Tag: shopping

Online shopping and food delivery: buy food while staying at home – Italian Cuisine

And now how do you go shopping? After the signature of the Ministerial Decree on 11 March Italy entered a new phase in the fight against Coronavirus. The imperative is to stay at home, to avoid further infections and manage the emergency more decisively.
Practically from 12 to 25 March all non-essential activities must remain closed and fines are provided for those who do not comply with this rule.

The decree provides for bars, pubs and restaurants to close and instead tobaccos, newsagents and above all food in all forms, from shops to hypermarkets, remain open.

THE grocery stores so they are open. Of course, the safety distances must be respected and, to move around on foot in his own city, the head of Civil Protection Angelo Borrelli has explicitly stated that he must always carry the self-certification form downloadable from the website of the Ministry of the Interior (you can find it here). The same goes for those who go to the doctor, the pharmacy and those who go to newsstand (where of course you will also find our magazines Sale & Pepe and Cucina Moderna): you need to have the self-certification form. If you are stopped you risk a fine.

Shopping online

And who has decided to stay at home entirely, how can he go shopping? The major supermarket chains have systems and apps for online purchase and home delivery.
Among the main platforms are Esselunga, Amazon Prime Now, Coop, Carrefour and Conad.

The first step is to verify that the supermarket makes deliveries in your area: on the sites there are special forms that require the postcode of residence, to check that the area is covered.

Then you proceed by selecting the products you want to buy one by one, indicating the type and quantity. They put themselves in virtual shopping cart and finally, you pay at the cashier online, using your credit card or other payment methods such as poste pay or paypal.

Platforms in difficulty

These days the platforms are under pressure and many supermarkets they struggle to manage orders: in some cases deliveries are suspended until a date to be destined. Unfortunately this is not discovered until you go to the virtual cashier.

Some explicitly report that the service is having problems due to the large amount of requests, as does Cortilia, specializing in fruit and vegetables and other fresh products. Already starting from the home page, they ensure that they are enhancing the app and the delivery service, to guarantee a smoother operation of the many requests as soon as possible.

Others, however, are not able to make deliveries now, but the discovery takes place only when the virtual shopping cart is full, to pay.

The practical tip is: before starting the actual shopping, do a test with a few items. Those who are used to shopping online, know that selecting products consciously, perhaps reading the labels and checking the cheapest price, takes time. Almost as much as wandering around the real shelves).

So select a few products and go directly to check out: if the service indicates the delivery date, then you can go back, really fill the virtual cart and finalize the operation. Otherwise … try again later.

Some manufacturers are making available services direct home delivery. In the next few days Sale & Pepe will try to find out for you who is able to guarantee the service and will report it to you.

Food delivery

For those who want to order ready meals directly there is food delivery. In this case, those who offer the service are clubs and restaurants of all kinds, from the sportiest to the most famous: they cook for you and, being unable to accommodate guests at the moment, pamper them remotely, delivering dishes and menus directly to your home. The vehicles of this system are Deliveroo, Glovo, Just Eat, Uber Eats and Social Food.

The sanitation rules observed, they assure, they are extremely rigorous. AssoDelivery is FIPE they wrote a document with the guidelines, which closely follow the recommendations of the Ministry of Health regarding the use of sanitizing products, interpersonal distances between those who work and between those who deliver the food and those who receive it.

In your neighborhood

And then finally there is the neighborhood solidarity: in any area of Italy there are certainly greengrocers, greengrocers and small grocery stores that have always offered home delivery services. They are often reality to be rediscovered. And in this case we must rely on word of mouth and the local social network.

And here is that good communication between neighbors comes in handy. All that remains is to try!

by Barbara Roncarolo
March 12, 2020

Coronavisrus: reasoned shopping list for 14 days – Italian Cuisine

Coronavirus aside, shopping for a week or two is a convenient and functional way to save money, plan meals and not waste. Here is the reasoned list of indispensable things, to avoid waste and thinking that we are not alone in having to stock up

Supermarkets stormed throughout the past weekend in Milan (and beyond). The fear of contagion or a possible quarantine, or even the need to have to stock up a little while having the children at home for several days, has made Milanese people unleashed on the shelves, and this could also happen in other cities. The first signs in this sense come already from the rest of Lombardy, but also from Veneto, Piedmont and, paradoxically, also from cities and regions where there have been no cases of positivity to the Covid-19 coronavirus.
But, apart from the quarantine hypothesis, it can be convenient at times to organize for a slightly more important escort than usual, so what does it really make sense to buy for about two weeks of meals at home? Here are our tips and our shopping list with basic necessities and conveniences to be able to stock up without exaggerating and without risking wasting.

Spending for two weeks: advice

1. Needless to panic. Before shopping, two basic operations are necessary, which in the normal course of our existence we would do: check what we already have at home and prepare a list of what is missing. Simple isn't it?
2. Think about a weekly menu and rely on it, but be prepared to choose products for a healthy improvisation.

Shopping list for two weeks (for 4 people)

The inevitable at home

Extra virgin olive oil

salt

sugar

Flour 0

00 flour

Dry yeast

Baking powder

Coffee

Bitter cocoa

Basic list

Pasta: 8 kg;

Tomato sauce 3 liters

Ready-made sauces, including Genoese pesto, 4 jars

Cooking cream 3 small packs

Olive

capers

Dry biscuits (min.2 packs)

Eggs (3 packs of 6 eggs)

4 packs of 1 liter milk

Bread (if you can freeze you can take 4-5 kg), otherwise choose the bread in the box

Dried legumes (4 half-kilogram bags of chickpeas, cannellini beans, lentils, etc.)

