What foods can I take in Checked Baggage?

I think you are asking the wrong question. Not what is allowed in checked baggage - which is an airline question, and anything in checked baggage obviously cannot be eaten on the plane - but what you really want to know is what is allowed into Italy by Italian customs.
Since there is nothing in your list in pressurised containers that are likely to leak under low pressure, I guess you are OK to fly.

As far as customs is concerned, the rules are here: http://ec.europa.eu/taxation_customs/individuals/travelling/entering-eu_en
With respect to foodstuffs, see here: https://ec.europa.eu/food/animals/animalproducts/personal_imports_en
"Travellers are not allowed to bring in meat, milk or their products, . . . . There also is an exemption for powdered infant milk, infant food, and special foods or special pet feed required for medical reasons"

I think your coffee is OK, but no powdered milk unless you are an "infant" :-).

Finally, there are lots of good snacks you can pick up in Italy, including at stations. Enjoy your trip.

P.S. How are you going to boil the water for your freeze dried coffee, especially on a train? And what are you going to drink it out of?

As Chris mentioned, the airlines couldn't care less. It's the Italian customs agents you need to be concerned with. As long as the fruit is dried and the nuts are roasted, none of your items should raise any flags. Even if one or 2 items were confiscated, they aren't that expensive. Just be very sure to declare all your food, even though it's allowable.

My question is "Why take all that stuff in the first place?" Assuming you don't have multiple allergies. Packing freeze dried coffee and sugar into a country that makes arguably the best coffee , and at very low prices. And it's available just about everywhere, including train stations and on the high speed trains. And snacks ( fresh or packaged) are so easy to get just about anywhere.

The only snacks I pack are for the plane ride over. And gum (don't judge) :)

It is fun and interesting to food shop in other countries and Italy has the best foods you can buy.

I have same question as CJEAN-- Why bring all that food.??

60 million people live there. They have grocery stores

I'm thinking the same. There's no reason to bring all that food when there are perfectly good markets (grocery stores) in Italy. They may not have peanut butter but all sorts of other yummy things.

You're weighing yourself down when you don't really need to. Besides, shopping in an Italian market is fun: embrace the experience! The only snacks we ever bring abroad are for the plane.

I bought dried fruit and nuts fairly often in Italy (and other countries) when I was going to be on a bus or train at meal time and didn't expect to have a chance to buy something better. Unless you're rather picky (wanting smoked nuts, etc.), you should be able to find suitable snacks in Italy. I suggest taking a modest quantity of dried fruits and nuts to use just until you fgure out where to get them in Italy.

Peanut butter would take effort to find, and I'm not sure about the cracker options. Potato chips seem popular, but there don't seem to be many crackers on the shelves.

As you are a novice, I will explain exactly what will happen at Italian customs - NOTHING.
After landing and disembarking you:
1) Go through immigration (passport control). This can take 5-50 minutes.
2) Luggage reclaim, pick up your bag with all your goodies in it.
3) Walk through one of two exits: "Goods to declare" (red), or "Nothing to declare" (green).

You DO NOT have to fill out a customs form, you will not talk to a customs officer. By walking through the green door you are deemed legally to have made a declaration. They then only do random checks (less than 1% stopped). Saves on the paperwork and wasting time checking every passenger.
I do not recommend bring in anything banned, like fresh meat, the sniffer dogs may spot it, but also no need to worry.

But, I agree with the others, taking food to Italy is a bit perverse.

Hi, Everyone.

Thank-you all for such great advice.

In answer to some of the questions posed, the instant coffee is because I don't care for the stronger brewed (espresso, french roast, etc.) coffee, and I'll be in an apartment type room with kitchen facilities.

I'm not a picky eater, but I am a little nervous about buying things in a foreign place-- I don't speak their language. (Being a sissy, I guess.) That being said, it makes a lot of sense not to travel with that extra weight in my suitcase, as a few of you pointed out. With so much to see and do, I didn't miss out on the tourist stuff by taking on the task of extra food shopping while there.

Again, thank-you to all who chimed in. I have a lot to learn when it comes to traveling overseas. I'll probably just bring my Tasters Choice and get the train-ride snacks there.

Nuts and dried fruits look exactly the same in Italian markets as they do at home. And don't write off Italian coffee before you've tried it? Shoot, you can always just make it weak if you don't like it strong.

