Fresh Markets In Rome

 Fresh Fruit at Campo dei Fiori

Fresh Meat Market in Campo Dei Fiori

One thing that I really love about Rome is the abundance of fresh fruit, fish, and meat markets!  In America, its safe to say that the majority of people shop at large supermarkets.  Most Americans don't go to individual fresh markets, but rather trust these large superstores to give them fresh products.  Living in Rome, I've definitely eaten out a lot, but also done a lot of cooking at my apartment.  For the first couple months, I got all my fish, meat, and fruit from the supermarket doing the street, Simply Market.  However, recently I've become very interested in these specialty fresh markets.  Perhaps one of the most famous fresh markets in Rome is the daily market in Campo Dei Fiori.  Just recently I've started getting fruit and spices from there on the way home from the school.  I can't emphasize enough the difference between the fruit that I've gotten from Campo with that from Simply Market.  Everything is much more fresh, ripe, and just overall of better quality.  My favorite fruit to eat right now is strawberries since they're in season now!  I got strawberries from Campo the other day and ate the whole container on the way home because they were so fresh and sweet!  I also recently visited fresh meat and fish markets with Christina, our cooking teacher.  She is a chef at a very upscale restaurant called Glass, located in Trastevere, and said that her restaurant always goes to fresh fish and meat markets in order to get top quality products.  Just to see if I could taste a difference, I got chicken from one of the fresh meat markets the other day and made it.  It was so much tastier than the chicken that I've gotten at simply!  It was much more tender and had much more flavor!  I've found that these fresh markets located all throughout Rome are integral to many Italian families and restaurants, providing the fresh ingredients that are key to making a delicious meal!