Curious regional supermarket products?
October 16, 2011 1:29 PM Subscribe
Complete Parmesan cheeses in Milan, bicycle wheel sized paella pans in Barcelona...what are some other products considered everyday enough to be stocked in a particular country or region's supermarkets - yet which would be considered very unusual elsewhere?
Various cuts of Kangaroo meat are considered "normal" in Australian supermarkets.
posted by trialex at 1:50 PM on October 16, 2011 [1 favorite]
posted by trialex at 1:50 PM on October 16, 2011 [1 favorite]
Most supermarkets in Minnesota have lefse , lingonberry jam, and lutefisk at certain times of the year. When I lived in Wyoming I could not find lefse anywhere...I described it as a "Norwegian potato-based tortilla." No dice.
posted by Elly Vortex at 2:03 PM on October 16, 2011 [1 favorite]
posted by Elly Vortex at 2:03 PM on October 16, 2011 [1 favorite]
Utah has 5 gallon buckets of wheat, giant bags of beans, and all sorts of other shelf-stable things because of LDS Food Storage guidelines. Even Wal-Mart carries the stuff now in a big "Emergency Preparedness" section. (Idaho Wal-Mart video link).
posted by BlooPen at 2:08 PM on October 16, 2011 [1 favorite]
posted by BlooPen at 2:08 PM on October 16, 2011 [1 favorite]
You can find cans of Boiled Peanuts in various parts of the U.S. South.
posted by Ufez Jones at 2:08 PM on October 16, 2011 [1 favorite]
posted by Ufez Jones at 2:08 PM on October 16, 2011 [1 favorite]
Mexican Coke (big glass bottle, made with real cane sugar*) is pretty common in Southern California.
*I heard somewhere they might not be making it with real sugar anymore, actually
posted by drjimmy11 at 2:14 PM on October 16, 2011
*I heard somewhere they might not be making it with real sugar anymore, actually
posted by drjimmy11 at 2:14 PM on October 16, 2011
There might be a lot of argument over the particulars, but you could maybe narrow the focus by thinking what the unique staples or essentials are--like paella pans or rice cookers--that might be unusual elsewhere, and smaller regional specialties. We've got cheese curds everywhere here in Wisconsin, etc.
posted by Mngo at 2:15 PM on October 16, 2011
posted by Mngo at 2:15 PM on October 16, 2011
Large strips of dried cod in any average Portuguese supermarket.
Tortilla presses in Mexican supermarkets.
posted by vacapinta at 2:23 PM on October 16, 2011 [1 favorite]
Tortilla presses in Mexican supermarkets.
posted by vacapinta at 2:23 PM on October 16, 2011 [1 favorite]
Fromage blanc in France (in nice big tubs). It's everywhere. Can I get plain old tasty plain yoghurt in big tubs? Not easily. I've not seen fromage blanc outside France. And the translation isn't even clear. It's not "white cheese" or really cottage cheese. It's more like plain yoghurt but without the bite/various active ingredients.
posted by jujulalia at 2:26 PM on October 16, 2011
posted by jujulalia at 2:26 PM on October 16, 2011
live frogs, prawns, shrimp in Cantonese grocery stores
posted by skewed at 2:38 PM on October 16, 2011
posted by skewed at 2:38 PM on October 16, 2011
Tortilla presses in Mexican supermarkets.
We have tortilla presses in almost every grocery store in Texas as far as I know.
posted by jschu at 2:46 PM on October 16, 2011
We have tortilla presses in almost every grocery store in Texas as far as I know.
posted by jschu at 2:46 PM on October 16, 2011
Haviana flip flops are usually only found in specialty stores in the US, but are in nearly every gas station and grocery store in Brazil (much cheaper, too).
posted by tamitang at 3:17 PM on October 16, 2011
posted by tamitang at 3:17 PM on October 16, 2011
In Germany you can easily find a small grain mill to keep in the kitchen to mill your own grains for porridge.
posted by cali at 3:31 PM on October 16, 2011
posted by cali at 3:31 PM on October 16, 2011
jujulalia, fromage blanc (with brown sugar, yummm) aka quark in Germany. I've seen it in specialty food sections of US stores.
posted by TWinbrook8 at 3:55 PM on October 16, 2011
posted by TWinbrook8 at 3:55 PM on October 16, 2011
As an American, I was very surprised to learn Canadian grocers sell bags of milk.