I know some like to travel in a little protected cocoon. As long as you are not deal with serious food allergies part of the travel experience is determining what is in the package taking clues from the words that might be similar to English words and the pictures. You might be surprise what you might like even if you don't know what it is exactly. As for coffee try the local stuff. Ask for Americano. It is espresso with a tea pot of hot water and that you can dilute to the color of weak tea. How to you know you would not like it? Experiment. Part of the reasons for traveling is to test your boundaries. Tasters Choice is not coffee.

Nuts are usually identifiable from their basic packaging, but corn nuts (a corn product, not a nut) are apparently popular, and the pictures on the outside of the package are rather similar to those on packages of peanuts.. You can distinguish between them by weight. Sometimes the two are mixed in a single package, just to make it a bit more interesting. Dried fruits are often sold loose at street markets. Probably a lot fresher than what we get at home. Come to think of it, you'll find nuts at street markets, too, but it may not be obvious whether they are raw, roasted and/or salted.

There are two places that I love to go when I am abroad, supermarkets, and hardware stores! Such a great experience & you will see and meet locals!

You will not have to speak Italian to go grocery shopping. Just pick stuff up and put it in the basket! Market days are fun too!

With kitchen facilities you will want to stock up and make some meals!

Enjoy!

I would pack a few energy bars in carryon, in case of plane or other delays, and call it a day. The only thing that will be hard to find is peanut butter.

You can buy instant coffee in Italy, too, but it may be a darker roast than you like, which could affect the flavor, even if you add more water. So take your instant coffee if you want, but try some real coffee while you are there.

It truly IS a fun experience to wander through stores in other countries. If you like crackers at all, I highly recommend the olive oil flavored saltine crackers. I buy them every time I'm in Italy, along with some cheese. We pack a tiny paring knife in our checked luggage to slice cheese and fruit that we buy once we land in our new place.

Having said that, I also vote that you should pack your instant coffee. You know what taste you like best in the mornings or evenings, and that you will give you a taste of the familiar in between trying out all the new available tastes that await you!

As far as taking the rest of the food, I had an aunt who traveled the entire world with a jar of peanut butter at her side. (It was a new jar for every trip.) She wanted a taste of home to keep her company while she traveled. She also liked to snack.

And our first vacation - here in the States - my mother packed an entire small suitcase with snacks for my father. It was easier and cheaper than trying to find what he liked to eat in a new place.

We all have different travel styles. Take whatever makes you feel most comfortable. And once you're in Italy, have fun!!!

Definitely drop into a grocery store in Italy! It's always fun to check out their snacks or cookies and pick up some veggies and fruit, yogurt and bread. (Pick up the produce with the plastic gloves and set on the scale for the price label). I love to see how the shelves are stocked - long aisle of pasta and just a few yards for cereal. The Italian food is amazing! Enjoy your trip!

Italy has the best coffee in the world and you want to bring freeze dried instant coffee? And part of the fun of travel is foreign snacks. Italy, France etc etc have wonderful snack foods that are a little bit different from North American options. We love buying cookies in supermarkets as they have all sorts of great varieties we can't get and often they are packaged inside their boxes in small individual packs, perfect for purse or pocket.

No one will care about any of this stuff in the luggage and the odds your luggage will even be opened in customs are close to zero. I'd take a pack of granola bars or similar and then plan to pick up snacks while you are there cheaply and easily.

I read once that peanut butter looks suspiciously like plastic explosive on a luggage scanner. I do not know that it is true, but my experience on domestic flights suggests that it may be: I make annual single-destination trips within the US and need a ready supply of peanut butter and crackers once there. My lodgings are selected for proximity to a sports arena rather than a supermarket, so I pack peanut butter in my checked bag and crackers in my carry-on. The checked bag often arrives at the destination airport up with a TSA "We've opened your bag" notice inside it.

BSerrano - you're fine to take all the things you've mentioned in your checked baggage. No problem.

Yes, it's fun to go to grocery stores overseas, but if you want to take these items and take a small pack with you every day to fend off hunger while you're wandering around -- go for it!! You'll have what you want, and won't have to give it a second thought.

My husband enjoys his snacks and gets very grumpy if he gets hungry. So, I like to pack lots of snack items in our carry-on bag for our long flights and in case we get delayed on the plane. I ALWAYS get chosen for advanced screening with TSA. The last time I was chosen, I asked the TSA agent why I always get chosen and she said it could have been because of the food items. She recommended I take the food out of my carry-on luggage and place it in a separate tray. So, I'll try that next time to see if I can get through TSA quicker.

It always amazes me that my husband carries a bag full of electronics and he never gets the advanced screening, but I get pulled aside for food.

