Italians, of all shapes and sizes, go to the market daily. I read about the daily practice of this prior to coming to Florence. Our refrigerator is small, not like a mini-fridge but something that falls in the middle of an "American" fridge and a dorm-life one. Italians go to the market everyday and purchase everything they need for that one day. Cheeses, meats, fish, fresh pastas, fruits and vegetables, tutto. Essentially makes for a couple things, the first being that Italians eat the freshest meals out of any place I've been to. The fact that their fish was swimming a few hours before hand and now it rests beautifully filleted and seasoned on your plate is amazing. Buying food everyday also helps support the local farmers and economy. Yes, I live in a touristy area of Florence, right by the Ponte Vecchio, but even here there aren't any minimarts and markets. I travel a strolling and ancient 20 minutes North to Piazza Lorenzo where the open-air market can be overwhelming, but I just keep going until I hit the central market.
The third benefit of food shopping everyday is that it encourages these amazing relationships between consumer and producer. In the two times I've been to the market, thus far, I've seen a multitude of people greeting their fish mongers, wine aficionados, and oil experts like they are old friends. Come sta?, how are you? And since I have not yet formed any solid relationships with the market people, I wait patiently as le nonne in their beautiful and robust fur coats catch-up with their market-friends. Grazie mille. Ciao, Maria!, they say, picking up their five or so grocery bags and walk away in this grandiose and warming way. Some nonna are so little in their big mink coats they look like Ewoks, or pom-poms.
My shopping list was small today: fennel, cherry tomatoes, buffalo's milk mozzarella, and un piccolo pane di Toscano. And that's lunch!
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