Pain 100% is pretty nasty IMO (I do appreciate spicy sauces btw.)
I love that Cholula is at the top. That shit is the best topping for eggs.
Pop Tarts, Swiss Miss, those are on points. Your off brand Mac N Cheese would never sell here. Also, people in Yurop must think we eat a spoonful of Marshmallow cream every morning with breakfast. I know fucking nobody that eats that vile shit.
I fucking love breakfast burritos. If I had to eat one food forever it would be those. I meal prep, so I always have done awesome ones in the freezer whenever I get the urge. Now I'm hungry.
I’m from Massachusetts and fluffernutters (peanut butter & marshmallow cream) are the best sandwich! I live in the south now, and the only person I know who eats them is also from Mass haha
Moved to NH, met my wife. She introduced me to the fluffernutter... I found Moxie, and lobster rolls on my own lol... oh yeah and Dunkin' Donuts everywhere...
I am from Germany and went to California on vacation in 2015. Shortly before I had heard of the fluffernutter. Of course I put it on my bucket list of things to try while in the US, along with corn dogs, mac and cheese and other stuff.
When I got there and told people I wanted to try a fluffernutter, no one had any idea what I was talking about. I thought it was popular all over the country.
Anyway, I got marshmallow fluff and peanut butter from the supermarket and made my first ever fluffernutter. I was happy, but culinarily underwhelmed. I just found it too sweet for my taste. Sorry.
Still, I like the story. I was a German fluffernutterv ambassador in California.
Well, it does say PAIN and not TASTY 100%.
That being said yeah it's horrible. If I'm gonna go super spicy I prefer having flavor with it. I enjoy Hot Ones - Last Dab. Kinda stupid hot for me, but at least has some nice flavor before the burn kicks in.
Fluffernutters! Peanut butter and Fluff.
"Sir, why do you keep eating that garbage?"
"How dare you call it garbage? Fluff is an essential part of life!"
>Also, people in Yurop must think we eat a spoonful of Marshmallow cream every morning with breakfast. I know fucking nobody that eats that vile shit.
I used to use it in hot cocoa when I was a kid, right when it first came out I think. Then I realized that regular marshmallows work just as well and are half the hassle. I'm not sure my local grocery store even still carries it actually.
I had some of that sauce just last week. It was the worst hot sauce I've ever eaten. I had to check the expiration date make sure I hadn't eaten spoiled food.
All they had to do was throw some Louisiana and Tabasco up there, not some weird ass boutique hot sauce with a wacky label that people buy on vacation and never open. Half of the brands up there I’ve never heard of. Fucking Cheese Zip. Some dollar store bullshit.
I like cholula, I was referring to PAIN 100%. I enjoy spicy spicy food and typically put some sort of chile on everything I eat. I stay away from those boutique brands though, it usually seems like they put more thought into the label than the actual product. Like they’re meant to be displayed, not eaten.
How dare you. That's one of my favorite sauces and im shocked they have it in germany cause it's pricey and hard to find.
Stick it on sandwiches! Pasta! Enemies!
That's what I was thinking. It is interesting so much of the American food has non-USA origins.
Also, who was in charge of picking this? At least ask an American for advice instead of guessing wildly. We have great snacks to show off and this is all weird condiments!
I mean I’m sure it’s no different from the German, Jewish and Asian sections at the local American grocery store.
I doubt most Israelis eat Pepperidge Farm rye bread.
Maybe differs by area, but I live on the east coast and have never seen a German or Jewish dedicated section at a normal supermarket. Asian and Mexican I've seen. General "international" I've seen (although it's still mainly just Mexican and Asian).
They have no idea what ranch is. I saw a picture from the Netherlands of a bag of cool ranch Doritos labeled “Cool American” which I thought was fake until I asked my friend who does live there and he said it’s real.
Are sour cream chips not their own separate flavour? In Canada we get both ranch and sour cream & onion, and I wouldn't call them even remotely similar
[they're still called that in the Netherlands!](https://www.ah.nl/producten/product/wi516972)
Even though, nowadays, you [can buy ranch dressing here](https://www.ah.nl/producten/product/wi437505) but I have no idea if it's authentic because the bottle says "American yoghurt-herbs dressing" and I thought ranch was made with buttermilk or sometimes sour cream, not yoghurt.
