Differences: food

Last night while eating dinner, Dave told me, “Your cooking has gotten so much better - I don’t mind eating at home all the time!” haha..... I told him it was that his options (i.e. eating out) were not that good, making my food seem even better. And then, yes, after thinking about it for a while, he amended his statement, “I can’t think of anything that we’d go out and eat that would be better”

People in America, eat an In-n-out burger for us tonight.

The first complaint about food here is that it is impossible to eat for less than 10 pounds (for the two of us), which is around $16. And that is a cheap meal. At In-N-Out (which we frequented too often), we could eat for $7. Easily.

You wouldn’t think that there were that many differences in the food here. But you would be wrong.

Ranch dressing is obsolete. They do have other dressings by Kraft.... just not ranch. And the Cesear dressing here is the “real” stuff with anchovies. Eiw. The closest they have to ranch is “garlic and parmesan” which is like eating a spoonful of mayonnaise with bits of herbs in it.

Mexican food consists of Old El Paso taco and fajita kits. Either that or Spanish tapas are pretty popular here. And I guess people here think the “Mexican” is too spicy because they just launched the “Very Mild” version of Old El Paso. On the topic of Mexican food, corn tortillas here are only partially corn and then mostly wheat. Not good for a glutard like Dave. We’ve had to buy Masa so that we could try making our own corn tortillas. The best salsa we’ve found is the one made by Doritos.

Pickles here means something that has been “pickled” which is usually onions or beets. Do people just eat canned onions? I find that hard to believe.... They have very limited quantities of what we would consider pickles. I have yet to find the ones you can put on sandwiches (the sour variety).

I’ve been missing fall foods. And I will be missing them for a few years. Pumpkin filling (for pies or breads) does not exist. Well, I haven’t found it yet. So no pumpkin pie this year :-( On the subject of pies, I don't think I will be able to make Pecan pie either. The "Karo" syrup is not the same.... we'll give it a try though.

If you know me well, you know I enjoy my morning cereal. The good news is that there is Kellogs and Nestle (which I believe is the same as General Mills). The bad news is that they only sell about 10 different varieties of cereal total, and that includes Coco Puffs, Frosted Flakes and Honey Cheerios (yes, its different from Honey Nut Cheerios). They have some cheap imitation of shredded wheat, but its a soft cereal, instead of the crunchy that it should be. I miss my American Cereals. What I would give for a bowl of Quaker Oatmeal Squares right now.

Don’t get me started on chips. Instead of flavors like chive, or cheddar, they have “roast chicken” and “prawn cocktail”. I’ve heard they’re actually good, but with names like that my appetite is ruined.

Its a good thing I like to bake (thanks Dad!) because their selection of boxed cake mixes are very limited. Actually, I’ve seen two or three total: Devil Food cake and maybe a vanilla. They are low on the baking supplies I'm used to. Karo Syrup and Molasses syrup are things that are difficult to find. Also, Crisco is also non-existent.

Velveeta is non existent here, too. What am I going to do when I want a grilled cheese? It just isn’t the same with cheddar.... you need that velvety cheesy goodness.....

Can anyone tell I’ve been missing American foods????? I think they need an American section in their grocery stores. Or a store that sells American brands of foods. They have pretty much every other type of food here.

Don’t even get me started on their obsession with beans - only baked beans. It is impossible to find canned pinto beans. Refried beans cost about $2 a jar. AND.... they eat these baked beans for breakfast!  How does that rhyme go? Beans, beans the magical fruit, the more you eat, the more you..... well.... you get the idea

That is the plus side - if you want a really good Indian curry, some decent Chinese or even Korean, you’re able to find it very easily. Just not American.....

If you’re English, or you like English food, I’m sorry. I don’t mean to offend you. Just go to America and try the food there. Its transformational. Like change your life good.