More Supermarket Finds

Another shopping trip in Germany, another bunch of interesting finds.

Our first item is for your dishwasher. Most Germans use those little dishwasher tablets as the cleansing solution and then you need to add two other chemicals: rinse aid and salt, and lights on the panel will blink reminding you to do so. Many of the detergent tablets claim they contain rinse aid and salt, but we were told that we should add extra rinse aid and salt anyway. Our dishwasher has special compartments for both and I usually need to refill them every three months or so. And we need the salt, of course, because the water here is so hard. I no longer notice the dirty beach smell when putting away the clean dishes, as I had mentioned when we first moved here.

Our old glasses from the U.S. were already a bit cloudy when we moved here, but new glasses I bought when we first got here are still crystal clear.  It's tablets and rinse aid for sure when we move home.

Germans don't eat as much corn as Americans, but you can usually find canned loose corn kernels at the store and at certain times of year, you may even come across some pre-husked corn on the cob. But I couldn't resist buying this cob in a jar.

Lidl, our local discount grocery store, sometimes features canned corn on the cob during "America Week." The first time I saw that, I picked up the can with the picture of corn on the cob on the label and shook it. Was it really canned corn on the cob? The heavy clunk clunk I heard and felt confirmed it.

Two of the non-discount supermarkets where I shop have several shelves of American items. For instance: yucky generic macaroni and cheese, many varieties of BBQ sauce, relish, Campbell's tomato soup (the only Campbell's flavor they carry, but we don't complain -- it's our favorite), Reese's peanut butter cups, marshmallows and 4 or 5 baking mixes (Bisquick, muffins, brownies -- no cake mixes). You will pay a pretty penny for all these items. We have discovered over the last few years, though, that either there is no German equivalent for these items or else that the German equivalent just won't do. These brownies are worth every one of those pretty pennies. To bake a 13x9 standard baking dish size set of brownies (2 boxes), I pay $13.50. You can find German brownie mix, but they turn out dry, flavorless and chalky.

But look closely at the package.

The first time I made brownies, I was putting the batter into the oven before I realized the instructions were in French. I speak French and just went with it, not realizing that I wasn't reading German. There are smaller print instructions in Greek, Italian, Portuguese and German. No English.

Ahhh, coffee ice cream. One of my greatest weaknesses. My ice cream flavor of choice. This week was the first time I have found coffee ice cream in a store. I had it one time at an ice cream parlor, but never found it at the supermarket. When my friend Kathy mentioned offhand last week that she found cappuccino ice cream at the Lidl, I choked on my coffee. Lord knows how long they'll have this flavor there, so I stocked up.

And Kathy also told me about these. Germans love yogurt.  You should see the huge selection of yogurt at Real, the SuperWalmart-type store.  And what sounds more appetizing that popcorn- and corn-flavored yogurt?  No one has been brave enough to sample them yet. I'll report back on the results.