What items do you miss most?

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TishTash
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What items do you miss most?

Postby TishTash » Tue Aug 01, 2017 9:05 am

I'm planning on moving to Huelva in September/October and will be bringing over all our furniture in a large self drive lorry :)

What do you miss the most and wish you had bought with you when you went to Spain?

I've already packed loads of foodstuffs that I know my other half and son will miss (till they get used to the local food), silly things like Bisto, brown sauce and paxo stuffing LOL but are there other things I haven't even considered? I remember when my Mum went to live in Seville, she told me that she couldn't get hold of a proper sized mug for example.

What have I not thought of that you advise me to consider?

Many thanks

Natasha

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Re: What items do you miss most?

Postby El Cid » Tue Aug 01, 2017 9:33 am

After many years in Spain I have narrowed it down to a single item - Kippers!

I can get everything else easily including all the items on your list.

Sid

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Re: What items do you miss most?

Postby TorreDelAguila » Tue Aug 01, 2017 10:05 am

Yes. Kippers, and Lady Grey tea bags.
And Abbot Ale, of course (from the keg, that is). Supersol does the canned stuff.
And the odd muffin and crumpet. You can't beat a bit of....
Chris

TishTash
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Re: What items do you miss most?

Postby TishTash » Tue Aug 01, 2017 10:09 am

lol Kippers and crumpets! that made me laugh. Luckily I reckon I wouldn't miss either as I'm not a kipper fan, and as much as I enjoy the odd bit of crumpet I think I could do without ;)

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Re: What items do you miss most?

Postby Lyric » Tue Aug 01, 2017 10:10 am

Gluten free brown sauce seems difficult and an alternate breakfast cereal to G.F. corn flakes. (the muesli is awful) most else we can manage.

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Re: What items do you miss most?

Postby BENIDORM » Tue Aug 01, 2017 10:23 am

Welcome to the Forum Tish Tash,
This subject has been covered many times here, but of course is constantly changing, and I would suggest that you bring a good selection of your favourite UK products with you if you are self driving.
Most items are available here in Spain, but obviously more expensive, but once you have settled in you should be able to find local products to replace most of your UK items.
If you are bringing items in packets then I suggest that you quickly transfer them into sealed plastic containers to 'put off' the pantry moths from feeding on them.
Also when you unpack your items from cardboard boxes, it is better to discard them quickly, cockroaches and silver fish love cardboard boxes.
Good Luck,
Gordon

TishTash
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Re: What items do you miss most?

Postby TishTash » Tue Aug 01, 2017 10:45 am

Thanks Gordon, never thought about bugs in my dry foodstuff. I had better find some nice tupperware as soon as I arrive as I seem to have accumulated rather a lot of Paxo stuffing already ;) and thank you for the tip regarding the cardboard boxes, that's also something I hadn't thought of. It's going to be an interesting learning curve but I'm sure this forum will make it easier for me, so you will have to excuse the silly questions ;)

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Re: What items do you miss most?

Postby El Cid » Tue Aug 01, 2017 10:56 am

BENIDORM wrote:
If you are bringing items in packets then I suggest that you quickly transfer them into sealed plastic containers to 'put off' the pantry moths from feeding on them.
Also when you unpack your items from cardboard boxes, it is better to discard them quickly, cockroaches and silver fish love cardboard boxes.
We have had problems with pantry moths, but now use a special adhesive patch that you stick on the inside of the cupboard door.

https://www.amazon.es/gp/product/B00CAU ... UTF8&psc=1

When we were living on our boat full time one rule was than absolutely no cardboard boxes were allowed on board - even a packet of cereals had to be transferred before boarding. A cockroach infestation is bad news anywhere, but on a small yacht it is awful! Apparently it's the glue that is the attraction as they lay their eggs in the boxes knowing that the larvae can feed on the glue at first before they move on to the rice crispies!

Sid

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Re: What items do you miss most?

