Think in taste, appreciate the ordinary

Carrello della Spesa

Header hamster food

Carrello aka shopping cart

The carrello or shopping cart is a universal item. It does not  change shape throughout the world. Although it hardly ever happens, they are designed to resist violent collisions. 

Their content showcase local culture, especially local cuisine. And it times of panic, they are the ideal to tell what products people care about most. That and the empty spaces on the shelves.

1. No carrello without (dry) pasta

In Italy supermarkets dedicate a whole corridor to pasta. This iconic and emblematic product comes in all form and shapes. And turns out that Italians like all shapes, except for ‘penne lisce‘. Liscia meaning smooth, so not having grooves. Not groovy!

2. Canned proteins

First and foremost to disappear  was tuna in olive oil. Soon followed by all other tinned tuna. The popular ‘Simmenthal‘ meat is nowhere to be found. You’re still in time for tinned sardines in tomato sauce (have they always been there?) and anchovy paste. They remind us to a game: ranter-go-round.

3. The carrello has been drinking

We are in Italy. The remaining alcoholic drinks contrast sharp with the empty space where the bottled water use to stand. Here people prefer bottled water over tap water. Now the remaining doubt on tap water has gone down the drain.

Milk finished quite immediately. Normal milk -cow milk- first. Then all look-alike milk. 

Juices, soft and energy drinks are still ready available.

4. Sugar sugar

While packed biscuits and snacks are running out, sugar has long gone. And so has flour. Which leads to the conclusion people are gonna be baking in the days to come.

Which may explain why only fondant chocolate -often used for baking -was missing. 

5. Coffee, not tea

Coffee is often bulk-bought in Italy. People, you must know, are brand-bound. Drinking other than your brand is no problem. Buying a different brand, that is out of the question. So when your brand is discounted, you bulk buy. Until panic broke out. 

Tea, in all its varieties is ready available for the carrello.

More '5 things' articles

Further more

Reference.guru

man sleeping on a bench with a typical Sicilian hat

From dusk till dawn

From dusk till dawn

An arbitrary selection of the finest place to stay overnight
snooze
silhouette of a man eating, wearing a typical Sicilian Coppola

Dig in

Dig in

Feeling peckish, hungry or ravenous?
waiter, please