(photo: some of the items in the Cento Italian Pantry Giveaway, including pasta, olive oil, hot peppers, etc.)
Last summer I espoused the virtues of the Italian pantry and the concept of being prepared to cook and eat well every day of the year regardless of access to “fresh ingredients.” Specifically, I suggested lovers of Italian food keep a well stocked pantry including varying dry pasta shapes, canned fish, cheese and salumi, beans, etc. so that a quick meal can be put together on the fly and, more importantly, independent of visiting your local restaurant or take out establishment.
The well stocked pantry has a special place in my heart because the Italian homes I grew up in, including my grandmother and mother’s kitchens, never lacked staples for creating wonderful, and simple, meals. My grandmother’s pantry, as an example, included homemade pickled vegetables (i.e., eggplant, carrots, green tomatoes, spicy peppers), oil cured sun dried tomatoes, provola, 2-3 variations of salumi, oil cured black olives, larger green olives, salt cod, pasta, dry beans, twice baked bread with a long shelf life, etc. Many of the items in the pantry were homemade and represented a way of living and eating that was tied to life in Calabria during 1940-1970′s; including the basic principles of eating on the cheap, eating well, and preparing your own food.
In the spirit of my grandmother’s food philosophy and enabling our readers to keep a well stocked Italian American pantry, Scordo.com has partnered with Cento to offer one lucky Scordo reader a chance to win a few staple Italian pantry products. Cento produces well over 1,000 products with six distinct brands including Ferrara, Anna, Bellino, etc. and I’ve always liked the Cento product line up because it represented good value and accessibility for Italian and Italian American foods.
(photo: the olive oils included in the Cento Italian Pantry Giveaway)
We’ve hand selected the following products and they’ll all be included in our Italian Pantry Giveaway:
- 1 can of Tuno packed in olive oil
- 1 bottle each of extra virgin olive oil from four Italian regions: sicilia, tuscana, etc.
- 1 bottle of whole hot cherry peppers
- 1 bottle of red crushed pepper
- 1 can of San Marzano whole peeled tomatoes
- 1 can of tomato paste
- 1 package of Bellino arborio rice
- 1 package of Anna Rotelle shape #54 pasta
- 1 package of Anna Anellini shape #71 pasta
- 1 package of Ferrara whole bean espresso coffee 1 pound
And here’s how to enter:
- Prize Giveaway includes one package containing all of the items listed above; one lucky winner will be selected.
- What you need to do to enter: 1. leave a comment under this post on your favorite Italian pantry item, 2. become a fan of Scordo.com on Facebook, and 3. become a fan of Cento on Facebook. If you’re already a fan of Scordo on Facebook please share the page with your family and friends.
- Only one entry per person please.
- The contest is open until 12 midnight on 6/29 and a single random user will be picked via Random.org (sorry contest only open to folks from the US given shipping logistics). The winner will be announced immediately on Twitter (so please follow us) and on Scordo.com by 5PM on Monday, 7/4.
- Please use a valid email address when leaving a comment so I can contact you just in case you’re the lucky winner (I’ll need your shipping address). If you become a fan of Scordo.com on Facebook be sure to leave a comment on our Wall or we will not know you’ve become a fan (reference the giveaway please)!
- Cento will send out the package during the second week of July.

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