A Rare Look At Michelangelo's Grocery List

[Meanderer]

"Michelangelo, the great Italian Renaissance artist who sculpted the David and painted St. Peter's Basilica, is known for his great achievements as a sculptor, painter, architect, engineer and a poet. But one little known fact is that this great artist could also put together a mean grocery list".


"In this grocery list dating back to the 16th century, we see that Michelangelo not only wrote down what he needed but he also took the time to illustrate each item. Although the drawings are beautiful, wouldn’t a written list have sufficed? Apparently not".


"Steve Duin from the Oregonian explains it best: “Because the servant he was sending to market was illiterate, Michelangelo illustrated the shopping lists — a herring, tortelli, two fennel soups, four anchovies and ‘a small quarter of a rough wine’ — with rushed (and all the more exquisite for it) caricatures in pen and ink.”

 

[jujube]

...and I bet he left the list on the front seat of the wagon when he went into the market, too.

 

[Meanderer]

 

[RadishRose]

...and I bet he left the list on the front seat of the wagon when he went into the market, too.

There's a website of actual discarded grocery lists

http://www.grocerylists.org/portfolio-page/view-the-lists/

.......and people complain they have nothing to do!

 

[jujube]

There's a website of actual discarded grocery lists

http://www.grocerylists.org/portfolio-page/view-the-lists/

.......and people complain they have nothing to do!

I saw one of my sister's lists:

Milk
Eggs
Bread
Macaroni
Cheese
Rat

Uh, rat?

Yep, rat. The pet store was next door to the supermarket and she needed to remember to get a rat for her boa constrictor.

Most people don't have "rat" on their list, I'm pretty sure.

 

[RadishRose]

I saw one of my sister's lists:

Milk
Eggs
Bread
Macaroni
Cheese
Rat

Uh, rat?

Yep, rat. The pet store was next door to the supermarket and she needed to remember to get a rat for her boa constrictor.

Most people don't have "rat" on their list, I'm pretty sure.

I'm pretty sure too!

 

[Meanderer]

This is a picture of a brown paper shopping bag, from The Farmer's Exchange in Clinton Maine, from the 50's. You would save the bag and check off items needed during the week in between shopping. I like the "mouse traps", "washing powder" & "Rolled Oats"!!

 

[RadishRose]

I like the 3 digit phone number 24-4, bluing and blacking. I guess the fly paper and the fly swatters were in the mousetrap section.

 

[Meanderer]

How A Chef Really Shops: An Annotated Grocery List

John Manolatos, co-owner and head chef of Cashion's Eat Place.

The Things Chef WILL NEVER BUY From A Grocery Store

• Tomatoes: "I'm just never sure. Tomatoes are such a finicky product."

• Lettuce: "It always feels weird to buy lettuce in bags."

• Bread: "It's so soft and mushy." He buys bread at an Italian deli.

• Berries: Manolatos avoids the modified "frankenberries" that have been shipped from afar.

The Things Chef WILL BUY From A Grocery Store

• Green beans: They're cheap, they're in season, they're classic, he says.

• Grapes: Because they are easy to transport without smushing.

• Greek yogurt: Manolatos goes for Fage — "the expensive Greek stuff."

• Progresso lentil soup: Manolatos is not so big on canned food, but if he can't whip up a soup himself, he'll turn to this can, which reminds him of childhood. "Greeks eat lentils like they're going out of style."

• Generic olive oil: Even for a big believer in olive oil, Manolatos finds "the generic brands have really seemed to catch up with the name brands" and he doesn't splurge on fancy oils at home.