Nope, Netherlands, not this time either

It seems as if I've written about the Netherlands a lot recently (or once, but considering that I rarely post any more, that could count as a "lot"), so here's another post about the country since I took a recent trip there again.

I love visiting the grocery stores in the country, especially because they're open on Sundays, which German stores are not. However, not all of them are open; some of the German-owned stores don't join the fun (like Lidl or Aldi). Albert Heijn and Jumbo aren't spoil-sports, though, and we perused their aisles with glee on a Sunday.

The snack aisles are many and plenty, full of exotic chips with Thai and Indonesian flavoring. Plus there are some exotic offerings inspired by the USA -- or, as this popcorn says, "inspired by the USA recipe," which doesn't really make sense from a grammatical point of view. I guess they're trying to avoid calling it "American" because there are other countries on this continent. Or maybe not.

The biggest issue is that this is not a typical concoction for popcorn for us. I'm assuming it's similar to kettle corn, which we do have, but it's not always available. Typical popcorn for a US American would be salty and butter-flavored.Germany seems to also think that we have salty-sweet popcorn and I can say that even that kind of "American" style popcorn doesn't even taste like our kettle corn. More common than kettle corn, but less common than regular popcorn, would be caramel corn, but I have rarely seen that here. Oh well. It's another case of not quite getting our food (and it goes both ways).

The Dutch get in on getting American food wrong

"American" week at German grocery stores evokes strong emotions for me, including the desire to laugh, cry, be sick, or when I'm feeling adventurous, maybe even try it sometimes. There are usually very few things that I do want to try, though, because it's either food I wouldn't eat even when I'm in the US or it looks disgusting. I had yet to participate in "American" week shopping in another country, though, so during a trip to the Netherlands this winter, I perused their display for their take on what we eat.

This one landed a solid nee (no) for me: some sort of "American" sauce for fries.

Based on my non-existent knowledge of Dutch, but with the ability to somewhat decode the ingredient list based on my knowledge of English and German, I determined that it has canola oil, mustard, something from corn (a thickener?), vinegar, sugar*, and lots of preservatives in it.

Is this typical American food? Well, the preservatives would almost have me thinking so but as far as what it would probably taste like, I can give a resounding no. And thank goodness for that!

--

*I would like to continue ranting a bit. Yes, American food and condiments add sugar. However, for German food, I'm always shocked/disgusted by just how much is added. I can't even eat most of the commercially prepared sauces, soups, or spaghetti sauces here because they taste almost as sweet as candy does and it's very off-putting for me. I am wondering if this Dutch sauce would be as sickeningly sweet as the German ones?

The marshmallow fallacy

When we were in Nuremberg, we were talking to a friendly German guy at the bar about life in the US. He was telling me that one night, he wanted to do something American so he sat in front of the tv and ate some marshmallows out of a bag. I couldn't help it; I burst out laughing! I asked him if he did that because he thought that Americans did just eat in front of the tv (which yes, some people do), or if he thought we ate plain marshmallows. He thought the latter.

He was surprised when I told him that most people (at least the ones I know) in the US don't just eat marshmallows plain. Usually we use them in something, either in s'mores (marshmallows roasted over the campfire, a piece of Hershey's chocolate, and graham crackers) or in Rice Krispie treat bars (puffed rice cereal and melted marshmallows). Even then, we don't eat those all the time. Since I'm from the north, we don't subject our sweet potatoes/yams to marshmallows, but some other regions do, such as the south. Our new German friend thought it was interesting to learn this.

American week at Aldi

A couple weeks ago, it was American week at Aldi. In other words, the store offered products it believed were the epitome of American dining (or something like that). I do have to give Aldi props for carrying foreign themed food. They also do British week, Italian week, and I'm sure some other weeks too (I don't grocery shop a lot so I'm not usually sure what's on offer).

Here are some of the American-themed foods:

Sesame bagels. Okay, we do eat those.

BBQ chips: yep, we do that, too.

Canned hot dogs. Um, not really. We usually buy them in refrigerated packets.

