One of the best things about coming back from Italy is bringing back your favorite Italian snacks… mostly for yourself but also to share with others who have never tried them and get their feedback.  Here are some of my favorites Italian snacks that I brought back from my recent trip.

• Italian Nutella… you can find it here but not in the drinking glass package (and certainly not with Kung Fu Panda!)  How many Italian families have a cabinet full of Nutella glasses?
• Fonzies… if you haven’t had Fonzies, you don’t know what you’re missing. WARNING: more addictive than CRACK.
• Kinder – and all the chocolaty variations.. the hazelnut filled crunchy cookie ones are my favorite!
• Brasilena – The ONLY coffee soda worth drinking… it’s awesome! and only found in Calabria. I had to leave my six pack of glass bottles behind because it wouldn’t fit in my luggage.  DAMN YOU LUGGAGE!
• Guglielmo Coffee – my favorite espresso, also made in Calabria.
• Vecchio Amaro del Capo – an amaro from Capo Vaticano… delicious! especially when served ICE COLD.

What are some of your favorite snacks and brands from Italy?

There’s always talk about what Americans miss most about living abroad. There’s the usual items like peanut butter, diet coke (not coca-cola light), Dr. Pepper (don’t know how anyone can drink that stuff) and other American favorites but how about when you move back to the States and can’t find some of those Italian specialties?? I was thinking about some of those favorites today and came up with a short list beyond the espresso and Italian cuisine.

I miss Brasilena coffee flavored soda – YUM! It’s more of a Calabrian favorite as I have never found it outside of Calabria. If you get a chance…. try it! I have had other coffee flavored soda but none can even come close to Brasilena. I’m sure Michelle at Bleeding Espresso and Cherrye at My Bella Vita know exactly what I’m talking about.

I miss Sanbitter… although my sister carries it at her bakery, so I get to have it occasionally.

I miss Ferrarelle sparkling water. It’s very unique, sort of a “soft sparkling”

I miss a bartender that can make a good “Americano” not the coffee but the cocktail. It’s 1 part Campari, 1 part sweet vermouth with a splash of soda and an orange slice. My favorite! add gin and you get a Negroni.

All drinks? No, no.

I miss mozzarella di bufala, I mean good mozzarella di bufala…. to me, if it’s not mozzarella di bufala…. it’s just not mozzarella. If you’ve never tried it…. run as fast as you can and get some…. seriously, what are you waiting for?

We had 2 Italians in our office when I was working in Bologna: 1 was from Caserta and the other from Battipaglia. These cities are both right outside of Napoli and are famous for their Mozzarella di bufala. They often argued about where the best bufala came from. All I cared about was that they brought it back to Bologna when they went home to visit. We have found some bufala at Costco here in the US. It’s pretty good (not Caserta or Battipaglia good… but pretty good.)

What favorites are you missing from Italy?

PS- If you’re in Italy and live near a US military base: Make friends with someone in the military:) They have full blown American Grocery Stores! Here’s a picture of my friend Anthony in the Grocery store on the Navel base in Napoli. We found lots of favorites including Doritoes, Sam Adams, Diet Coke and canned pumpkin for making pumpkin pie! They also had plenty of your favorite peanut butter brands and Dr. Pepper.