lincasanova

The U.S. import list ( garlic bulb and pineapple ) you posted.. Can we really take that into the states, or are those two things an IMPORTER does not need additional certificates for?

ekscrunchy

I'm not sure about the garlic, although it IS on my list.


Did I really mention pineapple? I know I had a great pineapple dessert in Barcelona, but they don't grow them in Spain, do they?

lincasanova

no they don't but it's on the list. maybe they do in the canaries. I just don't understand that list. that's all.

ekscrunchy

I'm so slow! I thought you meant that this THREAD was not for travelers!

lincasanova

hahaha!

ekscrunchy

Anyone else want to add some new items to the lists here?

amer_can

Cava/ any kind...Rosada..ie: Cresta Rosa, a lovely light rose wine and about 3.5 euros in Carrefours. Dried mushrooms, also Carrefours. Check out Zara Home..resonably priced unique gifts. Got a couple lovely shell soap dishes there in Salamanca in the Spring 2012.I know there are zara stores in No. America but I've never seen a Zara Home. Scarves are always good too.

ekscrunchy

Thanks.

You are correct: We do not have Zara Home stores here; Zara Home just launched a US website, but much better to see the goods in person!

http://www.zarahome.com/webapp/wcs/s...s/-15/80279977

italynovice

I know this is an old post, but found it very interesting due to an upcoming trip to Spain. Any recommendations for sampling/buying good olive oil in Barcelona and Madrid? I always like to bring home olive oil for personal use and gifts.

IMDonehere

If you can the olive oil Las Brisas, it is wonderful.

joannyc

I love the Fuenroble olive oil.

italynovice

Thanks for olive oil advice. Will look up both.

ekscrunchy

There is a wonderful olive oil shop in Madrid; I mentioned it in one of my trip reports, probably the one covering Madrid and Seville...you can look for it and I will try to link it here once I get back to my computer tomorrow.

italynovice

Thanks Escrunchy. Olive oil and smoked paprika are the top two items I would like to bring back. I brought some vacuum sealed iberico ham back several years ago, but it was too nerve wracking at customs to repeat that again.

Nelson

We tasted a lot of olive oil on our trip last fall, but wound up not bringing any back, which I now semi-regret. Although there are plenty of excellent Spanish olive oils on US shelves and websites these days, there are a some brands I'm unable to find, and wish I had brought back at least the bottles as a souvenir of sorts.

Anyway, in tasting oils we decided we preferred arbequina oils over picual, two varieties common in Jaen. You may decide the opposite of course.

We've bought this one a couple of times now, it's on shelves in our town:
http://www.amazon.com/Castillo-Canen.../dp/B00275H6JE

They also produce a picual and others. Have fun tasting and shopping for delicious oils!

ekscrunchy

As promised, this is the shop in Madrid that has a vast array of oils; closed for lunch, on Saturday afternoons, and in August.

http://www.pco.es/content.aspx?cod=3&sec=1&idsec=7


<We passed from Salamanca to the edge of trendy Chueca, and strolled south along Calle de Hortaleza to the corner of Calle Mejia Lequerza where a 19th Century building at #1 houses the Patrimonio Comunal Olivarero, a cozy shop where the shelves are lined of glass bottles and metal tins filled with more than a hundred prime examples of some of the finest Spanish oils from each of the olive-producing regions of the country from Extremadura to Andalucia. They take their oil very seriously here, so do not enter expecting a simple list of “the best,” any more than you could expect this at a wine shop.

http://www.pco.es/



The capable young man who waited on us more or less told us that it was futile for him to recommend one variety or another and that it depended on my own taste and that I really needed to buy a small amount of oil, use it at home, and then return with my comments and from there, we would proceed in a search to find the best oils for my table. Because I had not yet abandoned the idea of returning with carry-on luggage only (this would take another day or two), I ended up purchasing only a small a tin of Fuenroble from Jaen (7.30euro for a 250 ml tin) , which was recommended based on my taste for the Gata Hurdes oil that I often use in my kitchen at home. So my best advice is, if you want to buy here, bring along a list of olive oils that you have used before and enjoyed. >

IMDonehere

Thanks Eks, we will staying just a few blocks from the olive place in September.

galfanos

Hi I'm a high schooler that is just finishing a 5 month study abroad program in the south of spain. I've been spending the last couple days shopping all around for gifts for my friends and family back home and this is what ive come up with:

sister: pillow case in the same pattern as the bed spread our host family had in our room (she studied in the same house 2 years before me)

brother: a mug in spanish thats says "youre the best brother in the world, even though youre my only one"

mom: kitchen towels from corte ingles, very cheap and different

dad: still thinking....but he loves honey so i got some authentic ginger flavored honey. also thinking some wine, and olive oils

friends: spanish chocolates spanish chocolates spanish chocolates. they have received way too many snapchats of me splurging on candies so i thought i would bring them some of the tastes ive been experiencing. (milka chocolates specifically) also I purchased 5 fans which are really cool and cultural (very cheap too...1 euro each)

I'm also bringing home a bunch of maria cookies, and some cheap perfumes i found at corte ingles. For another friend, I'm bringing home some face masks and beauty products from PRIMOR that ive never been able to find at home