Nonna Box is an Italian gourmet food subscription that brings authentic Italian flavors from a specific region for only $69.95 per month. You’ll get a box of 6 full-size products that are hard-to-come-by and local to the Italian region of the month.
DEAL: Get $5 off your first box! Use coupon code SALUTE.
The Italian region of the month is Umbria!
A short message from Nonna Box!
There were several info cards included in the box. This one tells you more about the story of Nonna Clementina’s Umbrian Life. Each edition of the box features a different region of Italy, enlisting the help of a local Nonna to share nostalgic memories, locale custom, and a few of her favorite recipes!
The back shows a silhouette of Umbria, identifying the origin of each item in the box.
Another card shares some Umbrian history, highlighting some of the fantastic meats and wines from the region.
These cards gives you a short description of the items in the box, with an emphasis on the cultural significance of the product. The cards describe how the food fits into the local culture, share a bit about the brand included in the box, and tell you how the locals like to eat it.
This subscription also comes with several recipe cards to fully immerse you in the Umbrian flavors. The recipes are suggested by the local Nonna, and they incorporate the products in the box. At the end of each recipe is an additional blurb and photo sharing even more about the region.
All the products in my Nonna Box!
Latte Umbrian Chocolate: This milk chocolate has a smooth, almost creamy, texture and sweet flavor.
The coffee flavor is pronounced, but it is very natural and blended well-tempered by the milky chocolate.
Terre Di Grifonetto Extra Virgin Olive Oil: Umbria is one of the main olive oil producing regions in Italy. This cold-pressed oil is made from hand-picked dolce agogia olives grown near Trasimeno Lake in Umbria. It has a golden-green tone with slight bitterness and a hint of almond flavor in the finish. It is superb for all manner of appetizers and table use.
Ritrovo Selections Stringozzi: Prior to cooking, this pasta is about the thickness of prepared thick spaghetti noodles. It is extracted with a square-shaped die, passing that shaped along to the noodle. This 500g bag contained 6 twisted single-serving bundles of pasta.
Fattorie Umbre Arugula Pesto: Rather than the typical basil and pine nut combination we associate with pesto, this version uses rocket (arugula), blended with olive oil and a bit of anchovy and almond. It has a lovely flavor, not as peppery or bitter as I would expect from such a volume of arugula. It is more earthy and green than the highly aromatic and herbal basil versions.
We paired the pesto and noodles, topping with a bit of aged Parmesan. The noodles plumped quite a bit, though retaining their peculiar shape – they ended up resembling fresh pasta in both appearance and texture, the difference being that these noodles withstood cooking very well and didn’t soften as quickly as fresh. The pesto coated the noodles beautifully, with a dollop being sufficient to dress a bowl of the latter.
Sigi Mulberry Jam: This “jam” is made using whole mulberries and sugar. It is peculiar, in that it isn’t thick or blended in the manner of typical jam.
Instead, the mulberries are completely intact, with the sauce comprising juice sweated from the berries by the sugar. The berries had their caps and stems, and you can even see the tiny hair-like fibers. The berries are very firm and not overly sweet. I think they are best used as a garnishing item or baked in a rustic tart, as recommended by this month’s nonna.
Fattorie Umbre Tartufata: This version of pesto uses Porcini mushrooms for a potent, earthy flavor. The aroma is also intense, making this item best left to true mushroom lovers. The nonna recipe suggests using a dollop to augment a tomato-based sauce for use on pasta.
This box has a great concept, and we really appreciate the intense focus on culture and tradition. Each item is grounded in the food history of the region, and the monthly local nonna, along with her recipes, creates a palpable link between the produce of the region and the way in which the locals prepare and consume it. The box has a very authentic feel, shown by the reverence for local food culture and the deliberate avoidance of a scattershot pan-Italian take on Italian food. The products themselves were of admirably high quality.
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