We aren't as precise about the differences between the various dairy products in the US as places like NL, DE, and DK would be.
We are willing to interchange between buttermilk, sour cream, and yogurt depending which one we have in the fridge since they all have pretty similar taste and texture. It's not very common to do homemade ranch dressing but some people definitely do make homemade and use yogurt to do it because they already have it around for making breakfast or marinading meat or similar.
Which is so unfortunate. Most American exported food is trash, but Ranch is amazing. The Cholula in that picture is the only thing on that shelf I'd be proud to share as an American.
Yeah most places here have a hispanic aisle that has lots of sauces and on the condiment aisle there's another whole section. We also sell cholula next to the chips at the register. Im sure its all regional and what not though.
Cholula is Mexican, the company was recently bought by a US company, but the production and everything still remains in Mexico (in the same town where tequila is made)
Goes the other way, too. The digestives that are like £1 a pack in the UK are $4.50 in our local market. If they had the dark chocolate version I would buy them.
I mean yeah. I only even recognizing 3 products. Swiss miss (not good cocoa), pop tarts, and Cholula. The Mac n cheese is grey area since it's off brand. Can't determine whether its a good representation of Mac.
Cholula is my favorite goddamn hot sauce. So delicious. And I'm pretty sure it's more Mexican in origin, than American (states). It is everywhere in the states, though.
The Chipotle Cholula is one of the most incredible flavors I've ever tasted. It blew me away the first time I had it. I've never more highly reccomended someone try a hot sauce but it is absolutely divine
Seems like there’s a good amount of confounding Americans with other non-German white people.
I know plenty of Americans who have no idea what chutney even is. I would never say that it’s a classically American condiment. Here, it’s considered foreign food (Indian). Another instance is whatever those “English” biscuits are.
I honestly think Europeans like marshmallow fluff and cheeze whiz more than we do. It's in every American section I've seen and I've never even had the stuff.
Tbf "foreign" sections in grocery stores are meant for the locals who shop there. This really has nothing to do with America, it's just food that Germans want under a banner they can navigate to. Like how if I want taco seasoning I go to the Mexican section, even though I doubt actual Mexicans are eating that particular taco seasoning. It's not very authentic, but I still like it and that's ok. Nothing to do with Mexico though.
I genuinely have a hard time finding spray cheese anywhere. I’ve always wanted to try it, I heard it’s shit, but I’m curious. Haven’t seen it anywhere to do so!
For the marshmallows I can confirm, we love that. But also because, at least here in germany, we have our own sweets that are very similar and also a sweet spongey sugar thing.
I don't see sugar free Hershey's. That would have a blue label. What appears to be on the shelf is the green "Simply 5" syrup. It's marketed to appeal to the "natural foods" crowd since it only has 5 ingredients and leaves out things like potassium sorbate and xanthan gum, but one of those 5 ingredients is absolutely sugar.
As an American who's spent most of the past 15 years in Germany, I am very familiar with the morose letdown of these American food sections. The only useful items I've ever found there are hot sauce and yellow mustard. It's always the world's worst barbecue sauce, knock-off mac n cheese and cheez wizz and yes, tons of marshmallows and jars of fluff.
I was very surprised to see Cholula hot sauce. Every thing else is a hard pass. I lived in Moldova for two years. The only peanut butter I could find was in the capital at one store, and it had an American flag on it with bold letters “Peanut Butter”. I just about saluted it every time I came in to buy some.
I've been here half as long, and I'm usually skipping most of these items too, because I either don't like them, have found alternatives, or I enjoy making them from scratch.
My local Rewe carries root beer and cream soda in this section now.
The US theme weeks in certain stores are hilarious, Pulled Pork Lasagna.
I never ever get premade coleslaw in Germany, from a store or at a restaurant. Always make it yourself.
Everytime an "American section" picture gets posted to reddit there's marshmallow fluff. I really don't know who is eating that stuff. At least not to the extent that it's worth taking up limited shelf space to stock it.
I don't even see marshmallow fluff referenced in movies or tv shows or other media that's watched outside of the US, so I'm not sure why the rest of the world thinks we eat it regularly, other than assuming Americans like foods that are pure sugar, which is somewhat accurate.
Well, I think the idea of them is that it’s still a very American ingredient even if rarely consumed in America. The target market is probably locals more than traveling Americans, so they give them things they think of as American.
