While Italian cuisine may be among the best in the world, if you’ve moved to Italy, you’ve almost certainly found yourself missing some kind of food or drink from back home. We asked our readers what they miss most, and how they can get ahold of it here.
Dozens of people responded to our survey about the items they miss most from ‘back home’ – wherever that might be.
Respondents originated from the Netherlands, Germany, Norway, and as far afield as Hong Kong, Singapore and Tokyo.
A large number came from the UK, as well as the United States, including South Carolina, Florida, Washington, Connecticut, California, New Mexico, Texas, Virginia, New York, Pennsylvania and the Midwest.
A common feature of the most-missed items was either that they were fresh foods that aren’t generally grown in Italy – such as pandan leaves, parsnips or Brussels sprouts – or that they were the kind of branded product that is impossible to recreate at home.
Anna Galvani, who was raised by Italian parents in London and now lives in Castelletto di Vernasca, Emilia-Romagna, said she had recently managed to source parsnips (‘pastinaca’) from a supplier in Lugagnano val d’Arda.
“After a plea to a local greengrocer, the first who didn’t shake their head in total perplexity, she has ordered me 5kg together with 3kg of swedes, also impossible to get, and I’m going to pick them up today,” she wrote.
Tracy from the US, who describes herself as a longtime Rome resident, said she misses “condiments such as McCormick’s Mesquite and Lawries salt” as well as “fresh pâté, Christmas ham to bake, bagels, cranberry juice, cake and brownie mixes.”
She wrote: “Va Sano and Comptoir sell french pâté in Rome. Castroni has cake and brownie mixes but I can’t find any of the other things mentioned.”
Donna Baone from Cornwall in the UK said she’d been to track down Marmite and Bisto gravy granules at British food store Richmond’s in Viareggio, Tuscany.
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By far the most-craved item was cheddar cheese – both the British and American kind.
Kirsten, a former international civil servant in Piedmont who describes herself as Dutch “with strong British, French and Nigerian influences” said she has been able to find “good (extra) mature cheddar,” from supermarket chain Esselunga, along with suya powder and Dutch fish and cheeses.
Both Anna Galvani and an anonymous reader from the West of England suggested hunting for cheddar at German supermarket chain Lidl – though Anna highlighted that it’s only “sometimes” available.
Giovanna from the UK, who now lives in Bedonia, Emilia-Romagna, said she had been able to track down cheddar cheese at Aldi – “but not English cheddar”.
READ ALSO: Did you know…? Italy’s pasta carbonara is partly American
Readers from the UK also listed ham and back bacon, fresh pork sausages, salted butter, Branston pickle, Jaffa cakes and (fruit-based) mincemeat and Christmas puddings among their most-missed foods.
Where these items were unavailable, some had found one-for-one substitutes.
“I buy guanciale instead of bacon and President French butter instead of Kerrygold,” said Susie, a massage therapist from Wales who now lives outside Pisa.
“We make do with salted Lurpak but it’s not the same,” said Paula Smith in Florence.
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Many US readers missed corn-based breads and authentic Mexican food.
“O for a burrito!” pined Shelli Joye, a San Francisco native residing in Assisi, Umbria.
Florence resident Wendy, a retiree from Washington State, recommended Vivi Market for “Mexican and Asian groceries”, and Bob Muens in Umbria said he visits the same store for “tomatillo sauce and corn tortillas”.
But a number of respondents said they had resorted to growing or making their own ingredients from scratch.
Larry, an entrepreneur from the US now living in Sicily, said: “I have to grow most of what I use to create Mexican dishes,” while Bob Muens said he grows jalapeños and cilantro in his Umbria garden.
Jay Stewart from Charleston, South Carolina, who now lives in the province of Lecce, said he had “learned to make cornbread from polenta and flour.”
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International restaurants (in particular Chinese, Mexican, Texmex, Indian, Thai and Burmese) were also high on the list of things missed by Italy residents.
“We have one pseudo-Japanese restaurant in our nearest town but it’s not so authentic,” said Howard from the UK, now in Orvieto, Umbria, who particularly misses “spicy food – Indian, Thai, Mexican.”
Stephanie Mather from the UK, also in rural Umbria, said she misses “a good Indian restaurant, plus good fish and chips!”
Alicia Wong, a university researcher from Singapore currently based in Perugia, said: “there is one acceptable (tiny, relatively unknown) Indian restaurant in my city. That’s it.”
She particularly misses “hawker/street food from Southeast Asia (Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand, Vietnam),” and has had to attempt some dishes from scratch.
“For the ingredients that I can find (Chinese jujube dates, Chinese soup herbs, dried monk fruit, certain condiments) I take note of which Asian shop has it as they don’t all stock the same things,” she concluded.
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Some readers had embraced the lack of alternatives to local foods.
For Stephanie Mather, who recently became an Italian citizen, the dearth of international restaurants is “the price we have paid for a much higher quality of life.”
Judith Babarsky from Northern Virginia, now living in Bergamo, agreed: “Honestly, I don’t really miss anything that much.”
“I find it far more interesting to discover new dishes here than to try to recreate what I ate in the US.”
Jane in Umbria, who originates from the Midwestern US, was adamant that “I didn’t come to Italy and try to recreate my former culture!”
“I love the stuff I find here. Not craving anything else,” she added. “If I were, I’d get it when I go back for a visit.”