posted by Rhaomi at 4:11 PM on October 16, 2011
posted by Rhaomi at 4:11 PM on October 16, 2011
In Rhode Island, you can buy coffee milk, a beverage mix that is rightly ignored by the rest of the world.
posted by GenjiandProust at 4:14 PM on October 16, 2011
posted by GenjiandProust at 4:14 PM on October 16, 2011
GenjiandProust, that's really common in Australia too. Every shop has it. That, and vegemite, which is definitely considered a "specialty item" in most other countries.
posted by indienial at 4:40 PM on October 16, 2011
posted by indienial at 4:40 PM on October 16, 2011
Growing up, Vernors, that green can of delicious ginger-ale wonder was unavailable outside of Michigan. It seems to have gone slightly regional, but it's still the best.
The list for Japan could get started in the veggie aisle. Garlic shoots, daikon (large, arm sized white radish), nashi (Japanese/asian pears, in season), myoga (flowers of ginger), gobo (burdock root), lychis, and then the citrus, yuzu, sudachi, and a couple others I've never seen elsewhere. Some of these veggies wouldn't be out of place around Asia, but you'd be unlikely to spot them in many places in the States.
Oh, and natto. That's pretty much a Japanese thing.
posted by Ghidorah at 5:48 PM on October 16, 2011
The list for Japan could get started in the veggie aisle. Garlic shoots, daikon (large, arm sized white radish), nashi (Japanese/asian pears, in season), myoga (flowers of ginger), gobo (burdock root), lychis, and then the citrus, yuzu, sudachi, and a couple others I've never seen elsewhere. Some of these veggies wouldn't be out of place around Asia, but you'd be unlikely to spot them in many places in the States.
Oh, and natto. That's pretty much a Japanese thing.
posted by Ghidorah at 5:48 PM on October 16, 2011
A walk through the traditional market across the street from where I lived in Korea would fit this bill: Huge cauldrons of rice porridge, ubiquitous simmering pans of ttukboki, live turtles, tanks full of sea squirters and octopi. Dried fish.
Coffee Milk in a variety of flavors, as well as bright yellow Banana Milk at nearly every food dispensary.
posted by GilloD at 6:11 PM on October 16, 2011
Coffee Milk in a variety of flavors, as well as bright yellow Banana Milk at nearly every food dispensary.
posted by GilloD at 6:11 PM on October 16, 2011
@Rhaomi; Only Ontario from what I understand. It is a pretty stupid system in some ways, as you can't recycle the bags, but it beats the pants of a giant 4L jug that you have to try and pour. It does take some practice cutting the hole to the right size though.
Butter tarts? I know a lot around here carry them, and that they are Canadian, but I don't know if they have spread.
posted by Canageek at 7:12 PM on October 16, 2011
Butter tarts? I know a lot around here carry them, and that they are Canadian, but I don't know if they have spread.
posted by Canageek at 7:12 PM on October 16, 2011
indienial, Australian coffee-flavour milk (like a Big M) is not really the same as coffee milk.
posted by retrograde at 7:17 PM on October 16, 2011
posted by retrograde at 7:17 PM on October 16, 2011
Milk comes in bags in Canada - it seems you put the bag into a reusable plastic pitcher, cut a corner off the bag, and pour!
posted by illenion at 7:22 PM on October 16, 2011
posted by illenion at 7:22 PM on October 16, 2011
Coconut water in juice-like boxes in Brazil. Anyone else get this?
posted by Tom-B at 8:14 PM on October 16, 2011
posted by Tom-B at 8:14 PM on October 16, 2011
Coconut water in cans in Doha, because of the large Filipino population. Lots of other Filipino stuff too (special section in the supermarket in fact). Harissa (specialty item in Dublin and hard to find, but a whole bay devoted to it here (up to 800 gm cans, at least--who uses the stuff that fast?). And of course lots of other Middle Eastern and Indian stuff--but no pig meat or booze, naturally.
posted by Logophiliac at 9:50 PM on October 16, 2011
posted by Logophiliac at 9:50 PM on October 16, 2011
Kangaroo meat is in most Australian supermarkets now.
posted by AnnaRat at 1:37 AM on October 17, 2011
posted by AnnaRat at 1:37 AM on October 17, 2011
Scotland: Macaroni pies. Haggis year-round (though in much smaller quantities than macaroni pies). All varieties of Irn Bru (in the rest of the UK there's often Bru, but there might not be sugar-free Bru, or certain sizes of bottle).