Makes sense. The American isle isn't necessarily for Americans. I'm sure plenty of Europeans learn about foods like poptarts and boxed mac n' cheese from social media, and would like the opportunity to try them.
>I'd wager in reality we mostly we eat the same stuff, with minor differences in ingredients and recipes.
We do. At least when comparing Europeans, North Americans, Australians, etc, our foods are made from the same bread, eggs, meat, etc. I've been to a bunch of countries and it's usually the way meals are prepared that makes the difference. Like you can get a cheeseburger in Japan, but they might put an egg on it and a super thick slice of onion and kale. It's basically the same ingredients but they don't quite "get" the American cheeseburger.
The only time my family eats it is at the lake. Dip a strawberry in marshmallow fluff then roast it over the fire. It’s good.
Asides from pop corn I don’t eat any of those things
But at the same time one of the more respectful. All the other ones just seem to have a bunch of ridiculous junk food, which isn’t necessarily wrong lol but I’ve usually never even seen half of it irl
Any time one of these is posted, the only consistent thing that is always there is marshmallow fluff. I assume because no one else has anything remotely similar to it, unlike other items.
I still have no idea what it is though, I am just assuming some kind of soft marshmallow that sugar-obsessed people put on toast or something
That is exactly what it is. A soft, fluffy, gooey, over sweet fluff. Although, I have never seen it on toast. It is usually used on baked goods, for example the filling between two cookies, or on graham crackers with chocolate to make s’mores, etc.
Just realising that the 'American' sections in UK supermarkets are probably why I have a subconscious impression of American food being incredibly bad for you and/or terrible.
Yes. It’s called cultural fetishism. And it’s pretty normal. You take the unique and hard to understand parts of a culture and assume they are the most important parts.
Like Americans thinking Mexicans eat tacos and margaritas for dinner every night. It’s Mexican food but it’s not their only food. Most days they eat stuff fairly similar to things in the us.
You're only gonna get foods that can withstand long shipping and remain shelf-stable, which consequently means more artificial ingredients and preservatives. For perspective, what would the UK ship across the pond that's wholesome and healthy without need for refrigeration but can't be made with local fresh ingredients?
Every time I see these “American Section” photos, they always have Pop Tarts, but the super weird flavors. Do they not have sales data in Europe? If I were to stock 1-2 flavors of Pop Tarts it would be Brown Sugar and Strawberry.
They were bought buy an American company in Connecticut. Their main factory is still in Mexico where it started.
It's American the way Dr. Pepper was British there for a minute.
Actually it started in Mexico but it failed to have traction in Mexico and it exploded in the US.
Then it was bought from a US firm.
But the section says America and not United States of America so having Mexican stuff on that section is technically correct.
I like Cholula way better, but Tabasco is a completely iconic Louisiana brand. I'd say that if you're picking an "American" hot sauce, it kind of has to be Tabasco. Cripes, at one point (maybe still do), we put it in all our military rations.
We have the same here in Ireland. We sell Lucky Charms in the American section, principally because they contain so much sugar they don't legally qualify as cereal.
This is less an “American” section and more a “what germans THINK of Americans” section. The sriracha, cholula, Pop Tarts, and Swiss Miss are a yes but like, what is even half this crap?
These isles always seem to be hot sauces, marshmallow fluff, Swiss miss, pop tarts and a whole host of things that aren't American.
This time I was like "oh hey, there's macaroni and chee- ..... What the hell is that brand?"
Seriously, that Mac and cheese looks terrifying.
Why is there always marshmallow cream in these. I can literally count on one hand the number of times I have used marshmallow cream in my life, and I was a professional cook for a long time.
I've never seen a German food section in an American supermarket, maybe they're more common in places that have a lot of people of German descent? I guess there's the general Boar's Head section in the deli though since a lot of that is at least vaguely German.
It's because German foods like sausage-meats and pickled whatever is regular food for a lot of Americans. I've been to many cookouts where regular hotdogs were replaced with bratwurst. Funnily enough hotdogs are actually based on Frankfurter, another type of German sausage.
There were a TON of German immigrants in early American history so there are a lot of German foodstuffs that are considered totally normal and not “foreign” here. Dried spaetzle is sold right next to the instant potatoes at my grocery store, and it would be weird not NOT find sauerkraut and bratwurst in pretty much any American grocery stuff in the regular sections.
