Kitchen shopping in Rome and/or Florence

[L.Nightshade]

We will be in Italy in October, our city visits include Rome and Florence.
I'm not big on shopping but I would like to find a place selling cooking supplies, in either city. I'm specifically looking for a corzetti stamp, and I have no clue how hard that might be to find. I'm seeking ideas on where to look. Also ideas on what other great, small kitchen items I might be able to find in Italy that I can't find elsewhere.

I welcome all of your ideas!

[2friends]

Peroni in Piazza del'Unita just behind the market. Where all the chefs go..most authentic in Rome.Have fun

[L.Nightshade]

Missed your post, but did find this shop thanks to vinoroma's post above. Lots of great stuff here! Thanks!

[L.Nightshade]

I'm so excited about all the places people have discussed here. If I don't find corzetti stamps, you've connected me with an online source. (Or maybe I'll plan a trip to Liguria another year!) And I'm sure I'll find wonderful must-haves at the stores you've mentioned. I hope my suitcase is big enough! I'm so impressed with your generosity of time and information.

Thanks so much for all of your helpful responses!

[katieparla]

Wendy Holloway just wrote a post about shopping for corzetti stamps

http://flavorofitalyblog.blogspot.com...

[L.Nightshade]

Thanks for that. Frustrating that she does not seem to mention the name of the shop, and does not allow the posting of comments/questions unless one has a blog ID!

[jen kalb]

I have some really nice clay cookie stamps and I am thinking they would work quite well for this - corzetti are not something I was aware of until this thread.

[L.Nightshade]

That's funny, I've been thinking about using my springerle cookie rolling pins to make impressed pasta. But I've been hoping for the real thing for a long while.

[mbfant]

They were on the front page of the dining section of the NY Times a couple of years ago, when Encyclopedia of Pasta was published. Before that, I doubt they were on many people's radar unless they'd discovered them in Liguria.

[L.Nightshade]

About 10 years ago I saw one bag of dried pasta discs imprinted with a design. I've been searching for the tool since then. (Most of that time, without knowing what it was called!)

[katieparla]

ill send her an email and ask where she found it.

[L.Nightshade]

Thank you katieparla, I hope you find out!

[katieparla]

will keep you posted. still waiting to hear back

[katieparla]

they got the corzetti stamp at a professional supply store in ciampino, which requires a partita iva (VAT number). gusto's kitchen shop may have one. good luck finding it!

[jen kalb]

Katie, I think whats being asked is the name of Simonetta's store in Rome where the blogger bought the stamp, Is that the question you are answering? I could be confused and thinking the blogger visited a retail store when in fact she visited a to the trade operation.

[katieparla]

sorry i thought i answered that. im a bit jetlagged and am not doing an amazing job of putting full replies together. the shop is Pratesi Hotel Division srl - Viale J.F. Kennedy, 70 - 00043 Ciampino. this is the name the blog author told me.

[jen kalb]

I guess I got a little confused. Its great you wormed the info out of her in any event.

[zerlina]

Pratesi has a non-IVA-requiring shop next door at Viale Kennedy 74:
http://www.pratesi.it/

[katieparla]

Awesome!!! Thanks so much for looking that up!

[vinoroma]

other than Eminchilli's suggestions in Rome, there is one more place, very close to where you are staying, not fancy at all and with very accessible prices: it is on Piazza del'unita, when you are standing on cola di Rienzo in front of the market building, take the street to the left of the market, the store comes after maybe 30 yards on the left hand side, you have to go down a couple of steps!

[L.Nightshade]

Thanks vinoroma, I will definitely check out that place!

[L.Nightshade]

We really enjoyed this shop (I think it is called Peroni). They did not have corzetti stamps, but acted as if they were out of them. We managed to find several must-have items anyway, and it was mere steps from our lodging, so thanks, vinoroma!

[minchilli]

In Florence try:
Gioa della Casa , Mesticcheria Tucci and Civailolo
In Rome try:
House & Kitchen
c.u.c.i.n.a.
Limentani
I'm not a hundred percent sure you'll find a corzetti stamp, but for sure you'll find something fun you didn't even know you needed!
Elizabeth
www.elizabethminchilli.com

[L.Nightshade]

Wow, you have a wealth of good ideas! I clicked on your link also, and I'm about to go for both those apps!
Thanks for responding.

[jen kalb]

Elizabeth, Im wondering, which of these places would you say have interesting, traditional utensils and which Italian kitchen style in the kitchen? what if I am looking for beautiful terra cotta pots, or, say, a tool to make tonnarelli or slice puntarelle? I remember looking in Venice for a tool to help me make bigoli and being unable to find a seller.

[mbfant]

CUCINA is lovely but has a lot of imports, not so great for traditional Italian stuff. House & Kitchen is good -- lot of imports but also lot of Italian. I go there all the time because it's near my gym class and I can't resist. Limentani is an experience, mainly for dishes and high-end stuff (wedding presents) but also good gadgets. A tool to make tonnarelli is a normal pasta machine (the roll-and-cut kind). The traditional chitarra is rare and more likely to be found in the hills of eastern Lazio and Abruzzo. The best tool for puntarelle is a small sharp knife. The ones pushed through that wire-thingy aren't as good. A torchio to make bigoli is a big deal. Those really specialized items can probably be found in Milan at Medagliani. In Rome another good prospect, especially for dolci but not only, is Tervi, via della Ferratella in Laterano, 1. Metalcristal, via S. Martino dei Monti, 24, is a gas. Another good place is a short walk from Pizzarium, but I forget the name. I was having trouble finding a parmigiano knife, of all things (you would think it would be easy, but the guy at House & Kitchen tried to get me to buy an oyster knfe to do the job), but I happened to be indulging in a slice at Pizzarium and asked them where to go.

I haven't known where to go for beautiful terracotta since La Bella Copia closed a million years ago, but those standard two-tone brown earthenware cooking pots are ubiquitous. Lots of dinky little housewards places have them.

[jen kalb]

thanks so much for the detailed response.

the chitarra was exactly the tool I was thinking about, thanks. Someday I hope to have the time to develop pasta making skills - maybe when I retire - but it is more likely to be simple items than corzetti!

This winter I am going to keep an eye out for appropriate chicory to approximate puntarelle - a couple of the brooklyn italian markets carry catalogna chicory briefly - Im thinking that my Japanese scallion slicing tool might help cutting long even strips,

[mbfant]

Knife, Jen, knife. An old-fashioned paring knife or the little curved-bladed paring knife we use for carciofi alla romana. The dressing for the puntarelle is wonderful on curly endive.

[L.Nightshade]

Elizabeth - I used both your Florence and Rome apps in my travels, for eating and shopping, so helpful! We actually found corzetti stamps at Bartollini, but they were 68 Euros, and rather rough and splintery, so we decided to wait. But we very much enjoyed going into all the shops, and found other things to buy, so thank you!

[barberinibee]

If you can't find a corzetti stamp in your travels in Italy, you might consider this place

http://www.artisanalpastatools.com/classic.shtml

If you are able to travel to Liguria, Franco Casoni in the via Bighetti 63 in Chiavari makes them, but it is probably best to make an appointment in advance.

http://www.carrugiodritto.it/artisti/...

[L.Nightshade]

Thanks to both of you for your informative responses. I didn't realize corzetti stamps would be regional items. I guess I will be looking for other interesting tools to bring home!

[lisaonthecape]

Corzetti are Ligurian, so I think you'd have better luch in Genoa. You might check out this link:
chowhound.chow.com/topics/469846.