Cooking Culture Shock

[bebopdobop]

Anyone else move to a different country and find it hard to figure out what to cook for a while?
I'm from Texas, but currently living in Mexico. We live an hour away from Wal-Mart, which has the most variety of different foods. The local grocery store has considerably less. Every time I head back to the states, I'm always in awe of the selection available.
Just curious if anyone else here has suffered cooking culture shock>

 

[CharlieD]

You bet. I came here from Soviet Union. I still can't believe how much of anything and everything is available here in the store.

 

[GotGarlic]

I haven't experienced it myself, because I haven't lived in a different country, but we've hosted several exchange students and they are always amazed at the variety of goods we have in grocery stores. Personally, I think it's gone way overboard - too often I have to spend several minutes looking for just the right canned tomatoes (no added veggies, seasonings, etc.), and other things, because there are so many types of the same product. Just last week, I bought a bag of dried cranberries to make cranberry/orange scones and it turned out I had bought cherry-flavored dried cranberries! Come on, if I wanted cherry flavor, wouldn't I buy dried cherries?

Guess that struck a nerve

 

[larry_stewart]

I have friends in Brazil, and when we were comparing Our favorite pizza's , hers included one with ketchup, mayonaise and ham on it. Huge culture shock for me. Another included ' Jambu leaves' on it. Not knowing what jambu leaves were, i searched online, ordered a jambu plant. Its nick name is the ' tooth ache plant'. When u eat the leaves, they actually make your mouth feel numb. Never got to trying it on pizza, didnt want to burn or bite my lip ( assuming it would get too numb :p) But I did try the leaves just to get the experience.

Actually, another funny experience was when i was talking to a friend from Sweden. And she was saying how her husband sometimes shops for food at the " American store". Completely confused, I asked , what do they sell at the American store?? so she replied, mac and cheese .... things like that . I guess it made sense, i just never thought of being in another country and eating American things, let alone a specific store for its products. Here, sure I go to the Asian market, Spanish market , Indian market ...so why not an American market over seas... I guess I got to get out more ..

 

[bebopdobop]

Just last week, I bought a bag of dried cranberries to make cranberry/orange scones and it turned out I had bought cherry-flavored dried cranberries! Come on, if I wanted cherry flavor, wouldn't I buy dried cherries?

How funny! I love both dried cranberries and cherries, never heard of cherry flavored cranberries. What is the point?

 

[GB]

Larry, are you sure it was the leaves of the jambu and not the fruit itself that your friend had on her pizza?

 

[Katie H]

Since moving from Washington, D.C. to western Kentucky 13 years ago, Buck and I have been suffering from a bit of cooking culture shock.

In the D.C. area, we had (at our fingertips) just about any ingredient imaginable. Ethnic markets were plentiful and our local grocery stores stocked an incredible variety of foods.

Here, soy sauce is almost a "gourmet" ingredient. As a result, I've had to get VERY creative with my cooking and menu planning. Although, I must say that things are getting better and I'm able to get more adventuresome with my cooking.

On the flip side, the range of cuisines in the area restaurants is fabulous. I would love to be able to buy from their suppliers.

 

[Yakuta]

When I came here from India the first weekend my aunt took me to the Dekalb Farmer Market in Atlanta. I am not sure if anyone on this board is from Atlanta and has been to this place. It's super huge. Actually I have now been to a lof of large warehouses, stores etc but DeKalb is an outing in itself. It can take 1/2 a day to go through every section. It was almost overwhelming and a big culture shock for me. I was used to rustic open bazaars in India where fruits, veggies, meat and fish are sold in open.

The next culture shock (reverse one) was when I visited India after almost 17 years. They eat their pizza with ketchup and chili sauce and that is something I am not used to. The cheese is also very different and has a peculiar taste.


Another shock for me was when I was in Europe this summer. Harrod's in London and the food halls. This was my third trip there but I was still confused and overwhelmed at the variety and what to pick and what not to pick especially in their bakery section. Also the prices are incredibly high but people shop there like money is no object.

Last and final shock has been also on my trip to Europe and my visits to McDonalds with my kids. Every place had a different menu. I had a spicy chickpea sandwich in the London McDonalds that was incredibly good and catered for the Indian population there. In Amsterdam the flavors were again unique and the burgers all came with spicy sauces that are no where to be found in US. In Austria the influence in the menu was more Italian with a lot of parmesean sprinkled sandwiches and some type of fried potato fritters that were very good.

