# Cooking Culture Shock



## bebopdobop (Nov 28, 2007)

Anyone else move to a different country and find it hard to figure out what to cook for a while? 
I'm from Texas, but currently living in Mexico. We live an hour away from Wal-Mart, which has the most variety of different foods. The local grocery store has considerably less. Every time I head back to the states, I'm always in awe of the selection available.
Just curious if anyone else here has suffered cooking culture shock>


----------



## CharlieD (Nov 28, 2007)

You bet. I came here from Soviet Union. I still can't believe how much of anything and everything is available here in the store.


----------



## GotGarlic (Nov 28, 2007)

I haven't experienced it myself, because I haven't lived in a different country, but we've hosted several exchange students and they are always amazed at the variety of goods we have in grocery stores. Personally, I think it's gone way overboard - too often I have to spend several minutes looking for just the right canned tomatoes (no added veggies, seasonings, etc.), and other things, because there are so many types of the same product. Just last week, I bought a bag of dried cranberries to make cranberry/orange scones and it turned out I had bought cherry-flavored dried cranberries! Come on, if I wanted cherry flavor, wouldn't I buy dried cherries?

Guess that struck a nerve


----------



## larry_stewart (Nov 28, 2007)

I have friends in Brazil, and when we were comparing Our favorite pizza's , hers included one with ketchup, mayonaise and ham on it. Huge culture shock for me.  Another included ' Jambu leaves' on it.  Not knowing what jambu leaves were, i searched online, ordered a jambu plant. Its nick name is the ' tooth ache plant'. When u eat the leaves, they actually make your mouth feel numb.  Never got to trying it on pizza, didnt want to burn or bite my lip ( assuming it would get too numb :p)  But I did try the leaves just to get the experience.

Actually, another funny experience was when i was talking to a friend from Sweden.  And she was saying how her husband sometimes shops for food at the " American store".  Completely confused, I asked , what do they sell at the American store?? so she replied, mac and cheese .... things like that .  I guess it made sense, i just never thought of being in another country and eating American things, let alone a specific store for its products.  Here, sure I go to the Asian market, Spanish market , Indian market ...so why not an American market over seas... I guess I got to get out more ..


----------



## bebopdobop (Nov 28, 2007)

GotGarlic said:


> Just last week, I bought a bag of dried cranberries to make cranberry/orange scones and it turned out I had bought cherry-flavored dried cranberries! Come on, if I wanted cherry flavor, wouldn't I buy dried cherries?



How funny! I love both dried cranberries and cherries, never heard of cherry flavored cranberries. What is the point?


----------



## GB (Nov 28, 2007)

Larry, are you sure it was the leaves of the jambu and not the fruit itself that your friend had on her pizza?


----------



## Katie H (Nov 28, 2007)

Since moving from  Washington, D.C. to western Kentucky  13  years ago, Buck and I have been suffering from a bit of cooking culture shock.

In the D.C. area,  we had (at our fingertips) just  about  any ingredient imaginable.  Ethnic markets were plentiful and our local grocery stores stocked an incredible variety of foods.

Here, soy sauce is almost a "gourmet" ingredient.  As a result, I've  had to get VERY creative  with my cooking and menu planning.  Although, I  must say that things are getting better and I'm able  to get more  adventuresome  with my cooking.

On the flip side, the range  of cuisines in  the area restaurants is fabulous.  I would love to be  able to buy from their suppliers.


----------



## Yakuta (Nov 28, 2007)

When I came here from India the first weekend my aunt took me to the Dekalb Farmer Market in Atlanta.  I am not sure if anyone on this board is from Atlanta and has been to this place.  It's super huge.  Actually I have now been to a lof of large warehouses, stores etc but DeKalb is an outing in itself.  It can take 1/2 a day to go through every section.  It was almost overwhelming and a big culture shock for me.  I was used to rustic open bazaars in India where fruits, veggies, meat and fish are sold in open.  

The next culture shock (reverse one) was when I visited India after almost 17 years.  They eat their pizza with ketchup and chili sauce and that is something I am not used to.  The cheese is also very different and has a peculiar taste.  


Another shock for me was when I was in Europe this summer.  Harrod's in London and the food halls.  This was my third trip there but I was still confused and overwhelmed at the variety and what to pick and what not to pick especially in their bakery section.  Also the prices are incredibly high but people shop there like money is no object.  

Last and final shock has been also on my trip to Europe and my visits to McDonalds with my kids.  Every place had a different menu.  I had a spicy chickpea sandwich in the London McDonalds that was incredibly good and catered for the Indian population there.  In Amsterdam the flavors were again unique and the burgers all came with spicy sauces that are no where to be found in US.  In Austria the influence in the menu was more Italian with a lot of parmesean sprinkled sandwiches and some type of fried potato fritters that were very good. 