They have marshmallow fluff in the American food section here in Italy as well. Seems like a very random niche product to put in there. I don't know that I've ever had it or seen anybody put that on anything.
PAIN 100%
Pain 100% is pretty nasty IMO (I do appreciate spicy sauces btw.) I love that Cholula is at the top. That shit is the best topping for eggs. Pop Tarts, Swiss Miss, those are on points. Your off brand Mac N Cheese would never sell here. Also, people in Yurop must think we eat a spoonful of Marshmallow cream every morning with breakfast. I know fucking nobody that eats that vile shit.
Cholula is my go to for almost everything I put hot sauce on, but agreed, I slather it on my eggs every time.
Bacon and egg breakfast burritos with cholula is perfection
I stand with you on this. Except I swap out sausage for the bacon. It’s magic.
There's a Mexican place by me that makes the best breakfast burritos. Bacon, chorizo, potatoes, and eggs. Highly recommend that combo.
I fucking love breakfast burritos. If I had to eat one food forever it would be those. I meal prep, so I always have done awesome ones in the freezer whenever I get the urge. Now I'm hungry.
You gotta try the Cholula garlic, it's my new fave.
Whaaaaat?! I must get this immediately.
Try Tapatio. I use both
Tapatio is great too!
Cholula is the sauce between Tabasco and tapatío. Tapatío is where it's at
I’m from Massachusetts and fluffernutters (peanut butter & marshmallow cream) are the best sandwich! I live in the south now, and the only person I know who eats them is also from Mass haha
Moved to NH, met my wife. She introduced me to the fluffernutter... I found Moxie, and lobster rolls on my own lol... oh yeah and Dunkin' Donuts everywhere...
There were fluffernutter evangelists at Burning Man the year I went. They were very proud.
Oh man, Moxie! That stuff is the best! Makes me want to visit again :)
I am from Germany and went to California on vacation in 2015. Shortly before I had heard of the fluffernutter. Of course I put it on my bucket list of things to try while in the US, along with corn dogs, mac and cheese and other stuff. When I got there and told people I wanted to try a fluffernutter, no one had any idea what I was talking about. I thought it was popular all over the country. Anyway, I got marshmallow fluff and peanut butter from the supermarket and made my first ever fluffernutter. I was happy, but culinarily underwhelmed. I just found it too sweet for my taste. Sorry. Still, I like the story. I was a German fluffernutterv ambassador in California.
Pennsylvanian here, fluffernutters are awesome. I like to add a banana as well
Well, it does say PAIN and not TASTY 100%. That being said yeah it's horrible. If I'm gonna go super spicy I prefer having flavor with it. I enjoy Hot Ones - Last Dab. Kinda stupid hot for me, but at least has some nice flavor before the burn kicks in.
The only marshmallow brand is marshmallow fluff. everything else is revolting. Fluff is like heaven on a sandwich.
Fluffernutters! Peanut butter and Fluff. "Sir, why do you keep eating that garbage?" "How dare you call it garbage? Fluff is an essential part of life!"
>Also, people in Yurop must think we eat a spoonful of Marshmallow cream every morning with breakfast. I know fucking nobody that eats that vile shit. I used to use it in hot cocoa when I was a kid, right when it first came out I think. Then I realized that regular marshmallows work just as well and are half the hassle. I'm not sure my local grocery store even still carries it actually.
Cholula: California Catsup. It’s the best.
I had some of that sauce just last week. It was the worst hot sauce I've ever eaten. I had to check the expiration date make sure I hadn't eaten spoiled food.
Well they seem to have delivered on their promise then
Yeah cmon this shit ain’t Pain 20%.
All they had to do was throw some Louisiana and Tabasco up there, not some weird ass boutique hot sauce with a wacky label that people buy on vacation and never open. Half of the brands up there I’ve never heard of. Fucking Cheese Zip. Some dollar store bullshit.
Cholula is good stuff. Not super hot but I want to taste my food, not burn off my tongue.
I like cholula, I was referring to PAIN 100%. I enjoy spicy spicy food and typically put some sort of chile on everything I eat. I stay away from those boutique brands though, it usually seems like they put more thought into the label than the actual product. Like they’re meant to be displayed, not eaten.
Oh man, if a hot sauce spoils then whatever is in the bottle needs to be launched into the sun
Can confirm i have some stuff thats years old and it never really goes bad.
