| Surviving the market |
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Never get lost for words again when you're food shopping in the market.
The basics La frutta e verdura – Fruit & veg La carne – meat (it is important to stress the pronunciation – exaggertae it if necessary “c'é la carrrrrne dentro?” so as to avoid even the risk of asking if something contains il cane, dog – done it before, not funny.) I salumi – Cured meats, hams, salami etc. Il formaggio, il latte, la panna – Cheese, milk, cream Il pane, la pasta, il riso, la polenta – bread, pasta, rice, polenta Il pesce, I frutti di mare – Fish, seafood I cereali, il yogurt, il succo di frutta – Cereals, yoghurt, fruit juice
Describing food Dolce salato – sweet savoury Fresco stagionato affumicato secco (assiccato) – Fresh matured smoked dry (dried, as in frutta assiccata) Di stagione fuori stagione – In season out of season Morbido duro – Soft hard Data di scadenza scaduto andato a male – Expiration date out of date rotten Delicioso, squisito gustoso saporito – Delicious tasty flavourful, strong
Servings Una vasca vaschetta di... – a tub of... Una fetta di... - a slice of... Un porzione di... - a portion of...
Weighing up The single most useful word for making your way in markets, deli counters and green grocers is the magic “etto”. It is a numerical prefix meaning 'hundred' which can be applied to any metric measurement. On its own, its common usage is overwhelmingly understood to mean “ettogrammo” which translates as a hundred grams. Its handy because its easy to say, you know how much it'll cost (prices are usually displayed per kilo, so one etto will cost one tenth of the display) and because it usually yields a decent serving of most foods. If you're shopping for yourself, an etto of prosciutto is never too much nor too little – due etti (200g), or even un etto e mezzo (150g) will make sure.
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