What should DH bring back from Madrid?

[nissenpa]

DH will be in Madrid next month for a few days. What food items should I have him bring back for me?

[MOREKASHA]

Fabes beans, they are d.o. controlled and they are great. You can get pimenton and even peppers and ventresca in the usa, but fabes......

[erica]

I would not even know where to begin, but for starters:

Saffron (red threads); marcona and other almonds; Pimenton in 3 varieties (hot, agridulce and sweet); Ortiz ventresca tuna and the myriad other tinned seafoods aabilable in any supermarket; Tolosa beans; Bomba rice; terra cotta cazuelas; membrillo; Torta del Casar and other cheeses; Iberian ham; Tortas de Aceite crackers; tinned Navarra piquillo peppers; tinned Navarra asparagus; Espinaler sauce for the tinned cockles and other shellfish; local honeys and jams.

Here is a partial list I posted for someone else here not long ago; these are just some of the things that I often bring home from Spain; they are not particularly linked to Madrid but are easy to find in that city.

" My list is more or less the same as yours. I will also look for tinned piquillo peppers from Navarra. Last time I bought cans of asparagus from the same region. In addition to the Cuca brand of seafood, mentioned above, I think, look also for Cabo de Pena brand which has satisfied me in the past. I want to bring home chipirones and almejas, as well as tuna. And also the white anchovies, which I fell in love with only recently at a Spanish wine event..

And mojama, vaguely similar to bottarga..but usually made from tuna..

A new revelation to me are the dried beans from Spain. I bought a bag of Tolosa beans from Kalyustan that were so good and creamy, even after a couple of years of languishing in my cupboard! I never have luck with dried beans but these were so good that I plan to bring them home, and also look for other types of beans..

White beans from the Segovia area, too--Judiones de La Granja.

I am sure you know these, but Marcona almonds; saffron; and olives will be on my list..... "

Here is the original thread, with lots of shopping info contained within:

http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/740782

[hill food]

erica is right - saffron and pimenton are VASTLY cheaper in Spain. is ham legal to pack in the checked bags? if so Serrano and Iberico are amazing and cheap as lunchmeat by comparison to what they go for in the US.

[Aleta]

Hill food,
Importing meat to the US and Canada from Spain is unfortunately illegal. However, importing meat from the US TO Canada is legal. Just a small detail.

[SnackHappy]

The only meat that can be brought into North-America is the canned kind. I've actually considered getting a tinsmith to build me a big jamón-shaped can.

[hill food]

ahh it's been so long I wasn't sure if things had changed. pity. I like the idea of the bootleg ham. would ziplock bags packed with Iberico strapped to the torso show up on these new body scanners? gals I knew in high school used to smuggle Jack Daniels into concerts that way (the doormen doing a pat-down just thought they were fat - HA!)

[chez cherie]

maybe a bota (or is it boda?) bag, also from spain, would be a good souvenir? i'll be watching this thread with interest, as we are going with food folks in october!

[Quine]

I was in the South of Spain for a 2 week vacation bout 20 years ago. First time ever (!) I understood why people loved Olive Oil. The local , very green, very fresh, was in everything, is STILL something I wish I brought back.

[hill food]

Quine, Spain IIRC is the largest producer of olives and olive oil in Europe, it's largely exported to Italy and processed there for further distribution, but the source of a lot is Espana. and yeah it's goooood.

[Quimbombo]

We buy this and bring it back with us each time we go to Spain.

It's great, easy and chicken, fish and/or beef comes out delicious. There is a flavor for each plus 4 peppers that can be used for all meats.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yBFtSE...

And torrefacto mexcla coffee. Wonderful, tasty expresso.

Can't wait to see what others have to offer so I too can get tips.