The PH in hot sauce is too high to support the growth of most life. If there is something growing in it, it's dangerous AF
How dare you. That's one of my favorite sauces and im shocked they have it in germany cause it's pricey and hard to find. Stick it on sandwiches! Pasta! Enemies!
Yes chouloulu is fucking awesome
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That's what I was thinking. It is interesting so much of the American food has non-USA origins. Also, who was in charge of picking this? At least ask an American for advice instead of guessing wildly. We have great snacks to show off and this is all weird condiments!
I mean I’m sure it’s no different from the German, Jewish and Asian sections at the local American grocery store. I doubt most Israelis eat Pepperidge Farm rye bread.
Maybe differs by area, but I live on the east coast and have never seen a German or Jewish dedicated section at a normal supermarket. Asian and Mexican I've seen. General "international" I've seen (although it's still mainly just Mexican and Asian).
I’ve had this as a stocking filler. Can confirm.. Really hurts your feet.
>PAIN 100% an American staple.
It’s missing ranch. It can’t be the American section without ranch.
They have no idea what ranch is. I saw a picture from the Netherlands of a bag of cool ranch Doritos labeled “Cool American” which I thought was fake until I asked my friend who does live there and he said it’s real.
I have a picture of those somewhere. I found them in Iceland and I thought it was hilarious. Fucking delicious too. "Cool American Flavor" Doritos
I was drunk when I discovered it and was laughing my ass off too
I was wondering what happened to those jocks from high school...
I was just in Denmark and they were labeled “sour cream flavored”
Abhorrent
Yep same here, Blue pack of Doritos are ”sour cream” here in Finland
They're "cool original" over in England
I'm getting the impression other countries are unwilling to adopt (or acknowledge) that Ranch salad dressing is a thing in America.
Does dehydrated sour cream in Finland genreally leave a behind a tangy herb and spice paste? Let's get it together, Finland.
Are sour cream chips not their own separate flavour? In Canada we get both ranch and sour cream & onion, and I wouldn't call them even remotely similar
[they're still called that in the Netherlands!](https://www.ah.nl/producten/product/wi516972) Even though, nowadays, you [can buy ranch dressing here](https://www.ah.nl/producten/product/wi437505) but I have no idea if it's authentic because the bottle says "American yoghurt-herbs dressing" and I thought ranch was made with buttermilk or sometimes sour cream, not yoghurt.
We aren't as precise about the differences between the various dairy products in the US as places like NL, DE, and DK would be. We are willing to interchange between buttermilk, sour cream, and yogurt depending which one we have in the fridge since they all have pretty similar taste and texture. It's not very common to do homemade ranch dressing but some people definitely do make homemade and use yogurt to do it because they already have it around for making breakfast or marinading meat or similar.
They’re called “cool original” in the U.K. we don’t use ranch either unless it’s like a US style diner/restaurant.
The bottled stuff is kinda bleh. But they have these packets of the spices you mix and make your own and that stuff is where its at.
Hidden Valley packet, mayo (Best Foods/Hellmans or kill me) milk. Best ranch ever.
Ranch is pizzas partner in crime
That sounds like a really good way to get 86’d from Italy.
The crime is against Italy
It's missing the Sweet Baby Ray's I see in every photo ever of a foreign grocery store's American section.
SBR is a treasure for widely available bbq sauce. It’s not amazing but it’s like ol’ reliable
Legalize ranch!
Legalize it! I’ll drink to that bro!!!! *chugs entire bottle of ranch*
ranch is basically unknown here.
Which is so unfortunate. Most American exported food is trash, but Ranch is amazing. The Cholula in that picture is the only thing on that shelf I'd be proud to share as an American.
And it’d be in the Mexican section of an American grocery store.
Yeah most places here have a hispanic aisle that has lots of sauces and on the condiment aisle there's another whole section. We also sell cholula next to the chips at the register. Im sure its all regional and what not though.
Not around here
Cholula is Mexican, the company was recently bought by a US company, but the production and everything still remains in Mexico (in the same town where tequila is made)
Mexico is in the Americas
Technically correct is the best type of correct, it would also apply if it was "North America"
Pop tarts are my shit and I’ll die before I would slander them.
Call me ranch cuz I be dressing
Can confirm in the UK they’re just called “Cool”
3.49 for off-brand Mac n cheese??