Also ketchup and sauces are not free there and I did not know that


----------



## larry_stewart (Nov 28, 2007)

Yes, the Jambu leaves come from an ugly flower, that looks like an eyeball. Also referred to as *Spilanthes acmella, toothache plant, eyeball plant*

There is another tree called the Jambu tree, also *Jambu Ayer, Djamboe Aer, Watery Rose Apple.*  This produces a fruit that is edible

2 totally different plants

Ive personally never tasted the fruit, but I have tried the leaves, which dont have much of a flavor, but definately make your mouth numb, just like the topical anesthesia applied prior to getting a dental injection.  It lasts about 5 - 10 minutes


I know of these things only because my friend from Brazil introduced me to them.  I also think the jambu leaves are more of a northern Brazilian thing.


----------



## stassie (Nov 28, 2007)

I love going food shopping in other countries! Admitedly, I haven't visted that many... but even grocery stores in Australia (just over the ditch) are different from those in New Zealand. 

We're going travelling in a year's time, and I've told my husband I want to visit America to go grocery shopping  Doesn't that sound odd? But I often frequent chat boards which tend to be American-based, and hear about all sorts of food which we can't get here. In fact, an online friend kindly sent me some twinkies once, because I was keen to try them (as a kid, I remember reading a childrens book which mentioned them, and thinking they sounded great. In reality, I'd probably have enjoyed them more ten years ago, but there you are!)

She also sent a Three Musketeers Bar. WHY don't they make those here!?! (I enjoy junk food too much, can you tell?). 

Often, it's just curiousity. I mean, squirty cheese?? What do they do to the poor cheese?


----------



## GB (Nov 28, 2007)

larry_stewart said:


> Yes, the Jambu leaves come from an ugly flower, that looks like an eyeball. Also referred to as *Spilanthes acmella, toothache plant, eyeball plant*
> 
> There is another tree called the Jambu tree, also *Jambu Ayer, Djamboe Aer, Watery Rose Apple.*  This produces a fruit that is edible
> 
> ...



Cool. Thanks for the education.


----------



## Dave Hutchins (Nov 28, 2007)

Try living in Japan where they sell beef by the GRAM. I ate off base as often as I could 
got to like fish,chicken and mystery meat  all cooked in some very flavorful sauce;s
 One dish I never figured out was O soba sold by vendors on bicycle after curfew it was a mismash of fine eating, especially after one to many Nippon barley pop


----------



## Rom (Nov 28, 2007)

...mystery???meat...

LOL


----------



## Bilby (Nov 29, 2007)

Stassie we even have a Kiwi foods shop here to cater for our South-Eastern cousins! It was an amazing place!


----------



## Bilby (Nov 29, 2007)

Rom said:


> ...mystery???meat...
> 
> LOL


Isn't that the same as we get in a meat pie at the footy???LOL


----------



## Barbara L (Nov 29, 2007)

bebopdobop said:


> How funny! I love both dried cranberries and cherries, never heard of cherry flavored cranberries. What is the point?


My guess is that cranberries are cheaper. I know that sometimes what I think are cherries in buffet restaurant fruit salads are cherry flavored and colored grapes.

Barbara


----------



## AllenOK (Nov 29, 2007)

Barbara, it's possible.  Dried Cherries ARE NOT cheap, but boy, are they tasty!  If  you ever get up to the northern part of Michigan's Lower Pennisula, or up into Goodweed's area, you might find dried cherries in all sorts of things.

Bilby, Rom, and our other international friends:
Since I work in the food industry, I like to know the foreign terms and slang for food items.  By any chance, could you explain to me, what the "footy" is?  Some kind of local market?  I think I know what the "meat pie" is, something like a pasty.

One of my step-sisters pulled up stakes and moved to Christchurch, New Zealand, about 10 years ago.  She's sent me a few cookbooks from local authors there, and even some food items (which Customs decided to open a few of...grrrr).  I never did try the Marmite.


----------



## Callisto in NC (Nov 29, 2007)

I'm like Buck and Katie, didn't move from one country to another, but did move from Southern California to North Carolina and there's a HUGE difference.  I miss the Mexican store/restaurants that you could get to go food at and get fixings for future meals.  Some of the ingredients that I could easily find in California, can't/couldn't be found here when I moved.  I miss a particular salami and am craving it so bad this time of year.  I'm hoping having Trader Joe's here will reduce some of that but not the salami issue.  

I miss that salami.


----------



## GotGarlic (Nov 29, 2007)

larry_stewart said:


> I have friends in Brazil, and when we were comparing Our favorite pizza's , hers included one with ketchup, mayonaise and ham on it. Huge culture shock for me.



This reminds me, our exchange student from the former East Germany ate French fries with mayo, and our student from Slovakia said they eat ketchup on spaghetti there.


----------



## TanyaK (Nov 29, 2007)

When I returned to South Africa after travelling in Europe and the US for a year and a half it was a culture shock coming back - that was a long time ago and we have caught up quite a bit but there's still some stuff that's hard to find eg I cannot find lime juice anywhere at the moment and no one has heard of canning salt! (Also our best stuff gets exported) I really envy people in the US in that everything is so readily available!
My best country for food shopping was Thailand - we spent hours in the supermarkets just trying to figure out what the foods were (and you can't understand their writing so it doesn't help!)