posted by Coobeastie at 2:51 AM on October 17, 2011
posted by Coobeastie at 2:51 AM on October 17, 2011
When I was living in Scotland I couldn't find a dustpan anywhere. Instead, there were little short-handled metal shovels, so instead of sweeping the dirt off your floor and into a dustpan, you can sweep it straight over the back of an annoyingly awkward shovel. While I have seen the shovels sold elsewhere, possibly intended for use with hot ashes, etc, it seems dustpans are some regional English thing.
posted by Lebannen at 3:12 AM on October 17, 2011
posted by Lebannen at 3:12 AM on October 17, 2011
Tom-B, they have those coconut water juice boxes in the UK, and I'm 60% certain I saw them in US in the Fresh Market (is that regional?).
Today I saw an entire pig's head at the butchers here in the UK. I'm not sure if that's normal or not, but I never saw an entire pig's head when I was in the US.
posted by Ms. Moonlight at 5:51 AM on October 17, 2011
Today I saw an entire pig's head at the butchers here in the UK. I'm not sure if that's normal or not, but I never saw an entire pig's head when I was in the US.
posted by Ms. Moonlight at 5:51 AM on October 17, 2011
In Rhode Island, you can also buy Weiner Seasoning at the grovery store. It's for making hot weiners (a.k.a. New York System Weiners) at home -- saving you a trip to Weiner Genie or Mister Weiner or Olneyville New York System. Can I tell you how happy I was two weeks ago to find that my father-in-law dropped off some weiners for me while I was at work? Finding that greasy bag of weiners -- individually wraped in waxed paper, covered in onions and mustard -- in the fridge when I got home was pure delight. I love that guy!
posted by wenestvedt at 6:24 AM on October 17, 2011 [2 favorites]
posted by wenestvedt at 6:24 AM on October 17, 2011 [2 favorites]
There are lots of British foods that my expatriate honey has had a hard time finding in the U.S. (many of these can be found in big cities, but not here in the hinterlands): HP sauce, Hobnobs, Twiglets, Walker's crisps, clotted cream, etc.
Grits are more common now outside the southern U.S., but when I lived in Boston some years ago they couldn't be found anywhere.
posted by WorkingMyWayHome at 10:45 AM on October 17, 2011
Grits are more common now outside the southern U.S., but when I lived in Boston some years ago they couldn't be found anywhere.
posted by WorkingMyWayHome at 10:45 AM on October 17, 2011
every kind pf grit imaginable (when I moved here, I was flummoxed by how the cereal aisle had more grit real estate than oatmeal) in the South, along with pork feet and canned brains. and zillions of cooking greens--collard, mustard, turnip, etc.
you never see panela piloncillo anywhere but ethnic markets, it seems. and i can't get cel-ray soda except in jewish supermarkets.
posted by ifjuly at 11:04 AM on October 17, 2011
you never see panela piloncillo anywhere but ethnic markets, it seems. and i can't get cel-ray soda except in jewish supermarkets.
posted by ifjuly at 11:04 AM on October 17, 2011
Sweet pickled herring in Danish supermarkets.
At first I thought that was genteel cussing.
posted by wenestvedt at 1:13 PM on October 17, 2011 [3 favorites]
At first I thought that was genteel cussing.
posted by wenestvedt at 1:13 PM on October 17, 2011 [3 favorites]
I recently had a friend visit us from the Seattle area and she was so excited at the range of Mexican foods you can get here in the eastern part of the state that she can't find at home: every sort of chili imaginable, both dried and fresh, hominy, and chorizo and tortillas made fresh in the supermarket.
Sweet pickled herring, but that chorizo looked good . . . .
posted by WorkingMyWayHome at 1:58 PM on October 17, 2011 [1 favorite]
Sweet pickled herring, but that chorizo looked good . . . .
posted by WorkingMyWayHome at 1:58 PM on October 17, 2011 [1 favorite]
I would imagine it's difficult to get black pudding in North America given the restrictions on importing meat from the UK.
Quark is widely available in the UK too, so perhaps you should have a look under that name.
posted by mippy at 9:34 AM on October 18, 2011
Quark is widely available in the UK too, so perhaps you should have a look under that name.
posted by mippy at 9:34 AM on October 18, 2011
This thread is closed to new comments.
posted by wintersweet at 1:42 PM on October 16, 2011 [1 favorite]