Sandwich sauce: not like this! It has sauerkraut in it. Weird!

We do have granola bars, which are somewhat similar.

Pancakes in a pouch. Well, we have frozen pre-made ones, so...

American cookies at Cora in France

I saw these "American" cookies in Cora, a French supermarket. Having a backward American flag makes them authentic, right?

An expat Thanksgiving...times two

For Americans, Thanksgiving is a time to spend with those who are special and to be thankful, of course. Thanksgiving is a truly American holiday and besides Christmas, it's when most* US stores and businesses are closed so people can spend time with family and friends.

This is the second time in my life when I've been thousands of miles away from my family for Thanksgiving. The first time, I was a student in a suburb of London (England). I spent the evening with two of my friends, who also happened to be American. We took the train to London and ate dinner at Cheers (yes, it's based on the show!). As we walked through the park and to Buckingham Palace after dinner, I called my family to wish them a happy holiday. It was a neat experience.

That was thirteen years ago. I now live in Germany and faced another Thanksgiving far from my hometown. It was not a lonely Thanksgiving, though; thanks to the connection that expats feel and to my friend's kindness, a bunch of us gathered at her place for a lovely meal on Thursday evening. We had a late dinner since only the two Americans had the day off. It was to be quite an international event, with Americans (just two of us), friends originally from the UK (the largest group there, strangely enough, and I teased them that we had this holiday because the Pilgrims had been trying to get away from their forefathers), a Romanian, and some Germans. It was really fun to share our holiday with them.

In the wonderful way that merging social circles goes, my friends from town were also invited along. My two groups of friends met through a party at my place and then at subsequent events.  We left for Heidelberg a bit early and dropped off the pies that I made (more to follow about them in a future entry!) and some of ingredients for the other dishes I was going to prepare. Then, we headed to downtown Heidelberg to take a peek at the Christmas market. It hadn't officially opened yet but the booths were open, regardless. It was very pleasant to wander through them and not have to fight crowds.

Since it was going to be a few hours yet before dinner and I hadn't eaten much all day, I grabbed an ice cream cone from Gelato Go. It was quite cold out so it makes total sense to eat something even colder, huh? I don't always make the wisest choices in this regard but I didn't care because the ice cream was delicious! I ordered a scoop of marizpan (I think) and a scoop of Spekulatius, which had bits of chopped cookie of the same name. I forgot how huge the scoops of ice cream are there so I had quite a bit to eat! Some people complain about the price for the ice cream (mine was 2,20 euro for the two scoops) but I don't think that the prices are bad considering how much they give per scoop and that their offerings are organic. There are even vegan offerings!

We walked around a bit more and I did some scouting for the upcoming trip that I'll be taking there with my cousins, who will be visiting from the US in December. It was then time to head back for the dinner.

In addition to the pies I made, I prepared green bean casserole (which I personally detest, but it's such a typical dish that I felt that I needed to make it or else I'd be denying my Midwestern roots). I also made a dish of seared brussels sprouts with gorgonzola, pecans, and cranberries from this recipe. If I were to do it over, I'd probably bake or steam the sprouts first, then sear them in a pan, adding the cranberries almost at the end. I felt that they were slightly bitter since they didn't cook as much. The cranberries split open so that's why I'd add them later. It was a tasty dish, nonetheless, and I wouldn't mind adding it to my painfully slowly expanding repertoire of things I cook for events.

This was our hostess's first time cooking a turkey. She made a gourmet turkey, taking the time to prepare it in a brine. I don't usually eat meat, myself, but I took a small bite and it was quite nice, flavorful and moist. The meat eaters raved about it.

As we sat down to eat, I told the guests that we had to do our very special and typical American Thanksgiving ritual: a special prayer, okay even for the nonbelievers. We even taught the guests the super important hand gestures too. It went as follows: rub a dub dub (rubbing one's belly); thanks for the grub (holding hand out); yea god (doing jazz hands). I wish I could have had a video of this.