Tuna in oil

lemons

Potatoes (2 bags, to be kept in the dark)

Dehydrated fruit (apricots, plums) and / or in syrup

Fresh ingredients

Sliced in bags (1 kg)

Grana Padano or Parmesan cheese

Mozzarella (2 packs of 6)

Other fresh (ricotta, stracchino) or semi-aged cheese (2 packs)

2 packs of smoked bacon

2 rolls of puff pastry

8 slices of chicken breast

1 whole chicken

1 roast

8 burgers or slices of veal / beef

seasonal vegetables: right now therefore cabbage, cauliflower, broccoli are perfect, be careful to consume the most perishable ones, such as broccoli and salads first, and to keep beyond that cabbage and cabbage, which resist more (from 6 to 8 kg)

parsley (deteriorates quickly, but you can freeze it)

apples (2 kg)

pears (1 kg)

oranges (2 kg)

bananas

water

In Milan (and in general in Italy) water is drinkable and in any case not transmits viruses. Water supplies are sensible only in places where that of the Mayor – as they say – is not drinkable.

Frozen foods

Frozen peas (1 pack)

Frozen minestrone (2 packs)

Frozen spinach (1 pack)

Cod or other frozen fish (2 kg)

Other things needed

Toilet paper

Sanitary pads and / or diapers (for babies and the elderly)

Liquid soap (and more for personal hygiene)

Toothpaste

Household cleaners (good surface disinfectant, dishwashing detergent, washing machine detergent required)

What about our pets?

Don't forget about it. Dry and wet food for dogs and cats, land for litter, feed for canary, hamster, red fish, turtle …

Obviously, feel free to add to this list the kinds of comfort that you feel you need most, but remember that you are not the only ones who have to do the shopping.
Ah, and common sense cannot be bought.

From shopping to recycling: 10 anti-waste moves and 14 recipes – Italian Cuisine

Wasting food is out of date! Here are some tips to inspire you to reduce waste in the kitchen, starting from shopping and ending with recycling!

Reduce it food waste is one of the priorities indicated in the2030 Agenda of the UN Assembly for sustainable development. In fact, in food there is the work of many women and men, the wisdom handed down for generations, technological innovation and human ingenuity; there are also earth, water, air and sun. Wasting food means throwing all this away and creating environmental, social, economic and nutritional imbalances.

A decalogue against food waste

If you too often throw food, but would like to change your pace, you can take inspiration from Decalogue developed byObservatory on surpluses, recoveries and food waste, born at the Crea, Food and Nutrition Research Center. This is not an exhaustive list of what to do or not to do, but a series of ideas to reflect and direct us on more sustainable consumption for the planet and for our health.

Discover the anti-waste handbook in the gallery

At the supermarket: shopping

The fight against waste starts from expense: planning it before going to the supermarket is a good move not to buy excess food and don't be tempted by offers. Also try not to go into a supermarket when you are hungry because it is empty stomach it might lead you to buy anything!
Pay attention to Expiration date of products: choose it closer or farther in time according to when you want to consume it.
Attend buying groups it could help you save money and buy zero km products.

Fridge and freezer: conservation

Waste is fought too storing properly the foods. Pay particular attention to fridge where there are fresh foods (the most wasted): the temperature must be 4 ° and each food must be stored in the more correct shelf for its maintenance. Place the older foods in front and those that can be eaten later towards the bottom of the fridge.

Remember that there is freezer! Fresh products purchased in excess can be frozen and stored in the freezer at -20 ° C. Alternatively, they can be first cooked and then frozen. In this way they can be used up to 3 months after the expiry date shown on the label. A food already cooked and frozen, after thawing it must be consumed only after having brought it to high temperature for a few minutes.

In the kitchen: use and recycling

Try to plan meals throughout the week and don't cook more than necessary. If it happens, maybe during a dinner with friends, share leftovers with your guests.

Finally, the fight against waste also passes through recycling: whether they are fresh products near the expiration date or leftover food, have fun recycling them in other dishes by working with imagination. Here is an idea of Crea.

Croquettes of bechamel, gorgonzola, raw ham and apple

Ingredients for 4 people

50 g of whole wheat flour
400 ml of fresh whole milk expiring
50 g of butter or 25 g of butter and 25g of extra virgin olive oil
50 g of apple
100 g of advanced gorgonzola
50 g of advanced raw ham
300 g of stale wholemeal bread
black pepper to taste
nutmeg to taste

Method

Make the béchamel, heating the butter / oil, and adding the whole wheat flour little by little, toasting over medium heat, until you get the roux, (the thickening base of the sauce) that we still toast for a while. Slowly add the milk (cold, to avoid lumps) by continuing to stir. Thicken for another 20 minutes without stopping stirring. Add the gorgonzola, the ham cut into small pieces and the grated apple. Pour into a large and low pan, and allow to cool. Refrigerate for a couple of hours (even overnight). Keep the cold mass at a room temperature not too hot while shaping the croquetas, with the help of two spoons. Pass in the beaten egg and then in the breadcrumbs and shape in the desired shape. Bake in a preheated oven at 200 ° C for 10 minutes, then turn them over and cook for another 5 minutes. To cook them, you can also fry them in peanut oil. If you don't cook them right away, you can also freeze them once breaded.

Gordon Ramsay Recipes