ekscrunchy

There are lots of posts on this topic about France and Italy but I would like to start one on Spain. In May I will spend a week in Toledo, Caceres, Segovia and Pedraza. Things I always bring home from Spain include shoes, Magno black soap, cans of tuna and other seafoods, roasted piquillo peppers, canned asparagus, saffron, olive oil, sherry vinegar (these are all available here in NYC but I always carry them home anyway as I love supermarket shopping in other countries), acorn-fed Iberico ham in vacuum packs and once, absinthe (but it was a cheap bottle and not good quality).
I would love to hear about other items, including beauty products. Thanks!

blackduff

Here's a few items:
Manchego cheese is great. Either in a round or maybe buy the one which is kept in olive oil. The olive oil Manchego is decandent but soo good.

Do you have any parents which you really don't like much. Get a set of Castenets (sp?)for their child-if they have more than one, buy a set for each child. They're cheap to buy and they'll kill the parents within ah hour. The kids love them.

Sea Salt from the salinas in the Cadiz region. I have to make trips across the border just for buying this product. It's special when you use the Jerez sherry and oil. Yummmm!

Blackduff

laclaire

Food and drink: Manchego cheese, cordobesa and aragonesa olives (the latter are like salty, black raisins), packet of coffee (I love Bonka, Saimaza is also good), crema catalana (liqueur), Rijoa wine, Sherry, saffron, valor chocolate to make hot chocolate, pulpo a la gallega.

Beauty: anything La Toja (my brother loves the shaving soap), Lactovit soap lasts for ever and smells great (they also make deodorant), Lancaster deodorant cream, Menuco baby cologne (it is the baby scent of Spain. . . like Johnson's).

I can't think of anything seasonal that you will want to take back. I shy away from taking oil because it is so readily available in the US, however if you get the chance to purchase the artesano stuff, do it! buy a full round of cheese and cut it up at home.

When I was in Segovia there was a store called Coscoja (on the street between the cathedral and Alcazar) where I bought a plaster cast clock of those that appear in Dali's "The Persistence of Memory." That is still my favorite purchase ever.

MichelleY

These are great ideas! We are going to Catalunya and the Basque region in June to visit family. Last time we went, I brought home a poron' (like a glass bota bag). This time I will buy more as gifts.

my

ekscrunchy

Yes, thank you both. I will investigate more of the La Toja products; the black soap is fabulous aand not expensive in Spain. Supermarkets are a fabulous place for gifts in Spain....so much delectable stuff that is hard to find in the US. That salt sounds terrific! And Crema Catalana liqueur? If it is anything like the dessert of that name I may have to get some serious help after I bring that home with me!!!

laclaire

Crema Catalana liqueur tastes just like the dessert, only you get buzzed! What could be better?

ekscrunchy

Nada! WOW! Is this a Catalan liqueur or is to be found all over Spain? And what about absinthe? I did buy a bottle in Barcelona a few years ago and it was pretty bad. But I went for the cheapest bottle I could find, in a store on the Ramblas. Since reading a NewYorker magazine article on this stuff last week I am keen to bring another bottle home, more for curiousity's sake than as a real drink.

NEDSIRELAND

Turrones (for Christmas treats) and Mazapan (AKA Marzipan) - the latter delicacy is Almond paste-based, often packaged & sold as little figurines.

Myrurgia (Sp?) la Maja soaps, powders, perfumes, etc. seem to go over well in the U.S.

caroline_edinburgh

What is this black soap ? (Off to Madrid myself on Friday.)

hanl

I always fill my bags with goodies whenever I go to Spain.

- Alvarez Gomez Agua de Colonia Concentrada, which is the most beautiful citrus scented eau de cologne (one of my favourite scents in the whole world).

- Vacuum packed lomo curado because I like it better than chorizo.

- Tortas de aceite - flat flaky-sugary biscuits with sesame seeds

- Saffron - because the Spanish stuff tastes best

- A bottle of Manzanilla to sip at aperitif time when I get home (accompanied by some nice Spanish green olives).

- Cheapo ceramic tiles

- local recipe books

- As many flamenco CDs as I can afford/fit in my bag as the choice is so much better and they're so much cheaper in Spain.

- stuff for flamenco dancing (shawls, fans, shoes, skirts, depending on what I need/feel like buying/can afford!)

cova

Hi Caroline,

Magno is the soap manufactured at La Toja Spa in the coast of Pontevedra. Quite traditional, but nice.
http://tinyurl.com/eb5ca

You wonŽt be heading to Madrid for "La Boheme", by any chance? I have a full weekend, beginning on Friday with the opera and then birthdays and the Thyssen exhibition, but if you need anything, drop me a line at [email protected]

Bye, Cova

lincasanova

careful taking that ham/cured pork or meat products into the U.S.
it is illegal even when vacuum packed.

we always take
-choclate trufas
-long life whipping cream
-marcona almonds
-pine nuts
-wine
-gel magno
-cebrian spot remover
-good tablecloths on sale at corte inglés

caroline_edinburgh

Hi Cova & thanks very much for the info. Sadly we're not going to the opera this time as we're going with 2 other couples to celebrate a friend's birthday.

V. excited though as we've just booked to see the Kirov's 'Ring' in Cardiff next winter ! And we have 'Otello' in Naples to look forward to in May.

Have a great weekend yourself - maybe we will pass each other without knowing it !

Best regards, Caroline

ekscrunchy

Lincas: What is Gel Magno..a bath gel from the same company that makes the soap? And Cebrian spot remover...it must be good if you are taking it back home with you. Thanks to everyone...making my mouth water as I type!

lincasanova

yes, my family likes the smell of magno GEL, same company as soap.
also, the spray spot remover is great.
i live here in spain, but take these things to family there.

cova

Here you have a pic of the spot remover, Cebralin :

http://tinyurl.com/j8c76

Caroline, weather is being really good right now, sunny and fresh. And the shops will be open on Sunday, in case you want to bring some goodies back to Scotland. I doubt IŽll have the strenght to do any shopping, though. It is going to be a long weekend ...

Bye, Cova

laclaire

ekscrunchy- Crema catalana is all over the place. the best brand is melody.

As for absinthe. . . I read the same article and have had trouble finding really good stuff. There is a place called la marsellesa (in the Raval) that serves it, but it is not good.

My host mother served us some one night, straining the sugar and everything. She had purchased it in France specifically because it is almost impossible to find the real and good stuff in Spain.

hanl- if you are looking for a great seamstress who does excellent bata de cola dresses, I can hook you up. She did mine and it looks awesome!

viaggio_sempre

ttt - I'm not going to Spain but I like this thread too.

Should we look for Spanish saffron in Northern Italy?

Manchego is my favorite cheese. Do you think I could get some at Peck's? It is about $13.00 a pound where I live.

VS

viaggio_sempre

NOT in jest, serious questions!

VS

ps, I expect that I will find out when we get there, but it is fun to get an idea ahead of time.

ekscrunchy

Thanks Cova and Lincas and, as always, Claire, for all the great tips!