----------



## CharlieD (Nov 29, 2007)

Dave Hutchins said:


> Try living in Japan where they sell beef by the GRAM...


What's wrong with that? Pound is only 450 gramms. I asume you can buy as many gramms as you want. I do understand it is expensive. But hey try to buy sea foods here in MN.


----------



## stassie (Nov 29, 2007)

AllenOK said:


> Bilby, Rom, and our other international friends:
> Since I work in the food industry, I like to know the foreign terms and slang for food items. By any chance, could you explain to me, what the "footy" is? Some kind of local market? I think I know what the "meat pie" is, something like a pasty.


 
The 'footy' would be a football game. In NZ at least, pies and chips are pretty standard fare (although as a kiwi, I'm more likely to say 'at the rugby' )

You have a kiwi shop, Bilby? How cool. Can you let me know how to find it?  I'll send my grandma directions (she misses some things, she'll be thrilled). 

I have an english friend who always said she wasn't homesick for her country - but for english food! There's a snack called 'hula hoops' that are apparently popular over there, and you can't get them here - she really missed them.


----------



## Rom (Nov 29, 2007)

Oh and when we went to NZ we noticed ALCOHOL in the supermarket!!!!!! thats a no no round here lol




Bilby said:


> Isn't that the same as we get in a meat pie at the footy???LOL



u eat the meatpies? 

yep footy = Football game, and no it is not the round ball because for some reason Australia we call Rugby, footbal and Futball, Soccer LOL

i don' t eat meatpies...or watch the footy LOL but i guess u could say they go hand in hand....bilby...eats mystery meat LOL


----------



## Rom (Nov 29, 2007)

Hey how come u have a kiwi shop and i don't..whats in a kiwi shop?
i want one!


----------



## Rom (Nov 29, 2007)

When we went to India, I was going to make my meatballs that my bf loves and wanted his family to try. So i wanted parsley and parmesan.....they don't sell parsley and parmesan and didn't know what we were talking about. my meatballs were made out of goat meat and almost made me puke, me and my bf couldn't eat them..the goat was too strong lol we couldn't get the lamb at the butcher.

we actually brought our own spaghetti, stove top coffee maker and espresso coffee hehehe

the butcher was pretty cool, we asked for a chicken, so we picked a chicken, and the guy killed, plucked and clean it in like 2 minutes in front of us.

they also don't have big supermarkets, their shops are the size of the deli's we have here or smaller. my bf parents basically tell someone at the shop what they want and they get it delivered. Otherwise people ride around on bikes yelling what they are selling and if u want some u go out and tell the man to stop, it was really cool lol


----------



## stassie (Nov 29, 2007)

Rom said:


> my meatballs were made out of goat meat and almost made me puke, me and my bf couldn't eat them..the goat was too strong lol we couldn't get the lamb at the butcher.


 
We eat a fair amount of goat - but you're right, it is kind of strong. We only tend to eat meat from young does, but even then, I still notice the taste. I've found that adding something sweet (I drizzle a little golden syrup over my roasts, for example) seems to help - no idea why!


----------



## Rom (Nov 29, 2007)

I love all sorts for meats and have tested all sorts of meats for meatballs (except for goat), but omg the goat was so overpowering, his dad kept saying eat eat and i was like i can't i can't  . I love roast goat but...blahhh at the meatballs lol

interesting idea about the syrup!


----------



## Constance (Nov 29, 2007)

My first husband was a Cajun from down on bayou, and when I moved down there with him, it was one dandy culture shock for a 20 year old yankee girl. There were a lot of people there who spoke very little English, and none among themselves. My in-laws and next door neighbors were a little more urbane, and helped ease me in to the culture, and everyone was very kind to me.

The bayou was across the road from us, and there was a fishermen who used to come by sometimes with burlap bag over his shoulder. He sold most of his catch at the docks, and peddled the rest on his way home. He sold  mixed sized whole shrimp for ten cents a pound, and it was a real bargain. I got big ones to fry and smaller ones for gumbo. One day, he pulled a lovely fish out of his bag, gave it a smack, and said "Redfish, two dollar." 

I had grown up with food from the Better Homes and Garden Cookbook, which was very tasty. But when I was introduced to the subtle, yet spicy flavors of Cajun food, I was thrilled. By the way, non of the food I ate there was "hot". I had a much more sensitive tongue for that sort of thing back then, and I never once tasted a dish down there that burned my tongue. 

If you continued down the road from our place, you got into the swamp, and if you watched carefully, there was a small road that turned off to the left. At the end of that road, WAY out in the swamp, there was a tavern/restaurant, where the fishermen and their families hung out. 

I was told by my husband to keep my mouth shut when we were in there, as they did not welcome yankees. 
But, oh my...the frogs legs...turtle stew...turtle soup...gumbo!


----------



## Uncle Bob (Nov 29, 2007)

Sounds like Shock & Awe(some) to me Miss Connie!!


