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Camino Souveniers for Foodies

scruffy1

Veteran Member
Time of past OR future Camino
Holy Year from Pamplona 2010, SJPP 2011, Lisbon 2012, Le Puy 2013, Vezelay (partial watch this space!) 2014; 2015 Toulouse-Puenta la Reina (Arles)
Saffron threads not the powder(!) Find it in the Mercado de Abastos de Santiago or any deli. If you are coming in from the Caminho Portugués get it there (hush) it's better
Smoked pepper dulce o picante for that paella back home or to make a boring sausage taste good Mercado de Abastos de Santiago

Ortiz tuna and only Ortiz any supermarket
Spanish coffee any supermarket
Get the stuffed ones (sigh) if you must the whole ones are better
In a jar n-o-t the can

Wine flavored salt. This I picked up last time around very elegant but I don't know what to do with it any advice welcomed
 

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I want to add some more things:
queso de tetilla and membrillo; jamón ibérico; chorizo; morcilla de Burgos; pimientos de picquillo; licor de café
 
Via2010 said:
jamón ibérico; chorizo
Click to expand...
And just a reminder - the jamon and chorizo are not legal to bring in to many countries. Imagine how you will feel when they confiscate it and throw it in the incineration bin.

The Dahlia brand smoked pepper is what was recommended to me by a Spanish friend.
It is delicious on toast with salt and olive oil.

And this shop in Santiago: very nice artisan food things made by religious communities:
https://www.google.com/maps/place/D...50fa443520a3aac!8m2!3d42.8797487!4d-8.5431931
 
Last edited:
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Via2010 said:
I want to add some more things:
queso de tetilla and membrillo; jamón ibérico; chorizo; morcilla de Burgos; pimientos de picquillo; licor de café
Click to expand...
Via2010 said:
I want to add some more things:
queso de tetilla and membrillo; jamón ibérico; chorizo; morcilla de Burgos; pimientos de picquillo; licor de café
Click to expand...
queso de tetilla ; jamón ibérico; chorizo; morcilla de Burgos; are big no no's and if found undeclared will be taken and can lead to fines - membrillo is an acquired taste.
 
scruffy1 said:
queso de tetilla ; jamón ibérico; chorizo; morcilla de Burgos; are big no no's and if found undeclared will be taken and can lead to fines - membrillo is an acquired taste.
Click to expand...

Sorry, I forgot, that most of you are not members of the EU. In Europe we are so used to free travel, that we do not think about it.

There is a series on German TV that shows that bringing Food (especially meat), seeds etc. is a big issue for people travelling to Canada, Australia etc.

So I am also not sure if you could buy seeds for "piementos de padron" and bring them to your country.

BC
Alexandra
 
No, seeds are usually not an option either, considered a bio hazard, they would be confiscated in Australia and NZ
 
Let us pick up your suitcase once you arrive in Europe....
...and ship it to Santiago for storage. You pick it up once in Santiago. Service offered by Casa Ivar (we use DHL for transportation).
Cheese is fine to bring into the US (meat, fresh fruit & veg, and seeds are not). I often bring home queso San Simón (Galician smoked cheese).



Now, when in my carry-on bag, I did get a little extra screening when going through Heathrow (due to the shape, I suspect!), but it was fine once they saw that it actually was cheese.

Spices, especially saffron, are quite inexpensive, so I’ll grab those too (so small and light!).

Just be sure to declare these items on your customs form and enjoy them at home!
 
Saffron inexpensive? By weight it's pricier than gold! More seriously, lots of stuff that isn't the real deal gets sold cheaply as saffron. The individual threads (stamens) need to be harvested by hand from the delicate and hard to grow flower, so the real stuff is not inexpensive at all.
 
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Not to forget Tarta de Santiago (hand-made from a bakery, not boxed), chocoate slabs for making hot chocolate, torrons and other sweet treats.
 


Yummy!!! I picked up safron last October in Santiago for my paella back home here...
 
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scruffy1 said:
queso de tetilla ; jamón ibérico; chorizo; morcilla de Burgos; are big no no's ...........
Click to expand...
Via2010 said:
Sorry, I forgot, that most of you are not members of the EU. In Europe we are so used to free travel, that we do not think about it.
Click to expand...
That's why we see people from Europe bringing in all these goodies when they come to visit friends and family only to have it all confiscated upon arrival. Oh, it's so hard to see their disappointment and heartbreak.
 
VNwalking said:
And just a reminder - the jamon and chorizo are not legal to bring in to many countries. Imagine how you will feel when they confiscate it and throw it in the incineration bin.
Click to expand...

Ha, that reminds me of a funny story. In the 70s, coming home from Spain on a cheap flight filled with college students, one of the students saw her friend’s chorizo get confiscated, so she took hers out and passed it down the line for us all to get a bite or two before we got to the customs guy.
 

Smart move!!

My husband and I were once, uh... "forced," to consume a small bottle of limoncello after we remembered we were only taking carry-on the next day. Made for a nice evening, though. And we thoughtfully offered several toasts to the couple who were supposed to get it as a gift.
 
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My niece's husband brought me some saffron back from Syria a couple of years ago - about 150gms worth! Very strong scent and flavour and it freezes nicely, ziploc bag inside a Lock and Lock plastic box. His mother's advice - steep the threads in tepid water before adding to the recipe.
 
Chocolate caliente - Paladin is a decent enough brand.