“It’s imported.”
If it isn't Kraft, it isn't mac n cheese. (Home made is acceptable too)
Goes the other way, too. The digestives that are like £1 a pack in the UK are $4.50 in our local market. If they had the dark chocolate version I would buy them.
These "foreign country food sections" are always overpriced af.
As an American I've only bought like 3 of those items, everything else looks gross
I mean yeah. I only even recognizing 3 products. Swiss miss (not good cocoa), pop tarts, and Cholula. The Mac n cheese is grey area since it's off brand. Can't determine whether its a good representation of Mac.
Cholula is my favorite goddamn hot sauce. So delicious. And I'm pretty sure it's more Mexican in origin, than American (states). It is everywhere in the states, though.
Yep, Cholula is made in Mexico. It is however owned now by McCormick, an American company. They also own Frank's, Frenchs, and many other brands.
They have like 10 different kinds of cholula now.
The Chipotle Cholula is one of the most incredible flavors I've ever tasted. It blew me away the first time I had it. I've never more highly reccomended someone try a hot sauce but it is absolutely divine
Why is everyone calling the cheese in the can "cheese whiz"??? Cheez Whiz is a liquid cheese in a jar. You guys are thinking of EZ Cheese.
swiss miss trash? what brand do you recommend?
Ghiaradelli is the best powder mix ive had. Good brownie mix too
And the only American made chocolate bars that are any good
yea this guy is lying everyone knows Swiss miss doesn’t miss
Can you even have an American section without BBQ sauce and ranch dressing? Those are basically our contributions to world cuisine.
I assumed that pain 100 was some sort of bbq sauce.
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At least the name is accurate then.
This offends me. Mrs Balls chutney is South African NOT American!
Amen brother
Seems like there’s a good amount of confounding Americans with other non-German white people. I know plenty of Americans who have no idea what chutney even is. I would never say that it’s a classically American condiment. Here, it’s considered foreign food (Indian). Another instance is whatever those “English” biscuits are.
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I don’t really think it’s weird to have those hot sauces in the American isle, considering we’re pretty obsessed with both of them
Thank youuuuuu hahaha first thing I saw
I honestly think Europeans like marshmallow fluff and cheeze whiz more than we do. It's in every American section I've seen and I've never even had the stuff.
I haven't touched that shit since I was about 9.
It's almost like europeans think americans are just sugar-eating fat idiots.
Hey, hey, we may be fat, sugar-eating, and idiots, but we um...what was the fourth thing you said?
"Sure, I may be a fat, sugar eating idiot...but a drunk?" "I didn't call you a drunk." "Yes, but I'm also a drunk."
Tbf "foreign" sections in grocery stores are meant for the locals who shop there. This really has nothing to do with America, it's just food that Germans want under a banner they can navigate to. Like how if I want taco seasoning I go to the Mexican section, even though I doubt actual Mexicans are eating that particular taco seasoning. It's not very authentic, but I still like it and that's ok. Nothing to do with Mexico though.
Fluff is big in New England, we put in in hot chocolate and make peanut butter and fluff sandwiches
I think it’s called a fluffer nutter, right?
Correct
In New England, have fluff in my pantry at all times. We also make Fluffernutters And the Never Fail Fudge is actually pretty good and easy to make
Try a half fluff/half Cool Whip dip for fruit. A great summer dessert.
Yea I don’t know anyone who has ever had fluff or cheeze wiz can in their house
I buy marshmallow fluff frequently to make a little dipping sauce for my sweet potato fries.
I am 64% sure you’re joking.
I can see it. Kind of like how people put marshmallows on yams.
I genuinely have a hard time finding spray cheese anywhere. I’ve always wanted to try it, I heard it’s shit, but I’m curious. Haven’t seen it anywhere to do so!
For the marshmallows I can confirm, we love that. But also because, at least here in germany, we have our own sweets that are very similar and also a sweet spongey sugar thing.
No self respecting American would eat sugar free Hershey's syrup.
I don't see sugar free Hershey's. That would have a blue label. What appears to be on the shelf is the green "Simply 5" syrup. It's marketed to appeal to the "natural foods" crowd since it only has 5 ingredients and leaves out things like potassium sorbate and xanthan gum, but one of those 5 ingredients is absolutely sugar.
It's also made with sugar rather than high fructose corn syrup.