----------



## Bilby (Nov 30, 2007)

As Rom and Stassie have both said Allen, footy is football. In Oz, that can mean a variety of things - rugby league, rugby union, soccer or Aust Rules (AFL).  Over in the West, where I am, AFL is the game. It uses a ball similar to gridiron's but there the game differs.  We handball, drop punk, tackle, mark and kick for goals (but often only get points). It is a contact sport and a lot of the players are nimble and similar in stature to soccer players. This is the official site of the AFL opened to the history page if you are interested.
History - Official Website of the Australian Football League

A lot of Ozzies, abbreviate words to end in a "y" or at least a "y" sound, eg footy (football), barbie (bbq), Jonesy (Jones), unless it already ends in a "y" and then it just get short, like Gary will become Gazza or Gaz. That sort of stuff.  That's why we normally talk about the footy and not the football or Aussie Rules.

A meat pie is a puff pastry tart filled with a meat stew with a puff pastry lid. 
Mrs. Macs :: Bakewell
The meat should be good quality but commercially often isn't. To market a pie as 'meat' means that you may be getting snouts, ears, tongue roots, tendons and blood vessels as well as the muscle part of the meat. Naming therefore is a big indicator as to what you should/could be getting.
CHOICE - The great pie gamble — meat or gristle?

A meat pie is traditionally had with tomato sauce (ketchup) and there is a lot of conjecture as to the correct way to do this. Some spread it on the top of the pie and some make a whole in the lid and pump the sauce in.  In Adelaide in particular, they also serve a meat pie with a pea floater. Pie floater - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia  Thankfully, I live in Perth!

Stassie, the place I was thinking of was in Wanneroo Road, across from Dog Swamp.  Can't seem to find a mention of it now, so it may have shut down or relocated. But here are a couple of Kiwi food sites for Perth instead:
products
Kiwi Kwic Snacs Softdrinks
Shopping - Aussiemove.com


----------



## Bilby (Nov 30, 2007)

AllenOK said:


> Bilby, Rom, and our other international friends:
> Since I work in the food industry, I like to know the foreign terms and slang for food items. By any chance, could you explain to me, what the "footy" is? Some kind of local market? I think I know what the "meat pie" is, something like a pasty.


Australian slang dictionary

This list is a bit more ocker than most of us speak but you will find some of the terms in common use. Even if one doesn't say the word/phrase, we still know what a lot of them mean.  I don't think all of these are limit to Australian and probably originated in other lands.  I should warn that some of the language is not polite!  And some of the descriptions a tad graphic too.

I missed the pastie comment before.  A pastie is made with plain pastry, not puff and contains beef mince and vegetables without the gravy. The meat pie in its basic form is beef mince or beef chunks in gravy. The variations are now a lot greater and there are even gourmet pies, like seafood, lasagna, crab and chilli, stroganoff, etc.


----------



## Gossie (Nov 30, 2007)

Let me state that I live in Connecticut that has NOTHING!!!!!

I used to live in California.  I would love the Dim Sum places, the Mexican place (AUTHENTIC Mexican, including HEAT!!!!!!  Ouch) and Thai and Japanese ... and I'd love to find a Filipino Restaurant too.  HERE IN CT that is.   Doesn't do me any good if it's in California.  LoL    Oh geez, I'm not even hungry and my mouth is watering again.


----------



## Chopstix (Nov 30, 2007)

There's a quaint Middle-Eastern quarter here in Bangkok that's more popularly and mischievously called by expats as Soi Bin Laden (soi means street in Thai.) The place gets crowded with people of various ethnicities many of whom wear traditional garb and headgear. There are countless Middle-Eastern/African restaurants here: Egyptian, Persian, Turkish, Ethiopian, etc, including Indian and Uzbekistan among others. You can sip thick sludgy Turkish coffee at outdoor cafes while puffing languidly on fragrant hookah pipes. A common sight are little sidewalk stalls selling anything from trinkets, souvenirs, and T-shirts to falafels and shawarma.

One time I queued up at a shawarma stall that was roasting densely packed slices of marinated meat on a vertical rotisserie. A white guy ahead of me, obviously a tourist, pointed at the roasting meat and asked the seller if it was _pork_............which startled me. He repeated the question because the seller ignored him at first. He had a strong American accent. Good thing the seller was a Thai employee and not the Muslim owner... He was told it was beef and I think he left not realizing his faux pas...

It works both ways. When we travel to a place very different from what we're used to, it can be that the people there get culture shock from us as well


----------



## lulu (Nov 30, 2007)

As an expat kid I got pretty used to my mother struggling to learn local dishes of where we lived and to beable to pull together a few comforting 'home style' meals for times we were homesick or ill.  I lived across lots of places until my early teens, so that was a good training.

Last year, moving to Italy though I was the cook.   Italian food is hardly alien though, and my DH is Italian too, so that helped.  Butchery cuts are subtly different, which was a surprise.....and new vegetables were fun: I would ask older ladies in the supermarket what the best way to cook them was, or ask Urmanic13 here!  Also on Urmanic's advice I started geting an excellent Italian food magazine, which is super as it has so much seasonal cooking in it.  I fully ntend to take year long turns of subscribing to cookery magazines from different places now to get more authentic inspiration.


