; peeled cloves are allowed, but normal dried garlic, perhaps not unless certified:

http://ecfr.gpoaccess.gov/cgi/t/text...2.40.12&idno=7

bringing up for those bound for Spain

But this list certainly isn't for travelers, is it?

Linda do you mean not for travelers because they would have to travel with a burro to carry all these treats?