Also ketchup and sauces are not free there and I did not know that

 

[larry_stewart]

Yes, the Jambu leaves come from an ugly flower, that looks like an eyeball. Also referred to as Spilanthes acmella, toothache plant, eyeball plant

There is another tree called the Jambu tree, also Jambu Ayer, Djamboe Aer, Watery Rose Apple. This produces a fruit that is edible

2 totally different plants

Ive personally never tasted the fruit, but I have tried the leaves, which dont have much of a flavor, but definately make your mouth numb, just like the topical anesthesia applied prior to getting a dental injection. It lasts about 5 - 10 minutes


I know of these things only because my friend from Brazil introduced me to them. I also think the jambu leaves are more of a northern Brazilian thing.

 

[stassie]

I love going food shopping in other countries! Admitedly, I haven't visted that many... but even grocery stores in Australia (just over the ditch) are different from those in New Zealand.

We're going travelling in a year's time, and I've told my husband I want to visit America to go grocery shopping Doesn't that sound odd? But I often frequent chat boards which tend to be American-based, and hear about all sorts of food which we can't get here. In fact, an online friend kindly sent me some twinkies once, because I was keen to try them (as a kid, I remember reading a childrens book which mentioned them, and thinking they sounded great. In reality, I'd probably have enjoyed them more ten years ago, but there you are!)

She also sent a Three Musketeers Bar. WHY don't they make those here!?! (I enjoy junk food too much, can you tell?).

Often, it's just curiousity. I mean, squirty cheese?? What do they do to the poor cheese?

 

[GB]

Yes, the Jambu leaves come from an ugly flower, that looks like an eyeball. Also referred to as Spilanthes acmella, toothache plant, eyeball plant

There is another tree called the Jambu tree, also Jambu Ayer, Djamboe Aer, Watery Rose Apple. This produces a fruit that is edible

2 totally different plants

Ive personally never tasted the fruit, but I have tried the leaves, which dont have much of a flavor, but definately make your mouth numb, just like the topical anesthesia applied prior to getting a dental injection. It lasts about 5 - 10 minutes


I know of these things only because my friend from Brazil introduced me to them. I also think the jambu leaves are more of a northern Brazilian thing.

Cool. Thanks for the education.

 

[Dave Hutchins]

Try living in Japan where they sell beef by the GRAM. I ate off base as often as I could
got to like fish,chicken and mystery meat all cooked in some very flavorful sauce;s
One dish I never figured out was O soba sold by vendors on bicycle after curfew it was a mismash of fine eating, especially after one to many Nippon barley pop

 

[Rom]

...mystery???meat...

LOL

 

[Bilby]

Stassie we even have a Kiwi foods shop here to cater for our South-Eastern cousins! It was an amazing place!

 

[Bilby]

...mystery???meat...

LOL

Isn't that the same as we get in a meat pie at the footy???LOL

 

[Barbara L]

How funny! I love both dried cranberries and cherries, never heard of cherry flavored cranberries. What is the point?

My guess is that cranberries are cheaper. I know that sometimes what I think are cherries in buffet restaurant fruit salads are cherry flavored and colored grapes.

Barbara

 

[AllenOK]

Barbara, it's possible. Dried Cherries ARE NOT cheap, but boy, are they tasty! If you ever get up to the northern part of Michigan's Lower Pennisula, or up into Goodweed's area, you might find dried cherries in all sorts of things.

Bilby, Rom, and our other international friends:
Since I work in the food industry, I like to know the foreign terms and slang for food items. By any chance, could you explain to me, what the "footy" is? Some kind of local market? I think I know what the "meat pie" is, something like a pasty.

One of my step-sisters pulled up stakes and moved to Christchurch, New Zealand, about 10 years ago. She's sent me a few cookbooks from local authors there, and even some food items (which Customs decided to open a few of...grrrr). I never did try the Marmite.

 

[Callisto in NC]

I'm like Buck and Katie, didn't move from one country to another, but did move from Southern California to North Carolina and there's a HUGE difference. I miss the Mexican store/restaurants that you could get to go food at and get fixings for future meals. Some of the ingredients that I could easily find in California, can't/couldn't be found here when I moved. I miss a particular salami and am craving it so bad this time of year. I'm hoping having Trader Joe's here will reduce some of that but not the salami issue.

I miss that salami.

 

[GotGarlic]

I have friends in Brazil, and when we were comparing Our favorite pizza's , hers included one with ketchup, mayonaise and ham on it. Huge culture shock for me.

This reminds me, our exchange student from the former East Germany ate French fries with mayo, and our student from Slovakia said they eat ketchup on spaghetti there.

 

[TanyaK]

When I returned to South Africa after travelling in Europe and the US for a year and a half it was a culture shock coming back - that was a long time ago and we have caught up quite a bit but there's still some stuff that's hard to find eg I cannot find lime juice anywhere at the moment and no one has heard of canning salt! (Also our best stuff gets exported) I really envy people in the US in that everything is so readily available!
My best country for food shopping was Thailand - we spent hours in the supermarkets just trying to figure out what the foods were (and you can't understand their writing so it doesn't help!)