----------



## AllenOK (Dec 1, 2007)

Bilby, Rom, thanks for the head's-up on slang and local terms.  I would have never guess that "footy" was short for a football game.


----------



## cara (Dec 2, 2007)

GotGarlic said:


> This reminds me, our exchange student from the former East Germany ate French fries with mayo, and our student from Slovakia said they eat ketchup on spaghetti there.



very common here... french fries with mayo 
and ketchup on spaghetti is very famous with kids... 
I don't like it anyway.. either mayo (what for do you need it? Even in salads it's just horror) nor ketchup on pasta...
it's so easy and fast to make a great sauce..

culture shock:
I was quite shocked over in the US that they don't have _real_ bread, white tasteless potatoes only and no quark...
I would really miss these things..


----------



## lulu (Dec 2, 2007)

I love mayo on chips, never, or very rarely would have it on salads out of the jar rather than homemade but would have it over ketchup with chips, Cara!


----------



## Constance (Dec 2, 2007)

Uncle Bob said:


> Sounds like Shock & Awe(some) to me Miss Connie!!



It was Indeed, Uncle Bob. I think everyone should have to live somewhere for a while where they are the outsider. 
I was in the doctors office one day with my baby, and there were five or six other mothers there with their children. They were chattering up a storm, but I couldn't make out what they were talking about. Every once in a while, they would stop talking and look at me. I didn't know if they were trying to include me in the conversation, or talking about me, so I just smiled and nodded. 

When we first moved in, the neighbor warned me, "Don't you be lettin le bebe be playin outside without you watchin her, or gator will get her." 
I thought he was just pulling my leg because I was a yankee. Then, a few days later, I was washing dishes and looking out the kitchen window, when a BIG old gator went sauntering through the yard.


----------



## nutfry (Dec 2, 2007)

I've never lived in another country, but even moving about 35 miles east (from eastern Connecticut to Rhode Island) exposed me to a lot of food-related things I had never heard of before.  I still remember the first time I went grocery shopping with my boyfriend (a lifelong Rhode Islander) and he put a bottle of coffee syrup in the shopping cart.  Since I had no idea what it was, I asked him and he explained that it's something you put in milk to make coffee milk--it's actually rather good even though I don't like coffee.

I might just be showing you all how sheltered I am, but I had also never heard of putting vinegar on French fries until I moved here.  It seemed really weird at first, but I suppose it doesn't seem so strange anymore--personally, I'll stick to eating them plain or with ketchup.


----------



## Katie H (Dec 2, 2007)

nutfry said:


> I might just be showing you all how sheltered I am, but I had also never heard of putting vinegar on French fries until I moved here.  It seemed really weird at first, but I suppose it doesn't seem so strange anymore--personally, I'll stick to eating them plain or with ketchup.



I've  been  with  Buck  over  30  years and I  still think  it's  a  bit  unusual that he puts   malt vinegar on his fries.   He loves that.


----------



## GB (Dec 2, 2007)

Katie E said:


> I've  been  with  Buck  over  30  years and I  still think  it's  a  bit  unusual that he puts   malt vinegar on his fries.   He loves that.


I always knew I liked Buck, but now I like him even more. Malt vinegar on fires is beyond good!


----------



## jpmcgrew (Dec 2, 2007)

In Germany they shun ice in a drink I like ice but when I asked for it they usually did not have it and when they did it was one or two cubes and thought I was insane drove me nuts they dont use ice in anything and dont drink the tap water only mineral water they put mayo on fries.When I was there in 1999 xmas after being gone for 30 years I actually found I think it was Old El Paso taco shells and salsa so I made them and they loved them.However if I was in Europe I would have no problem adapting to their foods so fresh and so good and I remember those flavors.Their saurkraut is nothing like we eat in the states much milder and some what sweet so easy to eat a bunch and the sausage? Well I think they are masters in sausage and cold cuts.Their breads and rolls well no need to go there they get them fresh baked in the morning along with the cold cuts etc for breakfast? Cant say more than that but its beautiful food although I can skip some dishes like smoked eel and other things.The pastries and cakes my god they are soo good.


----------



## CharlieD (Dec 3, 2007)

Yes, for sure. Cold cuts in USA is junk. 
I do not agree with post abOve about bread though. There are many-many great bakeries where bread is outstanding and even better than European, well, some Europian bread.


----------



## jpmcgrew (Dec 3, 2007)

CharlieD said:


> Yes, for sure. Cold cuts in USA is junk.
> I do not agree with post abOve about bread though. There are many-many great bakeries where bread is outstanding and even better than European, well, some Europian bread.


Never said their breads are better just said they are really good


----------



## AllenOK (Dec 3, 2007)

I thought it was odd, when I went to the Jackson County Fair, up in MI, and saw all these little vendor stands selling "fries and malt vinegar".  I quickly realized it must be one of those regional tastes that I wasn't aware of, considering how quickly my other half (a local) queued up into a long line to get an order.  They keep the vinegar in spray misters, which I thought was brilliant.  I did taste some of PeppA's fries, and they were good, but it would be a few years before I would reach for the bottle of vinegar for the fries.  Of course, I looked long and hard for a vendor selling smoked turkey legs, or any kind of BBQ.  I finally found one, spent the money, and it tasted like charcoal briquette ash.  Bleck!


