If you ever have visitors in town from another country or you travel abroad, I have found that the grocery store is not only the most convenient and cheapest tourist attraction, but also the most amusing!
When Wietse moved to Chicago, his favorite thing to do rather than frequenting bars, was to go to the grocery store. In fact, Saturday nights are the best time to go when no one else is around. What can I say, I am a good host! Each time we went, it was like a night out on the town (and took just about that long). I found this very bizarre, but now can relate. However, Wietse does have it easier since American grocery stores are much larger than European grocery stores. Not only are the stores smaller in Europe, but the products itself are Half the size.
I had some great finds at the "Kroger" of Holland:
- Sprinkles Galore: Something that is very popular here is putting sprinkles on your bread in the morning. These sprinkles don't taste like our typical waxy sprinkles. They taste and melt like real chocolate or white chocolate or strawberry, etc.. The selection is about just as large as our cereal selection in the States.
- 6 Tomatoes for .50 cents
- Fruit is unreal. The shnozberries taste like shnozberries.
- CHEEEESE! Its a cheese lover's paradise and for sooo cheap! The cheese selection spreads as far wide as the entire store
- Yogurt in Europe is out of this world. My morning yogurt with museli is like dessert.
Some Startling Finds:
- No Ranch, No italian dressing
- No such thing as Pam spray
- Baking product aisle is mute
- American mayonnaise = relish?!
- In the lunchmeat area, no turkey - mostly ham and salami
- A can of tuna fish costs more than buying Fresh fish.
Non-Food items (located in a different store usually next to the grocery store):
- Bourjois makeup is half the price of Revlon
- Contact solution is expensive
- MOST SURPRISING OF ALL...... nail polish remover. For a travel size bottle of nail polish remover, it cost me 5 Euro ($7)! As Wietse explained, products that contain chemicals cost more because they are bad for the environment. The higher cost is supposed to discourage people from using them. I have 2 choices: get my nails done habitually or "mom ships nail polish remover". If nail polish remover is sacred in our home in Michigan; just think what it would be like here!
Typically, the more the product is packaged and processed, the more expensive it is. Friday is Market day and the food is even cheaper. Yummm.... From my findings in the US, this is the opposite.
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Peeks, I love the grocery store commentary. As you know, I make my living at studying food, bev and personal care products from around the world. We just had these cookies from the Netherlands shipped to us and you have to find them! They are pepper and rose flavored (strange, I know), but we have gobbled them up and they are a hit. You have to buy them if you can find them since they are from your home land. They are called Gookies. Gookie Black Pepper and Rose Cookies. Amazing.
ReplyDeleteAlso, love the observation about the chemical products. Will make for good anecdotal fodder in my next meeting...miss you!!
Love the blog, keep up the good work!!