The Six Day Cooler

Weather forecasters in the states love to warn folks that the storm of the century is coming, that there will be feet of snow, ice, etc, and that you won't be able to get out for days. So what do Americans do? They all run to the grocery store and stock up on every item they could possibly need - milk, bread, eggs... to last for a week. In fact, it is such a common phenomenon that companies make coolers called the five day cooler or the six day cooler to hold the food for just such a purpose.



Talking to my parents in Connecticut and hearing about yet another such forecast for the middle of this week, it got me thinking. What would happen if the forecasters in Italy made similar warnings?



Most Italians go to the store almost every day. Which means, they rarely buy more than they can carry home in their shoulder bag - or at most, their 2 wheel pull bag. Buying in bulk isn't even an option. Milk for example cannot be purchased in a gallon - it only comes in 1/2 and liter sized containers meaning you are forced to go to the store almost daily to pick up a bottle. With little kids at home, between cereal in the morning and one bottle/glass of milk in the evening, we are lucky if the milk container makes it through the day. Similarly, the largest quantity eggs are sold in is a half dozen. At home you can find 2 dozen containers in most stores. Here if you want more than 6 you are buying multiple containers. Butter - comes in single "stick" servings. Cereal boxes too are smaller than US boxes. All this is to say that it is pretty hard to stock up even if you wanted to.



Then there is the issue of ringing up the items and getting them out of the store. Most of the stores - even the little supermercato - usually only have one check out lane. And the other customers, all used to daily shopping, do not take kindly to someone with a large quantity of items in front of them. The second week we were here I was in line "buying in bulk" since I had 2 milk containers, some bread, various pasta and sauces, and beverages etc. We were having CJ's classmates over that evening and we wanted to make sure we had enough for ourselves for the day plus 6 additional folks that night. Well, the elderly woman behind me in line was not pleased that I had so many things on the conveyor belt. It bothered her to the point that she turned around and told the woman after her in line that she couldn't understand why I was buying so much. (I don't know much Italian but knew enough to tell she wasn't pleased). Fortunately the woman taking her complaints was kind enough to defend me saying that I was clearly buying for more than just myself - I have kids and a family to cook for too (pointing out the little ones waiting at the foot of the register). It was a humorous experience, but not at all unusual. Each time I go to the store and purchase more than 5 or 6 items it creates a scene.



Finally, there is the issue of getting the items home and storing them away. Since you are likely walking you can only purchase as much as you can carry/drag. Then once you get it home, you've got to put it away. And Italian refrigerators are not nearly the same size as American ones. So you've got a limited amount of space to work with.



And this was just the supermarket. If you want good bread, you should really go to the bakery. Good meat, to the butcher. Good wine, to the wine store. Good fish, to the pescheria, etc. So come to think of it, given the amount of time it takes to shop - going to each store, and getting the volume you'd need to prepare for the storm of the century - I wonder if you'd even make it home before the storm ended?



A visit to the store, and there goes the day! The good news about all this rain - yes, it poured again today, thunder and lightening and all - is that when the sun does come out you notice it. Here's a shot from yesterday.


Family and friends in the north east, good luck with the snow later this week! Better stock up now!