Postby BENIDORM » Tue Aug 01, 2017 11:09 am

Tish Tash,
You are welcome...
Can I suggest that you ask the forum members for advice on all matters however trivial they may seem, someone will come up with good practical advice.
There is a lot of information available on Google, but some of it is total rubbish, so beware.
I only reply to questions that I or close friends have experience of and sometimes you will get many conflicting offers of advice, so be wary.
As for buying plastic storage boxes, they are cheap and plentiful here in Spain and most are Spanish manufacture,( made in Alcoy, Ibi and Tibi...I know I've visited the factories ) :lol:
You should visit the big Chinese Bazaars for most of your general requirements, they do sell some tat, but if you are a discerning buyer you will get some bargains.
Regards,
Gordon.
ps...Good advice Sid... :thumbup:

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Re: What items do you miss most?

Postby Gasman » Tue Aug 01, 2017 12:41 pm

TishTash wrote
so you will have to excuse the silly questions ;)

Dont worry about the silliness or otherwise of your questions as sometimes they bring out the best in us on the forum, and can sometimes lead to very interesting discussions! You may think it silly, but it may be just what someone else wanted to know but didnt dare ask!!

Welcome to the forum - dont forget to SEARCH the various bits of the forum first - an awful lot of subjects have already cropped up and you may learn from them, or be able to add to them. Do explore several of the local chinese/indian/etc cheap bazaars (pronounced vatharez in Spanish!)- you will be amazed at the good they carry, and try several because they do tend to stock slightly different ranges/items. However - avoid buying electrical goods from them. Check out your local electrical goods shop in your nearest town - they are often cheaper than the Supermarkets and safer than the bazaars.

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Re: What items do you miss most?

Postby Wicksey » Tue Aug 01, 2017 1:00 pm

Don't forget how hot it gets here for long term storage of food stuffs. So many items (including medical stuff) says do not store above 25 degrees whereas out house has not dropped below 28 for quite a few weeks now and some rooms are over 30. You may have aircon but things will deteriorate more quickly. Having said that, I have kept things in the bottom of the spare room cupboard fairly successfully apart from one year when the ants found it and chewed their way into sealed packets. I do a regular ant check now and am very vigilant as I do have a rather large store of food that I don't want ruined. As others have said, the Chinese bazaars are very good and we have put just about everything into plastic boxes now.

If there is a Lidl near to you then keep an eye out for their special weeks (you can check online and look at the brochures for coming weeks). They occasionally have an 'English' week with pickles etc, and if like us you like a range of different foods, then we always look out for the Asian weeks for naan breads etc or the Greek or Middle Eastern weeks for such delights as Retsina and Dolmades. They recently had a British beer week and we went and cleared the shelves of the Morland's Old Golden Hen Ale they had, it was so delicious and usually impossible to get here.

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Re: What items do you miss most?

Postby Lyric » Tue Aug 01, 2017 1:40 pm

So it was you !

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Re: What items do you miss most?

Postby AkoAko » Tue Aug 01, 2017 2:59 pm

Dairy Fresh Cream cakes and a decent Donna Kebab .

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Re: What items do you miss most?

Postby dxf » Tue Aug 01, 2017 10:28 pm

Hola

My advice is exactly the opposite of what you wanted to hear; bring nothing and convert to Spanish food - the Spanish people thrive on it and are only obese because of Macdonalds and the like.

I will admit that trips to Gibraltar in the first six months helped me convert but now apart from the occasional "English" day - I eat totally Spanish.

Davexf

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Re: What items do you miss most?

Postby alisonb » Wed Aug 02, 2017 10:27 am

You'll be surprised what you can buy here. Last week Aldi had marmite, vintage cheddar, two types of Branson (original and small chunk). I remember bringing back vintage cheddar a couple of years ago, and when we got back Lidl we're having an English week, with the identical cheese cheaper than I'd brought back! My oh misses fromage frais type yogurts which don't seem available. As for the pantry moths, I use the sticky traps too, but all they do is catch them. It would be nice to have something which prevents them.
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Re: What items do you miss most?