We then commenced to eat way too much and it was entirely delicious! Our hostess made a wonderful meal, pulling out all the stops with homemade cranberry relish, cornmeal stuffing, mashed potatoes with bacon (for which I will always make an amendment to my usual disinterest in eating meat), homemade cornbread muffins with bacon and sundried tomatoes, a lovely salad, my side dishes, and for dessert, a cheesecake she made and my pies (pumpkin and apple).

The company was lovely and the food delicious. My friends commented that they didn't that they have ever been so full before! Just before midnight, the three of us who live in Kaiserslautern waddled back to the train station to go home. I was in bed by 2 a.m. It's funny because the last time I celebrated Thanksgiving abroad, I was out really late too. In the US, I'm usually in bed by 10 p.m. after Thanksgiving festivities, probably because of the food coma.

The fun doesn't stop here, though. Another friend invited me to his Thanksgiving celebration, which will be today. Most of the other guests are Germans so it made sense to have it on a day that they wouldn't be working or in school. I purposefully didn't eat much on Friday because I needed a break in between two days of feasts. I must say, though, that I feel lucky to have such great company :)


*too bad it's not all of them! This is an example of where the US can really take an example from the Germans and allow everyone to celebrate holidays with their families instead serving corporate greed.

USA Burgers in Eindhoven

I always love looking for foreign conceptions of "American food." In Eindhoven, we saw a display of "USA burgers" at Cafetaria de Hoek.

I am quite relieved to see that none of them appeared to have an egg on them, so that is at least rather authentic for the US. Some had pineapple bits on them, which is a bit off, but I do believe that some of the Red Robin burgers might have had that in the US so I won't dock the cafeteria too much. Heck, I don't even eat hamburgers, so maybe I'm not the best person to judge!

Restaurant Review: Arizona Diner, Saarbrücken

Arizona Diner

	Grossherzog Friedrich Straße 16-18, Saarbrücken

Some of our Bekannte in Saarbrücken had a craving for American food so they suggested a visit to Arizona Diner. We joined them for a dinner in the cheerful diner.

The restaurant is cute and looks like an actual American diner from the 1950s with aqua blue accents and black and a white checkered floor. The outside features a movie marquee where information about events is posted.

The menu is reasonably big with typical American diner food: hamburgers, French fries, hot dogs, omelets, and even American desserts such as a banana split. There are also some American junk food favorites such as Ben and Jerry's ice cream, Reese's peanut butter cups, and Dr. Pepper for those who miss such things. For those who like Mexican food, which is very common in the US, there are quesadillas, fajitas, and chili con carne.

I ordered an omelet with "toast." I use quote marks with the "toast" because I was served a hamburger bun, toasted and cut in two. I was really disappointed by that as no American would ever consider that toast. Plus, it's not difficult in Germany to buy "American toast," which is typical American sandwich bread.

My omelet was disappointing too. Instead of being served more like a crepe with the filling of cheese and mushrooms folded inside, it was basically a plate of scrambled eggs that didn't look appetizing at all. It didn't taste that great, either. My 5.50 euro meal was disappointing.

My unappetizing omelet with what I don't consider "toast."

 My friend ordered a hamburger platter and said that was good. I tasted a French fry and it was okay; it was the thick cut style but it was super salty.

So, I'd say that the diner is cute but I wasn't impressed by the food.

Product review: Pillsbury Funfetti Glazed Chocolate Lil Donut kit

The mix, and the doughnuts, ready to bake. They don't look appetizing!

 
I picked up an interesting baked good mix at the commissary: Pillsbury Funfetti Glazed Chocolate Lil Donut kit.

German bakeries don't serve doughnuts and there isn't a wide variety of premade doughnuts at the commissary, so I thought I'd give the mix a try. All that one adds is margarine and water to the dough and milk to the glaze.

I ended up baking them longer than was called for because they seemed too mushy at the recommended time. They were really flattened on the bottom. After they cooled off, I coated them in the glaze and then added the sprinkles. I found that it's necessary to put the sprinkles on right after the glaze (no pausing) or they won't stick well.