Choose the tetilla cheese well, some of the more mature ones could be used as a wrecking ball.
 
lindam said:
Not to forget Tarta de Santiago (hand-made from a bakery, not boxed), chocoate slabs for making hot chocolate, torrons and other sweet treats.
Click to expand...
That's exactly what I was going to suggest: a Torta de Santiago brought from a bakery!
 
Let us pick up your suitcase once you arrive in Europe....
...and ship it to Santiago for storage. You pick it up once in Santiago. Service offered by Casa Ivar (we use DHL for transportation).
This is just what happened to my Dutch sister in law, when she arrived at Newark. The customs guy saw her apple ( The Dutch love to travel with an apple)! and went to confiscate it, so she actually ate it in front if him He wasn't pleased! Then He asked her if she had some cookies. "Cookies" she asked! He looked in her bag and pulled out a packet. "these" he said. "Oh" says Jose, " you mean biscuits"!!!!
 

This reminded me of the episode of I Love Lucy where she tries to smuggle the cheese!
 
Jeff Crawley said:
Chocolate caliente - Paladin is a decent enough brand.

Choose the tetilla cheese well, some of the more mature ones could be used as a wrecking ball.
Click to expand...

I never tried tetilla cheese. Most of Galician cheeses are flat. I always eat a cheese made in a small factory in my village (near Betanzos) made of milk from milky cows (Frisian). The tetilla cheese has, in theory, some milk from beef cows (galician blonde and brown- alpine), so must be tastier and have more quality than those ones from my village..
I'm going to buy a tetiila cheese just to compare!!
 
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I could never understand why Americans call those scones they make "biscuits" - I mean the word literally comes from bis cuit > twice/double cooked > crunchy.

They still taste good whatever you call them
 
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Kiwis, you are allowed to bring cheese (surprising given our strict border control) - but only 2kg per person. We bring some every time and declare it - this last trip they didn’t even look at it and sent us through the green lane.
 
mylifeonvacation said:
What is that cheese called?
Click to expand...
It doesn't have any particular name , just queixo ( cheese ). All Galician cheeses with Denominacion de Orixe like tetilla , San Simon and Arzua - Ulloa have some proportion of milk from beef cows which is better but obviously limited and this one only has milk from milky cows. So. no D. O.
 
@Pelegrin That’s an interesting fact! I have read about which cows are used for the different cheeses but assumed they were all milk cows, didn’t realize any were beef cows.

As Mariñas has so many great products - you are fortunate to live right there! I’m especially interested in the wine there (Branco Lexitimo), I’ve tried a few and especially liked the Ouro Moído (a sweet dessert wine).

Speaking of, if you are checking a bag back home, wine and/or Galician liquor (licor) is a wonderful souvenir!! Just pack carefully!
 
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You know a lot about Galicia !
Branco Lexitimo or Albarin branco is also the grape of the wines in Cangas de Narcea (Asturias).
I am Galician but live in Madrid.
 
One thing that hasn’t been mentioned much are the Galician canned goodies from the sea. Many of us turn our nose up at canned tuna (thinking, perhaps of Chicken of the Sea), but all of these products are totallly different. I know there is a shop in the mercado that specializes in this (and the cans are beautiful, btw). As I was searching the Santiago market website, I came across this shop that specializes in product from areas in Spain that are on the Camino Francés. Does anyone have any experience with this shop to report on the quality of what is sold there?

http://www.benbo.eu/actualidad/conservas-del-camino-productos-exclusivos-plaza-abastos-santiago/

By the way, Lisbon has a shop with an almost infinite number of canned products. They make great little gifts. http://www.conserveiradelisboa.pt/
 
But make sure, if the recipe calls for tuna, whether it is canned or fresh that's required.

I gave a friend a recipe for marmitako and they used canned

BTW is the umbrella repair man still just along the Rúa das Ameas between the market and La Radio cafe? I didn't drop by on my last visit - usually I reward myself with La Radio's churros but I have to walk 500 miles to deserve it!
 
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@peregrina2000. I have been to this shop and it has an eclectic range of stuff-- it would be a good one-stop shopping place for souvenirs and gifts. The prices were not at the donativo level, but they were not exorbitant--- I would call them fair.

Cheesoholics might want to check out the cheese shops in the mercado. They have a range of very good and reasonable unbland Galician and Asturian cheese and will cheerfully give you some samples to make your choice. I normally pick up five or six small wheels to take back to Canada (60-80 euro worth) which keeps me going for about six months. As well, several of the stalls sell orujo blanco casero. To facilitate travel, I usually just fill my water bladder with orujo and put it in my backpack for the flight (checked luggage, of course)--- I do note that I always declare it, and the cheese, to the amusement of Canadian authorities. "Two litres of local spirits," I tell them. They note it is over the 1.14 litre limit and I remind them that I declared it, and they (so far) have just grinned and wave me through. For the cheese, they have asked if it be for resale, and I assure them that nobody, aside from perhaps a rare dinner guest, will get a morsel-- it is all for me.
 
For something with a bit more of a kick.. Try Pacharan, a digestivo type alcoholic drink. These photos are from the bar of the albergue in Tosantos where the waitress was keen to show us the whole range. For the record she thought the one with the basque writing was the best (Patxarana). I bought a bottle in Corte ingles in Madrid to bring home with me.
 
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Also a nice souvenir: Turrón (traditional spanisch Christmas Sweets).

There are loads of different varieties. I like most the hard white turrón with entire almonds (be careful of your teeth) and the toasted "Turrón de yemas" which you can also have with orange slices.
 
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