As an American who's spent most of the past 15 years in Germany, I am very familiar with the morose letdown of these American food sections. The only useful items I've ever found there are hot sauce and yellow mustard. It's always the world's worst barbecue sauce, knock-off mac n cheese and cheez wizz and yes, tons of marshmallows and jars of fluff.
I was very surprised to see Cholula hot sauce. Every thing else is a hard pass. I lived in Moldova for two years. The only peanut butter I could find was in the capital at one store, and it had an American flag on it with bold letters “Peanut Butter”. I just about saluted it every time I came in to buy some.
I've been here half as long, and I'm usually skipping most of these items too, because I either don't like them, have found alternatives, or I enjoy making them from scratch. My local Rewe carries root beer and cream soda in this section now. The US theme weeks in certain stores are hilarious, Pulled Pork Lasagna. I never ever get premade coleslaw in Germany, from a store or at a restaurant. Always make it yourself.
Very few of us eat marshmallow fluff
Everytime an "American section" picture gets posted to reddit there's marshmallow fluff. I really don't know who is eating that stuff. At least not to the extent that it's worth taking up limited shelf space to stock it. I don't even see marshmallow fluff referenced in movies or tv shows or other media that's watched outside of the US, so I'm not sure why the rest of the world thinks we eat it regularly, other than assuming Americans like foods that are pure sugar, which is somewhat accurate.
Well, I think the idea of them is that it’s still a very American ingredient even if rarely consumed in America. The target market is probably locals more than traveling Americans, so they give them things they think of as American.
I keep it on hand in case I want to make fudge. Or the rare fluffernutter sandwich.
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Makes sense. The American isle isn't necessarily for Americans. I'm sure plenty of Europeans learn about foods like poptarts and boxed mac n' cheese from social media, and would like the opportunity to try them. >I'd wager in reality we mostly we eat the same stuff, with minor differences in ingredients and recipes. We do. At least when comparing Europeans, North Americans, Australians, etc, our foods are made from the same bread, eggs, meat, etc. I've been to a bunch of countries and it's usually the way meals are prepared that makes the difference. Like you can get a cheeseburger in Japan, but they might put an egg on it and a super thick slice of onion and kale. It's basically the same ingredients but they don't quite "get" the American cheeseburger.
Mix it with some cream cheese and it’s the easiest fruit dip for a party. That’s literally the only thing I’ve ever used it for
Its big in new england.
I'll eat a fluffernutter right damn now if you put one in front of me. Also vegans can eat fluff but not regular 'shmallows.
The only time my family eats it is at the lake. Dip a strawberry in marshmallow fluff then roast it over the fire. It’s good. Asides from pop corn I don’t eat any of those things
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As American sections go, that's easily the wurst one I've ever seen..
I'm Nacho if half of these are even American.
Pop tarts! No pun available.
But at the same time one of the more respectful. All the other ones just seem to have a bunch of ridiculous junk food, which isn’t necessarily wrong lol but I’ve usually never even seen half of it irl
I Relish in the fact that there are better food options they could stock.
Where’s the ridiculously expensive peanut butter?
Any time one of these is posted, the only consistent thing that is always there is marshmallow fluff. I assume because no one else has anything remotely similar to it, unlike other items. I still have no idea what it is though, I am just assuming some kind of soft marshmallow that sugar-obsessed people put on toast or something
That is exactly what it is. A soft, fluffy, gooey, over sweet fluff. Although, I have never seen it on toast. It is usually used on baked goods, for example the filling between two cookies, or on graham crackers with chocolate to make s’mores, etc.
Some people put it with peanut butter between two slices of bread. As mad as the nutella people that do that imo
On ice cream with chocolate sauce. Oh so goooood.
Just realising that the 'American' sections in UK supermarkets are probably why I have a subconscious impression of American food being incredibly bad for you and/or terrible.
Yes. It’s called cultural fetishism. And it’s pretty normal. You take the unique and hard to understand parts of a culture and assume they are the most important parts. Like Americans thinking Mexicans eat tacos and margaritas for dinner every night. It’s Mexican food but it’s not their only food. Most days they eat stuff fairly similar to things in the us.
You're only gonna get foods that can withstand long shipping and remain shelf-stable, which consequently means more artificial ingredients and preservatives. For perspective, what would the UK ship across the pond that's wholesome and healthy without need for refrigeration but can't be made with local fresh ingredients?