----------



## lulu (Dec 4, 2007)

Oh yes, chips and vinegar are good. I'm not a chip lover, yet I've posted twice on this thread about chips, sorry, fries!, now.

If you like fries with malt vinegar I recommend trying some others. In desperation a few months ago I had to offer DH mulberry vinegar for his chips and he loved it.


----------



## Bilby (Dec 4, 2007)

AllenOK said:


> They keep the vinegar in spray misters, which I thought was brilliant.


Over here, if the vinegar is in a spray bottle, it normally means that it has been watered down so that their vinegar lasts longer.  And malt vinegar is such an expensive item - not!!!

When you get into a lift at work, you can always tell when someone has ordered a bucket of chips for lunch - the smell of hot fat from the chips combining with the malt vinegar and the salt/chicken salt, just makes your mouth water - even when you don't like chips!!

Don't like this thread cos I now fancy hot chips!!!!!! And I won't be getting them!!!!


----------



## Bilby (Dec 4, 2007)

lulu said:


> Oh yes, chips and vinegar are good. I'm not a chip lover, yet I've posted twice on this thread about chips, sorry, fries!, now.
> 
> If you like fries with malt vinegar I recommend trying some others. In desperation a few months ago I had to offer DH mulberry vinegar for his chips and he loved it.


Next time I have chips, I have to try the raspberry vinegar on them.  Thanks for the suggestion!!


----------



## Davydd (Dec 4, 2007)

Yakuta said:


> Another shock for me was when I was in Europe this summer.  Harrod's in London and the food halls.  This was my third trip there but I was still confused and overwhelmed at the variety and what to pick and what not to pick especially in their bakery section.  Also the prices are incredibly high but people shop there like money is no object.


When we were in Harrod's 4 years ago they even had a Krispie Kreme donut setup. I wonder if they still have it.

Harrod's was mind boggling with its food halls. Since we were tourists we mostly just gazed at the stuff and bought some tea to take home.


----------



## lulu (Dec 4, 2007)

Think KK is still there, I can check for you tonight.  KK is in lots of the Tesco supermarkets now though too.
Not too many people use Harrods food halls for anything other than oddities now here is a supermarket opposite and a MArks and Spensers on the corner! The deli counters have great markdowns beofre closing, worth the detour if you are passing. The majority of the food halls, like the sweets etc are for the tourist and overseas trade I believe.


----------



## jpmcgrew (Dec 4, 2007)

I had a Krispy Kreme once did not find it particularly better than any other glazed doughnut.


----------



## Fisher's Mom (Dec 4, 2007)

jpmcgrew said:


> I had a Krispy Kreme once did not find it particularly better than any other glazed doughnut.


When we got the first Krispy Kreme store here in San Antonio, honest to goodness, people waited in the drive thru lane for over an hour!!! I was amazed - and more than a little anxious to try one of their doughnuts. When I finally got some, I didn't find them better than any other doughnut either. (Of course, I love all doughnuts.)


----------



## GotGarlic (Dec 4, 2007)

jpmcgrew said:


> I had a Krispy Kreme once did not find it particularly better than any other glazed doughnut.



I moved here to VA from MI in 1985 - KK is all the rage here, but I can't stand them. They taste like plastic to me. I grew up on Dunkin' Donuts - on Sundays, Dad would go out and get the paper and a dozen assorted doughnuts and they'd sit around all morning reading the paper while we played.


----------



## lulu (Dec 4, 2007)

KK is different in UK, our doughnuts tend to be unglazed but sugar rolled, and although mass produced are common not quite so lightly fake as KK or any other American style doughnut.  I can't really imagin there being fuss in the States over them but they are diferent here.


----------



## stassie (Dec 4, 2007)

Speaking of doughnuts, a friend of mine visited the US recently. She was gobsmacked when she was served doughnuts for breakfast!  (She still mentions it with a incredulous look on her face from time to time)

Is this a common practice, or was she just staying somewhere funny? (It's not something we tend to do here.)


----------



## GotGarlic (Dec 4, 2007)

stassie said:


> Speaking of doughnuts, a friend of mine visited the US recently. She was gobsmacked when she was served doughnuts for breakfast!  (She still mentions it with a incredulous look on her face from time to time)
> 
> Is this a common practice, or was she just staying somewhere funny? (It's not something we tend to do here.)



Interesting - when else would you serve them?  They're always for breakfast, as far as I know.


----------



## phinz (Dec 4, 2007)

GotGarlic said:


> I moved here to VA from MI in 1985 - KK is all the rage here, but I can't stand them. They taste like plastic to me. I grew up on Dunkin' Donuts - on Sundays, Dad would go out and get the paper and a dozen assorted doughnuts and they'd sit around all morning reading the paper while we played.


