Are you planning your very first trip to Italy but you don’t know much about this beautiful country yet? Well, maybe you’ll find these few common tips useful, so you won’t have nasty surprised during your trip.
Pepperoni pizza
Do you like eating pepperoni pizza? I’m sure you do. From the name of it, you might think this is a typical Italian pizza but I’m afraid to tell you, it’s not. Pepperoni sausage, as you know it, doesn’t exist in Italy. The only Italian word close to pepperoni is peperoni (with just one p). And it means peppers. So, if you ever decide to ask for una pizza ai peperoni in Italy, you’ll end up with a margherita with some peppers on it. The closest thing to a pepperoni pizza you can get in Italy is pizza al salame piccante, that’s to say pizza with spicy salame. Bring that in mind when you sit in a pizzeria!
Buying fruits and vegetable
The second of the common tips I feel like giving you is about supermarkets and markets. The practices for buying fruits and vegetable are different according to where you go to buy them. If you go to supermarkets, you should generally wear plastic gloves before choosing your fruits and vegetable and you should weigh them as well.
So, wear your gloves, choose fruits and vegetable and put them in a small eco-friendly bag, provided by the supermarket. Warning. This eco-friendly bag doesn’t come for free, you’ll have to pay for each bag you use when you get to the cashier. They usually cost a few cents each.
Once you have your desired fruits and vegetable in eco-friendly bags, you should look at the sign that corresponds to what you’ve just taken. For example, let’s say you’ve taken 5 pears. Look at the sign, which is generally placed close to the pears. The sign generally indicates the types of pears, the price and then a number, usually called tasto della bilancia, let’s say 190. That number, 190, is the one that you should keep in mind. You’re going to use it in a minute. With your eco-friendly bag full of pears, you head to the scale, which is usually placed nearby. Place your bag on the scale, tap the number (in this case 190) and wait for the sticker. Then, place that sticker on the bag with the pears and you’re done. The sticker has a barcode, the weight and the price of your pears. After you’ve done with your shopping, you can go to the cashier and pay for the groceries.
If you go to markets, instead, you’re not supposed to touch food. The vendors will select it for you according to your indications. So, if you want a particular piece, be sure to indicate it with your hand (without touching it). The vendor will do the rest, including weighting food for you. The only thing you have to think about when you’re at an Italian market is the products you want, that’s it.
Is it different in your country or the same tips apply? In the next weeks I’m going to write some more common tips that can be useful if you’ve never been to Italy and don’t know much about the country.
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Credits
Original image by zuzi99
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