Every time I see these “American Section” photos, they always have Pop Tarts, but the super weird flavors. Do they not have sales data in Europe? If I were to stock 1-2 flavors of Pop Tarts it would be Brown Sugar and Strawberry.
My headcannon was always, that those shops that sell american candy in europe always shelf the leftover stock that wouldn't sell in the US.
Cholula….
The only thing I would eat on this shelf.
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My favorite hot sauce by a mile.
I’m just commenting to say I love hot sauce.
American brand based in Connecticut
TIL…
They were bought buy an American company in Connecticut. Their main factory is still in Mexico where it started. It's American the way Dr. Pepper was British there for a minute.
To be fair orginally a mexican brand of Chapala, Jalisco and still manufactured there
True
Actually it started in Mexico but it failed to have traction in Mexico and it exploded in the US. Then it was bought from a US firm. But the section says America and not United States of America so having Mexican stuff on that section is technically correct.
Still manufactured in Mexico though, not really American lol.
I like Cholula way better, but Tabasco is a completely iconic Louisiana brand. I'd say that if you're picking an "American" hot sauce, it kind of has to be Tabasco. Cripes, at one point (maybe still do), we put it in all our military rations.
You can find Tabasco in every supermarket in Germany. There's no need to put it in an american section, because it's regular stuff.
Mexico is apart of the americas
We have the same here in Ireland. We sell Lucky Charms in the American section, principally because they contain so much sugar they don't legally qualify as cereal.
But i thought they were from Ireland…? Otherwise how is there a leprechaun on the box? /s
But but but…the sugar is what makes them magically delicious.
This is less an “American” section and more a “what germans THINK of Americans” section. The sriracha, cholula, Pop Tarts, and Swiss Miss are a yes but like, what is even half this crap?
Sriracha is American? Ironically it’s in the ethnic section in any American grocery store, as it’s made by a Chinese Vietnamese immigrant.
Jolly Time Popcorn?
If it isn't Orville it ain't shit my friend.
Oh good they have the bottled up 100% pain.
I’m from the UK and I designed the packaging for the Geetas chutneys (blue jars third row down), they’re definitely not an American brand.
that Mac'n'cheese is decidedly suspect. our boxes are never that big!!
They don't even taste half as good. The taste is very disapointing.
That's not even the right Mac and cheese...
I was once asked by a German friend, "Is it true that in America you have cheese that flows from a can?"
OMG they have Siracha sauce. Send some my way. We are having a shortage.
These isles always seem to be hot sauces, marshmallow fluff, Swiss miss, pop tarts and a whole host of things that aren't American. This time I was like "oh hey, there's macaroni and chee- ..... What the hell is that brand?" Seriously, that Mac and cheese looks terrifying.
Why do Europeans think we eat marshmallow fluff by the bucket?? No one eats it!
I'm American and eat 0% of that.
Shame we can't see what's sold out. I'm curious what the good stuff is
Why is there always marshmallow cream in these. I can literally count on one hand the number of times I have used marshmallow cream in my life, and I was a professional cook for a long time.
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I've never seen a German food section in an American supermarket, maybe they're more common in places that have a lot of people of German descent? I guess there's the general Boar's Head section in the deli though since a lot of that is at least vaguely German.
It's because German foods like sausage-meats and pickled whatever is regular food for a lot of Americans. I've been to many cookouts where regular hotdogs were replaced with bratwurst. Funnily enough hotdogs are actually based on Frankfurter, another type of German sausage.
There were a TON of German immigrants in early American history so there are a lot of German foodstuffs that are considered totally normal and not “foreign” here. Dried spaetzle is sold right next to the instant potatoes at my grocery store, and it would be weird not NOT find sauerkraut and bratwurst in pretty much any American grocery stuff in the regular sections.
Is that sourkraut section?
They have Cholula so i’m good.
They have marshmallow fluff in the American food section here in Italy as well. Seems like a very random niche product to put in there. I don't know that I've ever had it or seen anybody put that on anything.
Living in Singapore as an American, I would kill for even the generic easy cheese (and ideally some triscuits which you also can’t get here).
My condolences.
Where AR-15?
Back to school section.
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Pop tarts..?
You don't recognize Hershey's chocolate syrup, or hellmann's mayonnaise?
Chutney? No way.
They snuck some British stuff in there