 
If I want doughnuts, I go to Krispy Kreme. If I want cake I go to Kroger. 

But then, I grew up in Texas on Shipley's Doughnuts. Not even Krispy Kreme can top them.

I miss Whataburger too.


----------



## lulu (Dec 4, 2007)

I've checked and Krispy Kreme still have a concession within the Harrods food halls.

You know you guys making trips to London should check out Fortnums food halls, that really IS luxury.


----------



## Fisher's Mom (Dec 4, 2007)

I'm so lucky, phinz. I have a Shipley's about a mile from home and a Whataburger 2 blocks away. My personal Shipley's favorites are the chocolate iced (versus the chocolate glazed).


----------



## GotGarlic (Dec 4, 2007)

phinz said:


> If I want doughnuts, I go to Krispy Kreme. If I want cake I go to Kroger.
> 
> But then, I grew up in Texas on Shipley's Doughnuts. Not even Krispy Kreme can top them.
> 
> I miss Whataburger too.



I hear ya, but have you had Dunkin's glazed doughnuts? Ab-solutely fab-ulous!


----------



## phinz (Dec 4, 2007)

Cake with glaze. Blech.


----------



## Robo410 (Dec 4, 2007)

Spent a summer plus in the UK in a house equipped with a real 4 oven Aga. Don't know if that was culture shock even at first, but I didn't want to leave at the end of the term.   For those of you who don't know about Aga ranges, the inside burner is always on, the location on the range determines the heat amount. One oven roasts, one bakes, one simmers, one warms. Two big hot plates one boiling one simmering are used like French tops.  Truly awesome to cook on.  Can't tell you the cost in the uK but they are very pricey here in the US as imports.  And as we are not as "cold" a country where I live here in the US, I didn't even consider one. But if I move to the UP, gonna consider it for sure.

As for culture shock of a different type, living here in Amish country has gotten me the finest fresh veggies etc all summer and autumn. But now that's over till next summer and to go back into the supermarkets with their produce from wherever, weeks or months old...it's a shock.


----------



## jpmcgrew (Dec 4, 2007)

GotGarlic said:


> Interesting - when else would you serve them?  They're always for breakfast, as far as I know.


Or for a coffee break.I love them but dont touch them because if I eat one I want to eat a whole dozen.


----------



## stassie (Dec 4, 2007)

GotGarlic said:


> Interesting - when else would you serve them?  They're always for breakfast, as far as I know.


 
Wow...! If I had doughnuts for breakfast, I'd feel... I don't know. As if I'd had cake for breakfast. Or icecream. (Actually... I've been known to have icecream for breakfast! But it still felt odd!)

I guess it's no worse for you than having waffles drenched in syrup, or pancakes... but doughnuts just don't feel like a breakfast food! 

We tend to eat them as a snack for a treat. If we served them for breakfast, people would look as us funny


----------



## Fisher's Mom (Dec 4, 2007)

We've always thought of doughnuts as a breakfast food, although not one you'd eat every day. Also for having with coffee or as a snack. But I would never think of them as a lunch or a dinner. Weird, huh?


----------



## Davydd (Dec 4, 2007)

I didn't intend to start a Krispy Kreme or donut discussion. I had asked about Harrad's because when I was there the Krispy Kreme was brand new. The donuts they were making at the time were identical to the USA variety. The reason I asked is because Krispy Kreme over expanded in the USA and have closed in a lot of places. Krispy Kreme is not a typical donut. Don't judge the USA based on Krispy Kreme. It is a one of a kind akin to a McDonald's hamburger. I could take you to Woullets Bakery in Wayzata, MN and you would probably rave.

A donut is a breakfast snack substitute or treat. It generally is not eaten with a full breakfast. It is also a morning food often served with coffee at a 10 AM coffee break or in morning office meetings when a break is scheduled. In the afternoon cookies and soft drinks seem to take over for the same functions.


----------



## Bilby (Dec 4, 2007)

Like Stassie over in NZ, you won't see a donut on a breakfast menu in Australia either, well at least not in WA. While I see it being bought for morning teas, for the most part I see it being bought after school is out for afternoon teas. Definite treat food.


----------



## stassie (Dec 4, 2007)

Davydd said:


> A donut is a breakfast snack substitute or treat. It generally is not eaten with a full breakfast. It is also a morning food often served with coffee at a 10 AM coffee break or in morning office meetings when a break is scheduled. In the afternoon cookies and soft drinks seem to take over for the same functions.


 
Muffins (the American version, not English) tend to fill this role in NZ. I'd have one for breakfast, and I often order them for morning tea meetings at work.


----------



## jpmcgrew (Dec 4, 2007)

All I know is the Ozzies eat pancakes as a dessert and the germans like waffles as an afternoon tea thing.;Americans eat them both for breakfast.Not that is a good thing.