I can't find cracker sandwiches with cream cheese and sun-dried tomatoes in the US, but hey are readily available in Italy.

I understand the coffee thing - tho not a coffee drinker myself, my husband likes coffee - not espresso, not cappuccino, not a flat white, not any other fancy drinks - just regular drip coffee with cream/milk and sugar. He's always happy to find a Starbucks or McD's. My mom is the same way, but she rarely will even do drip coffee (we bought her a Keurig and she uses it for hot chocolate and apple cider because the coffee is 'too strong' - I know, she can water it down, but she's set in her ways and always drank instant). So she took the instant coffee packets when she came to Italy with us since she needs her coffee fix in the morning.

No issues with sugar packets - but we usually will pick some up at a grocery store overseas and bring the extras home (I take tea bags for me, so need the sugar for that). I love going into grocery stores and seeing what goodies we can find - especially sweets like cookies or different flavor potato chips and soda. We've also picked up hot chocolate and tea overseas when we start running out - since I find I like something warm at night now - as does my husband - taking a few tea bags doesn't cut it anymore.

I usually pack some granola bars to take over and carry during the day. I tend to get 'hangry', so need to keep me fed and happy...lol. I also like to take hard candies like Werthers for when my mouth gets dry or to take my mind off the fact that I already ate my granola bar and am getting cranky ;)

For the record - my husband did try an Americano in Italy - not the same for him - too strong and he didn't have enough sugar for it - he puts a LOT of sugar in his coffee. Trying to explain in English what he wanted didn't work. No need to shame people for liking what they like...if you want to drink instant coffee - then do it.

I still remember the nuts and dried fruit from my first trip to Italy in 1977. The fruit was all good, but the dried pears were a religious experience. And then there was the cheese and the bread.

I traveled with my two kids and they are always hungry and can be a bit picky. I packed a Costco sized trail mix bag, a large box of granola bars and a jar of peanut butter. We had picnic lunches every day to save money. All I had to buy was bread and fruit once we arrived. I didn't mind carrying the extra weight because the more I save, the quicker I can get back to Italy!

Excellent point, Julie!!

Some of the most fun I have while tracking abroad is navigating things that would be no sweat at home. Doing laundry, buying food and snacks, getting Advil or Claritin. I have so much fun with foreign products, I go into a supermarket in any foreign country I visit, just to browse.

Italy is a big and varied place, but if you're in big city Italy, nearly any of the things you can bring can be found. And it gets you out of that cocoon that I, as an introvert, sometimes have trouble getting out of. Really fond memory of doing laundry in Milan several years ago. Great cocktail story about getting Benadryl in Curaçao. Have bags of local Lays chips from all over Europe and into Asia. I digress. If you're in a big city, you'll meet some real locals if you ask for help finding something. If you're in small town Italy, you will find wonderful things and people st the town market if it's on that day.

I highly recommend drinking the local coffee, eating the local fruit, not worrying about the availability of sugar packets, eating the local cheese (it's generally fantastic) and crackers and nuts. If you love peanut butter, American peanut butter is sold in gourmet shops in Italy. It's something of a luxury ingredient, so bring some for a host, maybe.

You will find a bowl of sugar packets on the counter of every bar.

Street food is easy - pizza at two euro a slice is good value.

I can fully understand the need of those small things we are used to when travelling abroad. Italians hug the bidet and kiss the espresso machine when they are back home... we all have our little addictions.
So no pun intended, but I must know: why on earth would you take sugar packs on a transatlantic flight? Please, I need to know.

I think Eataly stocks peanut butter, as well as some other international items. Pricey, though.

Having an apartment will give you a chance to try - and eventually master - making coffee in a Moka. That is an experience that everybody should try, the results will be different than anything else you have ever tried. Don't turn the flame up too high though.

In defense of instant....
We do bring some along but also a travel-sized kettle. It's not because we don't like Italian coffee - cappuccino stops are practically a religion with us - but because we get up WAY before anything is open. What with coffee/tea makers being rare in Italian hotel rooms, it gets the job done until breakfast.

We're both pretty cranky without coffee first thing in the morning. 😠

I always pack a handful of ziploc bags (empty) and use them for snacks I buy during the trip.

I always pack a handful of ziploc bags (empty) and use them for snacks
I buy during the trip.

Chani, me too! They come in very handy!

With Chani, though I use em for all sorts of things. Snacks, pills, toothpaste, wet clothing... And yes, I have two gallon zip lock bags... the life of a sous vide home artist.