Food shopping - hints and tips?
May 11th 2016, 4:54 pm
#16
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Location: Athens GA
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Re: Food shopping - hints and tips?
We move to a foreign country then discover that the food is different, the packaging is different, they don't sell certain (English) foods. What a surprise! I don't get it.
May 11th 2016, 5:54 pm
#17
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Re: Food shopping - hints and tips?
They cut the meat differently. I asked an English butcher and he told me to ask for the sirloin equivalent of the pig.
May 11th 2016, 6:16 pm
#18
Return of bouncing girl!
Joined: Sep 2004
Location: The Fourth Reich
Posts: 4,931
Re: Food shopping - hints and tips?
The cut, as I mentioned, is basically a loin roast with a bit of the belly attached. Ideally it should have the skin still on, but this is not entirely necessary. Because pigs are butchered differently here than in the UK, my strategy was to find a butcher who sold thick-cut bone-in pork chops and simply ask them to leave me a whole 2-pound piece of the loin they are normally cut from (but with the bone removed). Pork chops with the bone removed but all the fat untrimmed (not the boring pale medallions of meat with no fat) is essentially the cut we're after.
May 11th 2016, 6:32 pm
#19
Return of bouncing girl!
Joined: Sep 2004
Location: The Fourth Reich
Posts: 4,931
Re: Food shopping - hints and tips?
11 years later and I now know that saran wrap is useless, Best Foods mayo is actually Hellmann's, coffee cake doesn't taste of coffee, Mars Bars are Milky Ways, and to never buy PF Chang's frozen meals. It's a learning curve
May 11th 2016, 6:43 pm
#20
Just Joined
Thread Starter
Joined: May 2016
Location: Largo, FL
Posts: 2
Re: Food shopping - hints and tips?
Thank you so much to everyone for your helpful replies!
I can't tell you how much it helps knowing other people initially felt the same stress I'm having, I did almost have a fit of tears on my first shop in the peanut butter aisle as there were so many types to choose from, which seems ridiculous when I say it out loud to people. My other half, native Floridian, just really doesn't understand the issues I'm having.
There are some great suggestions here do I'll be sure to try them out. Thank you so much again!
I can't tell you how much it helps knowing other people initially felt the same stress I'm having, I did almost have a fit of tears on my first shop in the peanut butter aisle as there were so many types to choose from, which seems ridiculous when I say it out loud to people. My other half, native Floridian, just really doesn't understand the issues I'm having.
There are some great suggestions here do I'll be sure to try them out. Thank you so much again!
May 11th 2016, 7:09 pm
#21
Return of bouncing girl!
Joined: Sep 2004
Location: The Fourth Reich
Posts: 4,931
Re: Food shopping - hints and tips?
Another tip that I forgot to mention - if the pre-packaged items are not sealed and are sold by weight, you can usually remove some from the package. Check with the produce people at the store: they're generally pretty helpful. I've had them remove a leek from a pack of 2 because I only wanted to buy one, and remove carrots from a packaged 'bunch' etc.
May 11th 2016, 8:11 pm
#22
Deep in the woods of CT
Joined: Feb 2010
Posts: 7,002
Re: Food shopping - hints and tips?
Another tip that I forgot to mention - if the pre-packaged items are not sealed and are sold by weight, you can usually remove some from the package. Check with the produce people at the store: they're generally pretty helpful. I've had them remove a leek from a pack of 2 because I only wanted to buy one, and remove carrots from a packaged 'bunch' etc.
May 11th 2016, 8:13 pm
#23
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Joined: Aug 2007
Location: Maine
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Re: Food shopping - hints and tips?
I used to find food shopping really really stressful when I first got here. I was feeding a family of five, I had small kids, everything was different, there were too many pizzas and too few quiches, I had no idea which products tasted good and which were overpriced crap, and I was dealing with a new currency.
But now I'm just about used to it, nearly 9 years on. The ridiculous amount of choice for some products still drives me crazy, and sometimes I just go to Trader Joes to shop because they only tend to have one type of each product rather than a million different types and brands.
But now I'm just about used to it, nearly 9 years on. The ridiculous amount of choice for some products still drives me crazy, and sometimes I just go to Trader Joes to shop because they only tend to have one type of each product rather than a million different types and brands.
May 11th 2016, 8:54 pm
#24
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Re: Food shopping - hints and tips?
May 11th 2016, 10:15 pm
#25
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Re: Food shopping - hints and tips?
We ask for the cut they use to make Porchetta. just about perfect.
May 12th 2016, 7:33 am
#26
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Joined: Nov 2011
Location: Was Virginia, now Yorkshire.
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Re: Food shopping - hints and tips?
I can't tell you how much it helps knowing other people initially felt the same stress I'm having, I did almost have a fit of tears on my first shop in the peanut butter aisle as there were so many types to choose from, which seems ridiculous when I say it out loud to people. My other half, native Floridian, just really doesn't understand the issues I'm having!
If you do baking, the flour is different too - gluten and grade. It's manageable but your recipes won't necessarily directly translate, you will need to experiment a bit. I like to think my cooking skills improved while I was there.
I had return culture shock when I came back and went into sainsburys and felt like I wanted to hug the whole shop...
May 12th 2016, 2:13 pm
#28
Wondering if...
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Re: Food shopping - hints and tips?
May 12th 2016, 5:18 pm
#29
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Location: Grand Rapids, MI
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Re: Food shopping - hints and tips?
That is a little harsh and not very welcoming... I thought it was a valid question.
Last edited by Ash UK/US; May 12th 2016 at 5:23 pm.
May 12th 2016, 5:22 pm
#30
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Location: Grand Rapids, MI
Posts: 4,525
Re: Food shopping - hints and tips?
Hello, this may seem like a really dumb question, so I apologise now if it is, but does anyone have any advice for food shopping when it comes to fruits and veg as well as meat?
I landed in Florida two months ago and the three shopping trips I've taken so far have resulted in almost total mental breakdowns over why I can't seem to pick my own carrots and mushrooms (they seem to come pre-packaged), why fruits and veg seems to go bad so very quickly here and why everyone seems so freaked out about antibiotics in meats - I've never heard of such a thing back home and don't know if I'm just plain ignorant or if it isn't a problem in the UK?
Can someone give me some advice on if I'm just shopping in the wrong place (Publix) or any tips on buying food (or what not to buy?) over here so I don't break down and cry in the store?
Thanks in advance!
I landed in Florida two months ago and the three shopping trips I've taken so far have resulted in almost total mental breakdowns over why I can't seem to pick my own carrots and mushrooms (they seem to come pre-packaged), why fruits and veg seems to go bad so very quickly here and why everyone seems so freaked out about antibiotics in meats - I've never heard of such a thing back home and don't know if I'm just plain ignorant or if it isn't a problem in the UK?
Can someone give me some advice on if I'm just shopping in the wrong place (Publix) or any tips on buying food (or what not to buy?) over here so I don't break down and cry in the store?
Thanks in advance!