Postby Wicksey » Wed Aug 02, 2017 10:54 am

Mercadona do Cheddar now plus a few more exciting things in recent years like hummus and foccacia bread. I don't often buy English stuff and do cook mainly from scratch, but my home-made pickles are just not very good ... not sure why but I cannot master chutney-making, so resort to a shop bought jar for those. (My home made marmalade is pretty good though and free to make apart from buying the sugar!) OH really likes Shredded Wheat but they are expensive here when you can find them. Mercadona stocks Weetabix but he likes the non-sugar, non-salt Shredded Wheat best. Bottled British real ale is a treat too when I can get it.

TishTash
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Re: What items do you miss most?

Postby TishTash » Mon Aug 07, 2017 10:19 am

lol love all the ideas. I think I've thought of everything that I want to bring over so that we ease into the Spanish way of eating slowly, rather than feeling like we are going without and missing out. I won't have any problems with 100% Spanish yummies, but I know that other half and son may pine for Paxo and pickles :D I reckon the only thing I will seriously miss are sausages which are incredibly bad for me anyway and barely get a whiff of the pig on it's way to the processing plant.

I have taken note regarding sticking everything in plastic boxes and will be checking out the Chinese shops for airtight containers as soon as I arrive.

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Re: What items do you miss most?

Postby Miro » Mon Aug 07, 2017 11:19 am

I don't recall if you've told us where you're moving to, but Spanish supermarkets in areas with plenty of foreign residents or tourists are likely to stock English (or English style) sausages. Our nearest Supersol stocked frozen bangers. Lidl or Aldi probably do too. Iceland sell frozen sausage meat, which OH used to use to make stuffing - until she realised the frozen sausages in Supersol were cheaper!
But the Spanish make very good sausages, and if you have an Argentinian butcher near you, you should try the criollo - fantastic on the BBQ. Having recently moved back to the UK, we are really missing proper butchers and green grocers, and having to gradually adjust and accept that frozen packets are the only way to shop here. Very disappointing. I don't think it will take you long to realise that fresh food is one of the best things about living in Spain, and you'll never look back. Fortunately, where we live, we have a choice of Polish & Baltic supermarkets, so there is still an alternative to pre-packed rubbish...
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TishTash
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Re: What items do you miss most?

Postby TishTash » Mon Aug 07, 2017 11:39 am

Hi Miro,

I'll be moving to Gibraleon, just above Huelva. I think there is a Mercadona close by but I haven't really checked out if there are other supermarkets in the area. I did a reconnaissance mission of Mercadona and can see that it has everything I would need for a weekly shop. Almost all the fresh produce and chicken was a lot cheaper than Tescos/Sainsburys so I will be able to feed my family for a lot less. I'm bringing over curry pastes and powders by the gallon as I doubt they would be cheaper as I didn't actually see any in Mercadona. Once my supply is gone I will consider myself fully integrated ;)

We don't tend to eat other meat very often so I didn't really check those prices, but obviously fish was much cheaper than in the UK, and 1.50 euros for a kilo of artichokes made me grin like an idiot (love them) Also love the prices of the green frying peppers too, I will be using them all the time. Probably growing and drying them too.

Can't wait to move over. Selling my house in the UK is taking sooooo long though and it's so frustrating when I know that the Spanish would have me moved in super quick!

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Re: What items do you miss most?

Postby Miro » Mon Aug 07, 2017 11:56 am

Yes, the price of peppers back here in the UK is still leaving us dumbstruck - can't believe it's actually cheaper to buy a packet of mixed, chopped, frozen peppers than the "real" thing, which is hard to get my head around. And I hate the fact that we're forced to generate so much waste packaging as well. Luckily, we are well catered to for the more exotic (like your curry pastes etc.) as we're really not much into typical English cuisine anyway!
For what you can't find in Mercadona, Huelva has several of the other large ones, so I'm sure you'll find everything you need in due time.

We're now down to the bones of our last leg of jamón serrano, which will go into a delicious soup for the next few days. Once that's gone, I guess we'll be totally integrated!
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