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Marche VoyagerEating in the Marche | Shopping for food

marche food

food notes

truffles

menu translator

Opening hours for most shops are generally from 8.30 am to 12.30 and from 5.00 until 7.30pm. Almost all close on Sunday - except cake and fresh pasta shops - and for half a day during the week depending on the town. There are, however, many out-of-town supermarkets outside larger places that are open all day.

The typical grocer's shop - alimentari - has most of the food on shelves for you to help yourself, except for the delicatessen counter for cheese, cold meats, etc., where you also need to ask for bread. When ordering from the delicatessen counter, most things are sold in units of etti (un'etto/due etti) one etto is 100 grams or slightly less than a quarter pound. For small quantities it is common to use a half etto (un mezz'etto).

A grocery wordlist:

    cheese - formaggio
    - pecorino nostrano (local ewe's milk cheese)
    - parmigiano (parmesan)
    - parmigiano gratuggiato (grated parmesan)
    - gorgonzola
    milk (full/semi-skimmed) - latte (intero/parzialmente scremato)
    fresh cream - panna fresca
    bread - pane (bought by the half kilo or kilo (mezzo kilo/un kilo)
    "parma" ham - prosciutto crudo
    cooked ham - prosciutto cotto
    olives - olive

Unless you use a supermercato, you will have to buy fruit and vegetables from a frutta e verdura shop. Stocks are strongly seasonal, out-of-season exotica has mercifully not yet caught on in the Marche.

A fruit & veg wordlist:

    apples - mele
    aubergines - melanzane
    bananas - banane
    broad beans - fave
    courgettes - zucchine
    cucumber - citriolo
    fennel - finocchio
    figs - fichi
    french beans - fagiolini
    garlic - aglio
    lemons - limoni
    lettuce - insalata
    melon - melone
    nectarines - pesche noce
    onions - cipolle
    oranges - arance
    peaches - pesche
    peas - piselli
    peppers - peperoni
    potatoes - patate
    rocket - rucola
    tomatoes - pomodori
    water melon - cocomero/anguria

Meat in the Marche, as in the rest of Italy, is of a very high quality and therefore expensive. Look out for the word nostrano meaning "local" for the best produce. Butcher's shop in Italian is macelleria.

A butcher's wordlist:

    beef - manzo/vittelone
    veal - vitello
    chicken (breast) - pollo (petto di pollo)
    lamb - agnello
    liver - fegato
    pork - maiale
    rabbit - coniglio
    steak (beef/pork) - bistecca (di manzo/di maiale)
    sausages (excellent) - salsicce
    turkey - tacchino
    mince/ground beef (lean) - carne macinata (prima scelta)

     


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