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A Few Things That I Miss…Quite A Few Things!

January 21, 2016 by Karen Giebel 6 Comments

I have been so lucky and blessed to have been exposed to  whole new lines of foods and seasonings and products here in Germany that I haven’t spent much time thinking about the common everyday things that I miss. Food items that I took for granted because every time I opened a cupboard door, there they were. Nope. Haven’t missed them too much. That is….until now. Now that we are planning our permanent return to the good ol’ US of A, I have started to mentally put together a list of items that we’ll need to stock our pantry and refrigerator. And OH WOW, that list is getting bigger by the minute! I told Sparky what I was going to write about and first thing out of his mouth was “Nestle Chocolate Chips!” There are no chocolate chips in Germany. Nope, not even one.

Here’s our ever growing list of foods and food items we miss!

McCormick’s Pure Vanilla extract – Flavorings here are sold in tiny 1 ml size tubes and all you can get is Vanilla, Zitrone, Rum and Almond.

Flavored Coffee creamers  -Just not used in Germany.

Sweetened Condensed milk – Again, just not used here.

Baking Soda!- Not used in German baking

Water chestnuts -I put them in Fried Rice and Stir Fries and you don’t see them here.

Graham Crackers – Can’t make a cheesecake without them. Dan brought this box back from the USA.

Graham Crackers

Odom’s Tennessee Pride Pork Sausage-I make my own breakfast sausage now but I will be buying a roll of this one!

Italian  – sausage See above comments. Not sold in Germany.

Domino’s Brown Sugar – Yep, I will continue to make my own after I go through a bag of Domino’s!

American Sandwich Breads!- Any type or variety. German brot is great until you want a grilled tuna and cheese.

Bush’s Baked beans – They sell Heinz English style baked beans that are no where near the same.

Campbell’s Tomato Soup!-There is one store that sells it here at $4.79 a can.

Tomato Soup

Lipton Dry Onion Soup- Once in a while you just have to have a Pot Roast with it.

Beef Chuck Roast – Nope. That is not a cut of meat found here. No Pot Roasts for us.

A1 Steak Sauce – I like mixing into hamburgers for grillin’

Worcestershire Sauce – Sold here in tiny bottles at an exorbitant price! 125 ml bottle.

Worcestershire Sauce

Chicken Breast Quarters-Whole chickens. Boneless breasts. Legs and thighs are all readily available but no breast quarters. What do they do with them??

Pecans -No Pecan Pies for us.

Canned Pumpkin – Just not something Germany cooks with.

Miracle Whip – Oh yes, we can buy it all over the place here….in Pint sized bottles. I buy 3 at a time.

Miracle Whip

Baker’s Coconut –  Dessicated  coconut is the product sold here. Completely dried out like grains of sand.

Angel Flake coconut

Canned Crabmeat and canned shrimp – Just not used here. I can buy 20 different kinds of Sardines and some tunafish but that’s it.

Crabmeat

Baking Potatoes – I’d give my right arm ( well, not really) for an Idaho Russet! Germany produces excellent potatoes but not a baker in sight!

Barilla Pasta – Actually I don’t miss Barilla Pasta because thankfully it is sold everywhere here! It is the Pasta of choice in Germany and the Giebel household. I always use Barilla brand as I find it cooks consistently well. Has great “bite” and uniform flavor. I was so happy to find it in every grocery store in Germany! It really doesn’t take much to make me happy!

Barilla Pasta

But, having made this list, I have to tell you that the list of German foods that we are going to miss when returning to the USA is just as long!

And that’s life. My advice to myself is to enjoy whatever is on hand and savor the memories when it is gone.

Thanks for stopping by today. Journey on!

Karen, TJG

 

 

 

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Filed Under: Life in Germany Tagged With: Foods, Germany

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Comments

  1. Susan says

    January 21, 2016 at 7:04 pm

    I told you to come over. I can find most of your list her in a few stores. They have an American section.

    Reply
    • Karen Giebel says

      January 21, 2016 at 7:42 pm

      Hi Susan,

      I appreciate your offer but kind of far to go for weekly shopping! 🙂 I’m still enjoying the Earl Grey you bought for me!

      Karen, TJG

      Reply
      • Cheryl says

        January 23, 2016 at 1:42 am

        Hi, I’m Susan’s sister and when I lived in Germany (40 yes ago) I learned yo bake my own bread. Bread is life and you are right, German bread just don’t cut it.

        Reply
        • Karen Giebel says

          January 23, 2016 at 6:43 am

          Hi Cheryl,
          I love baking bread too! Since arriving here I have learned to make delicious hamburger buns as the German ones just fall apart. I do love German Semmel rolls and light Rye bread. BTW…glad to meet you! Thanks for commenting.

          Karen, TJG

          Reply
  2. Sharon Camarda Paz says

    January 21, 2016 at 10:18 pm

    Very interesting…..What we take for granted and think that every place on earth has all of the items we are used to.

    Reply
  3. Tina says

    December 3, 2020 at 2:40 pm

    I’m interested in how you make your own brown sugar?

    Reply

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Nice to meet you

Karen Giebel, the Journey GirlHello and "WELCOME" to the Journey Girl! I'm Karen, a happy, optimistic retired RN living out my dreams with my husband Dan up here in the back of the beyond in Ferry County, Washington. High up in the mountains just 20 miles from the border with British Columbia, Canada. I enjoy writing and sharing with my friends all about our lives raising Alpacas, growing our gardens, all the gorgeous birds and wildlife that surround us. Sharing stories of our daily lives as we travel this journey through life. Cooking is my passion and I solve all the world's problem while standing at my stove and I love sharing my recipes with you. I am glad you are all here with me today and every day. Journey on!

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