EXPAT LIFE: A Country By It's Food

You probably all know me well enough by know that browsing the British food section in stores over here in the US is a bit of a past time for me. Mainly because different stores sell different variations, different brands, different prices and so on. 

But recently it got me thinking about what obviously Brits and perhaps those lovers of British food are buying in these stories. What goods to the supermarkets put out and therefore on a larger picture, what does it say about Brits and the food we eat in general. 

On our last trip to Meijer, which wasn't for British food at all, in fact it was to stock up on the wine. I was wasting time and took a wander to that favorite part of the store. I actually ended up grabbing some Areo's because 89c you can't say no - (which works out at like 59p score!!).

Apparently we like eating biscuits and condiments. I know for me, HP and Tomato sauce are my two must haves.

Typically you'll find;

Biscuits

• Hob nobs
• Digestives - plain & chocolate
• Tea biscuits
• Shortbread - general Scottish brand
• Fingers

Chocolate/Sweets

• Lion bars 
• Yorkies
• Areos
• Wine Gums
• Fruit pastels
• Bounty
• Double deckers
• Flakes

Beverages

• Ribena -
• Robinson's orange squash
• Irn Bru (sometimes)
• Tea - often random brands I've never heard of before, Yorkshire, PJ and Tetley tea can often be found in the normal tea section (luckily)

Condiments

• Heinz Salad Cream
• HP Sauce
• Malt vinegar
• Mint sauce
• Bramston pickles 

Extras

• Mushy peas
• Custard
• Pickled onions
• Rice pudding
• Heinz tomato Soup
• Heinz baked beans
• Gravy granules
• Always some kind of oatmeal 
• Golden syrup 

As for the prices, they can be all over the place and often depends on where you shop. Holiday Market in Royal Oak has a large British food section but you're looking at over $5 (£3.29) for a salad cream and $1.70 (£1.12) for a chocolate bar when Meijer have them around $4 (£2.64) and $1.20 (£0.79) respectively. So like most things, it pays to shop around if you have the time.

I guess we're pretty lucky in being able to buy at least this selection of goods and it's interesting like I say to see what British expats want while they live aboard and what a store orders in. Granted there are things I wish I could find - Quavers being one, Jaffa cakes, bourbon biscuits but I'll take what I can and mix it in with my American eating these days!

What food would you miss if you moved countries?