I am not really enamored with these. They are okay, I guess, if one is desperate for a chocolate doughnut hole. However, they are sickeningly sweet. I have been cooking from scratch more often so I forget just how insanely sugary American mixes are. Plus, they taste sooo fake. Duh, what else could I have been expecting from such a mix, I know.

So, I'd give them a C+.

OKAY, edit is necessary: they don't taste that good when they're freshly baked/several hours after being done, but the next day they're much, much better.

I revise my grade to a B+ on them (they're still super sweet).

You've been eating marshmallows again, haven't you?

Friends and I were talking about the interesting view of what is "American" food in Germany. Then my friend mentioned that he overheard some Germans talking about a German friend who had been in the US for several weeks and had gained 15 pounds.

They thought it was because of all the marshmallows there.

?? We had a chuckle over that one. I wondered if they thought that Americans eat a lot of marshmallows, or if their friend just really liked marshmallows and ate a lot while he was there.

I haven't really seen anyone eat just plain marshmallows in the US; usually they're in something (s'mores, the benign rice crispie treats, or that creepy sweet potato dish).

I have, however, seen Germans buying marshmallow treats here. There are these things called "Super Dickmann's," which are chocolate-covered marshmallows, and people ahead of me at the supermarket have bought them. The name might sound strange to an English speaker but it makes sense if one knows German. The word "dick" in German means fat or thick, and "man" means, well, man. So they're Super Fatman.  Fatmen? but then it would be Super Dickmänner; I need to give up making it sound good in English, I guess.

Regardless, they gross me out a bit since I'm not one for eating marshmallows that haven't had anything done to them and covering them in chocolate doesn't count in my book. (I find the Dickmann's website even more creepy because the caricatures of their chocolate covered marshmallows do not look like food. I'm just sayin'...)

American food in other countries: London, England

I saw these packages of Mint M&Ms for sale in London. They are £9.99 per bag. In the US they sell for about $3 per bag for the same size. Whoa! Super expensive M&Ms, Batman.

Danger on Day 1 in London: The M&Ms store

There was only section that actually sold M&Ms; the rest of the store was souvenir junk.

 
On our first night of the London trip, we had a little time to kill after dinner and before seeing Spamalot. We were in Leceister Square and I suggested we check out the M&Ms store. I'm not sure why I thought that would be a good idea since it was this horrible, swirling mess of tourists/kids/tourists/kids.

It was actually rather creepy (to me, at least). When one walks in, there is a blast of "chocolatey" air. I have heard that some stores actually blast artificial scents and perfumes, both in the food and non-food areas. This blast of air was creepy because it was that total fake chocolate smell that really didn't smell like chocolate at all. Plus, the store was mostly toys and t-shirts so it wasn't even like there were that many chocolates there anyway.

Another creepy part was the tv monitors that one could look at and see what was going on all over the store. It was meant to be kitschy but it was a little bit too "Big Brother" for me.

To top off our experience, I tripped going UP the stairs and scraped my foot. Sigh. After all of that, we didn't buy any M&Ms. In fact, I don't really even like them, so I'm not sure why we went into the store at all! It was a trip doomed from the start.

American food in other countries: at Globus in Kaiserslautern

Globus is another chain store in Germany. The one in Kaiserslautern is HUGE; every time I go in there, I feel like I get sucked into a shopping vortex that eventually spits me out, slightly grumpy from the crowds and trying to translate things...and attempting to resist the siren call of the most delicious olives and quark (and I'm so not referencing Ferengi here) from the Turkish food vendor at the front of the store.

Globus is pretty much like Walmart; it's a discounter, has a giant grocery section, and carries home wares, hardwares, etc. I hate to keep comparing everything to Walmart but if I liken these stores to Meijer, only people in the upper middle of the Midwest will get that reference, I believe. The one bonus would be that Meijer doesn't have the stigma associated to it. Anyway, I digress.

I went to buy, of all things, a steam mop. Ah, what a glorious thing it is, the steam mop! Now, if I could just avoid on going some adventures so I'd actually stay home to use the mop...

