Although one must be very careful ordering anything via an ad on Facebook, I have finally cracked the code on how to decipher which sites are legit and which are scams.
I Bought This, Affiliate Links
About a week ago on Facebook, I discovered a new legitimate online store for Italian food products, Premium Italian Foods At Home. I knew it was real because when I visited the website, I recognized it as an online retailer that one of my friends who is gluten-free orders GF pasta from.
The FB ad that I saw was for a sale on Italian herbs that come in adorable mini Italian terracotta painted crocks by Casarecci di Calabria.
Years ago, a dear friend gave me a spice holder as a holiday gift. Although it wasn’t my style, I have had it on my countertop for at least 10 years in spite of the fact that it’s dust magnet because it came from my friend. To be honest, I only used and replaced three herbs/spices: cinnamon sticks, thyme and rosemary, and all the other spices in the holder are now 10 years old. Yikes! I have a slew of other herbs and spices that I use, but I keep them out of sight in a kitchen drawer.
Thyme and rosemary, two herbs that I grow during the growing season, are the ones that I use the most. I love them on roasted vegetables as well as on roast chicken, dishes that I make frequently, so I go through them relatively quickly. In the cold weather, I use dried thyme and rosemary. So I thought I could justify buying them from Premium Italian Foods At Home. And after 10 years, maybe I could retire my old spice holder.
Each crock was priced at $6.98, a dollar off the regular price. I decided to go for it, primarily because I loved those little terracotta crocks! They arrived about a week later, and they are as cute in person as on line. They contain a relatively small amount of Italian herbs, 0.17 oz., but that’s OK. I will be able to easily refill the crocks when needed.
When I looked at the cute pamphlets that came with each herb, I noticed that the ingredients were the herb and salt. I am thinking there’s a tiny amount of salt in there to keep herbs from clumping because I neither see nor taste any salt.
While I was ordering, I figured I should make sure there wasn’t anything else that I needed. Then it came to me: hazelnut spread. Jeff gave me a crepe pan as one of my Hanukkah gifts. I have wanted to make crepes with bananas and hazelnut spread. Unfortunately, Nutella that I could easily buy at the supermarket contains palm oil and high fructose corn syrup, so I haven’t bought it in a long time. It tastes oily, too.
Italian hazelnut spread is a much better product. On the Premium Italian Foods At Home website, I discovered Dairy Free Organic Hazelnut & Cocoa Spread by Rigoni di Asiago. It’s organic, made with non-GMO ingredients, with cane sugar, and without palm oil. It’s delicious. It’s both deeply chocolatey and hazelnut-y, and not greasy. Yum. I am having to restrain myself from eating it all before I even get to make crepes.
Premium Italian Foods At Home carries Italian extra virgin olive oil and balsamic vinegar, Italian pastries, Italian sodas and coffee, Italian candy and cookies, Italian chocolates, Italian tomato sauces, artisan pasta, gluten-free pasta and other gluten-free foods, organic foods, and Italian appetizers, cured meats and cheeses.
In normal times, I am able to go to some of the stores particularly in Gloucester MA that sell foods from Italy. But because I am trying to avoid in-person shopping, online retailers like Premium Italian Foods at Home are a great alternative. So if you’re hankering for a little piece of Italy, check out their website.
Looks like a good site to bookmark. Like you I am really reading labels lately. I am definitely boycotting products with palm oil.
It is worth bookmarking, Sandy. In fact, I wish I had bought two jars of the Nocciolata because teaspoon by teaspoon, I seem to have eaten half the jar already! It’s so good.
Oooh! I’m going to have to add this – we have been buying from Eataly in Las Vegas (italian supplies), but this looks good too! One can never have enough Italian sites!
I love Eataly! There’s one in Boston that I used to go to when I went into town to get my hair colored. But I have been trying to stay out of stores until I get the vaccine. So this online store with the adorable terracotta crocks managed to attract me. The Nocciolatta that I bought is so delicious I have already eaten half the jar. BTW, I didn’t realize that you live in Las Vegas. How cool! I hope to get back there some day in the future. I’ve been watching a show on CREATE TV with Hubert Keller, the chef at Fleur, who goes around and eats and reviews LV restaurants, and I am dying to go back!
Back when I still lived in California, there was an amazing Italian market near my house. They even offered cooking classes. I miss it.
I known what you mean, Gabrielle. When I went to graduate school at Fordham in the Bronx, the campus was near the Italian neighborhood, Arthur Avenue. I used to shop there, stroll around, making believe I was in Italy. memories!