Food shopping in Emilia-Romagna
Food shopping in Emilia-Romagna is a culinary treat. Here you’ll find the widest choice of Italian specialties within pasta, cheese, hams and sausages at their point of origin.
Emilia-Romagna is undoubtedly one of the most important Italian food centres. This region spans enormous fertile plains, rivers and lagoons in the Po delta, hills and mountains in the south towards Tuscany and the coast along the Adriatic Sea, which provide a wide choice of local dairy, meat, fish, vegetables and fruit.
The long history of kingdoms and duchies in the area, where professional cooks ran a wealthy kitchen, has established a strong culinary tradition. Which may have helped food producers in Emilia-Romagna, who were quick to adapt to a modern era and establish a streamlined production of pasta, balsamic vinegar, sausages such as mortadella, cotechino, pancetta and zampone. Not the mention the Parma ham, Parma cheese and other gastronomic treasures.
Three kinds of markets
The choice and variety of local delicacies makes food shopping in Emilia-Romagna a pleasure – even when you are staying in a hotel with absolutely no cooking intentions.
The photos are from various visits to Forli, Ravenna, Ferrara, Bologna, Cesena, Bagno Cavallo and Lugo.
All Italian towns have at least three kinds of markets.
There are daily, weekly or bi-weekly outdoor markets depending on the size of the city, where you can buy just about anything from curtains to courgettes.
There are the covered food markets, where professionals and pensioners sell a jumble of garden produce, fish and charcuterie.
And then there are the supermarkets and hypermarket like Ipercoop, Auchan, Carrefour and Essalunga Superstore, where you can have just about everything and leave with nothing except the a severe case of hypermarket jitters.
Look for the markets and the small specialty shops instead. Places where you don’t have to put on plastic gloves to pick carrots, and where you can truly enjoy the dedication and decorative skills of small vendors who take their job and produce seriously.
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Mette – it is a food lover’s paradise, isn’t it!
It is one of the best foodie places I’ve ever been.
Love it :)
Me too
I have been to a few of these towns and did see the market in Cesena, but didn’t have to shop — what a shame! Emilia-Romagna really is a culinary treat.
Yes. And it’s a very big and diversified region, so even though you’ve been there before, there is always something new to discover.
We love Emilia Romagna, especially Bologna. It’s incredible how tasty and good quality the pasta and balsamic vinegar are, probably the best we ever had! :)
I love Bologna too. All those students give the city a good, lively vibe.
I wish we had frequent markets and small specialty shops up here. They seem to have all but disappeared.
In the centre of Copenhagen they have opened a food market like the Swedish Saluhalls, but the prices are steep.
I have been to Italy many times but never to the Emilia Romagna region. So many people I know have been there and loved it, so I definitely need to go there on day. The surroundings are stunning and it for sure looks like a food paradise.
You should definitely go one day, but please be aware that the landscape is rather plain – in the most literal sense – over large stretches.
Between you and Cathy posting about Emilia-Romagna, it has really jumped up in my Italian bucket list. It just looks like the place to go food shopping and eat. Those pictures are making me hungry!
I’m sure you’d love it, Mary. And the children wouldn’t mind sampling icecream I guess.
Love this and the idea of “Parma ham, Parma cheese and other gastronomic treasures.” YUM!!!
Yes, Parma has certainly named a few worldwide food darlings over time.
Sure beats a trip to our local Safeway filled with cardboard fruit and vegetables.
I know what you mean. The supermarkets in Denmark are not that exciting either, but they are easier to combine with a full time job.
Markets are a great way to check out the local culture, especially food, and the markets in Emilia-Romagna look and sound amazing! Thanks for sharing!
Yes. No matter where you go in a world, markets are always a feast for all senses.
Wow, that is just our idea of food shopping heaven. You mentioned hotels, though. I always get really frustrated if we’re somewhere like this and we see loads of foods we want to cook…but we’re in a hotel. :)
Julia
Same here. Though we try to compensate by choosing picnic lunches, so we buy some cheese, a couple of slices of ham and a fresh tomato to eat some place in the sun. Yum.
Even though Italian food’s everywhere, there are quite many ingredients you can only find there in Italy!
I suppose so. Although you can find the ingredients in most European towns of a certain size.
Sausages, ham, pasta, cheese, balsamic vinegar and no doubt plenty of bread. I would pitch a tent right there, Mette! Lordy, my mouth is watering. I love fresh food markets as long as I’m not battling people shoulder to shoulder :)
In Emilia-Romagna there are so many food market, you don’t have to push and shove to buy a kilo of apples. Besides the most eager market shoppers always go first thing in the morning, hours before I wake up, so I don’t have to fight them.
Have not yet been fortunate enough to travel to Italy, but my ancestors (and relatives still) are from Reggio Emilia. I was hoping to get help with the names of some local shops from which I could order some kitchen ware for Christmas??
I’d love to help, but haven’t got those connections, unfortunately. But you might try asking me on twitter, where there should be someone who can help.