While I was at Globus, I also quickly tooled over to the foreign food section to see what "American" food offerings there were. Below is a pictorial sampling of what was being offered. I even saw some "Cheese Zip" again. I wonder if there's a run on it? Ick. Their offerings were actually quite good at Globus; these are things that Americans might miss from home and the prices aren't horrible for "fine imported goods." Giggle. As if high fructose corn syrup-laced food and white bread is fine dining.

Jelly Bellies: okay, these ARE super American!

These also are quite American. I bet there are some people who are thrilled to see the Pepperidge Farm cookies. I could take them or leave them; in fact, I was given a package of some that I once then gifted to a homeless gentleman in front of the Philadelphia Museum of Art, strangely enough.

Look! Oreos. I hear that a lot of US expats miss these.

Hot dog and hamburger buns, and American "toast." Poor Americans, having this as the main kind of bread at home!

American products in other countries: Kaiserslautern, Germany

The American food section at Real.

There is a huge American population in Kaiserslautern; I believe that the count puts at us at something like half of the population here. It came as no surprise that Real, which is like a German Walmart with a large grocery section, would have a good showing of imported "foreign" American foods.

Your hunt for BBQ sauce is over! Real has it, albeit at an expensive price.

 

 

 

Of course there was the requisite array of barbecue sauces. I guess it makes sense; it's something not totally out of line to be in many Americans' refrigerators. Even my Northern family has it for chicken and fake chicken nuggets (for the vegetarians). The price was rather high at Real, but that's not surprising, either, for an import.

They even had an off-brand of Cheez Whiz called "Cheese Zip." I'd be very interested to know how much of this they sell. The packaging and the product makes me feel queasy...rather like thinking of going to a carnival, eating some greasy food followed by going a ride and not feeling so great afterward. I have no idea why I have this association.

Other "American" products included marshmallows, these weird chocolate marshmallow cup things, pancake syrup, mayonnaise, etc. Some actually were recognizable American brands and others were brands I had never heard of before.

For those who don't have access to the Commissary on the military installation, Real would be a good place to find some "comforts" home. I'd recommend avoiding the Cheese Zip though.

American products in other countries/places: Berlin, Germany

Store mentioned: Kaufhaus des Westens
http://www.kadewe.de/en/

When I travel, I'm always curious to see if stores carry American brands of food. I like to see what stores in other countries consider "American," and by extension, what they might consider "typical" food to sell. It's always fun to experience the sticker shock, too! Often the foods are so much more expensive than they would be in the States. Of course, it could be a bit expensive to import foods, but I think items are so expensive because of the novelty factor, too.

Our first stop is Berlin. I went shopping at KaDeWe (ka-day-vay), which is a huge department store in Berlin. I guess I could liken it to Harrod's in London (though it's not quite as posh, but is still quite nice). KaDeWe is short for Kaufhaus des Westens, which means "Department Store of the West." It's a store that opened in 1907 and has always showcased products from across the world.

I visited KaDeWe in April 2011. I made a beeline for the international foods section because of course I wanted to see the American food offerings and have my mind boggled by the prices. Below is what I found:

Ahh, Campbell's condensed soup: complete with high fructose corn syrup, just add water. Andy Warhol would approve of the soup, but not the price: almost 3 euros per can. In the US, it usually sells for between about 70 cents to $1 per can.

Ah, pop-tarts. Not a particularly healthful breakfast, but a fast one. Not a cheap one here, at €5.98, but hey, it was reduced from €8.98! They are about $2.79 in the US.

Ahh, Libby's pumpkin, a staple in American households during Thanksgiving for the ubiquitous pumpkin pie. Such an innocent-looking product gave me the biggest sticker shock: it was €9.98! It's usually about $3 in the US but can be purchased for less during Thanksgiving time.

I'm just very thankful that I can buy American products in the Commissary. If had to pay the prices listed above, I'd just do without. Of course, that wouldn't be the end of the world, either, but I do love me some root beer (which was being sold at KaDeWe for about $3 a can!) so I'd be sad about not being able to buy that at a reasonable price.