----------



## Bilby (Dec 4, 2007)

When you consider that it wasn't so long ago that a typical Australian breakfast consisted of a steak, sausages, egg and chips, not having (what we consider) a dessert food for breakfast is not such a bad thing!!!LOL


----------



## Rom (Dec 4, 2007)

jpmcgrew said:


> All I know is the Ozzies eat pancakes as a dessert and the germans like waffles as an afternoon tea thing.;Americans eat them both for breakfast.Not that is a good thing.


 
Pancakes as a dessert? I would eat them for breakfast and definately never for dessert LOL


----------



## stassie (Dec 4, 2007)

Rom said:


> Pancakes as a dessert? I would eat them for breakfast and definately never for dessert LOL


 
A friend of mine makes them for dessert over here. I'd consider them a breakfast food myself, though.


----------



## Rom (Dec 4, 2007)

i think maybe piklets are better actually lol
my mum actually makes spinach canneloni out of pancakes (for dinner of course), obviously savoury lol


----------



## Tiggzie (Dec 4, 2007)

Going back to the whole culture shock topic, I moved from NYC to suburban Florida. And we don't drive. 

I miss being able to hop a train for good Indian food then changing my mind and walking a little further for sushi. Or being able to grab a gyro and eat in Central Park. 

Where I live now I get to pick from McDs, 7-11, and chain steakhouses. I'm not pleased.


----------



## Bilby (Dec 5, 2007)

Rom said:


> Pancakes as a dessert? I would eat them for breakfast and definately never for dessert LOL


Breakfast food for Pancake Tuesday and dessert the rest of the time.  Unless of course we are talking savoury pancakes and then they are breakfast, lunch or dinner!!


----------



## GotGarlic (Dec 5, 2007)

phinz said:


> Cake with glaze. Blech.



Nah, the glazed ones aren't cakey - they're very light with a large crumb. Yummy  (that's the closest smilie I can find to smacking one's lips)


----------



## GotGarlic (Dec 5, 2007)

stassie said:


> Wow...! If I had doughnuts for breakfast, I'd feel... I don't know. As if I'd had cake for breakfast. Or icecream. (Actually... I've been known to have icecream for breakfast! But it still felt odd!)
> 
> I guess it's no worse for you than having waffles drenched in syrup, or pancakes... but doughnuts just don't feel like a breakfast food!
> 
> We tend to eat them as a snack for a treat. If we served them for breakfast, people would look as us funny



In our family, they were a Sunday treat, not everyday breakfast food.


----------



## wysiwyg (Dec 6, 2007)

Some Brazilian eating costumes that are significantly different than USA:

Advocados are generally considered dessert and eaten with lemon juice and sugar sprinkled on them.
As someone stated, is common to put mayo in your pizza and with your French fries.
It is also common to have your pizza with a bit of olive oil on it and there are sweet pizzas, like chocolate with strawberry, pineapple, etc.
The regular sugar used for coffee, etc. is almost like American powdered sugar.
Nobody drinks coffee with a meal, perhaps an espresso afterwards.
Hot dogs can be served plain (American style) or with all sort of stuff on them, like corn, sweet peas, etc.
In Southern Brazil (at least long time ago), Pepsi was more popular than Coke.
A tiny cup of espresso in any street stand up bar, used to be free (not any more)


----------



## expatgirl (Dec 6, 2007)

Shopping in a 3rd world country(we've lived in Egypt and India) was such a challenge!  I didn't really appreciate our modern supermarkets and the convenience of one-stop shopping until we lived overseas for the first time.  Maybe it's different now but 10 years ago in Cairo there were separate shops for: fish, beef and chicken, pork(pretty scarce as you can imagine), bakery items, stationery, fresh spices, pastries, fruits&vegetables, toys,etc., etc., etc.  In Mumbai, India in addition to the above you had to navigate non-existent streets, dodge people and vehicles, and then choose from different vendors along filthy "streets" as to what you wanted.  This one had better tomatos but that one had better lettuce.........and you definitely had to soak all veggies and fruits in clorox or potassium permanganate that would stain your hands purple if you accidentally got the crystals on you (which I always did).  Shopping for a family of 4 took up half a day.  But the friendliness of the people and their willingness to help always made the experience a  memorable one.


----------



## GotGarlic (Dec 6, 2007)

wysiwyg said:


> Hot dogs can be served plain (American style) or with all sort of stuff on them, like corn, sweet peas, etc.



Plain as in, with nothing at all on them? I don't think I've ever seen anyone other than young children eat hot dogs that way. There are regional variations of what to put on them, but there's always something.


----------



## miniman (Dec 6, 2007)

Over here pancakes are much more a dessert thing. The best I have had involved a baked stack of pancakes with apple filling between each pancake.


----------



## lulu (Dec 6, 2007)

Yes, in most of Europe pancakes would be seen as a dessert or snack, think crepe suzettes or a crepe from a creperie in the afternoon.  Doughnuts too, would cause raised eye brows if eated for breakfast!  But I'd happily eat either at anytime!


----------



## cara (Dec 8, 2007)

lulu is right... sweet pancakes are for dessert.. or maybe as lunch for the kids and some men 

But I prefer the version with sausages or ground meat... and some mushrooms with it.. ;o)


----------

