What you like buying most in foreign supermarkets
I recently wrote about how much I enjoy foreign supermarkets. It quickly became clear that many of you share this love of foreign supermarkets, because I received an enormous number of responses — including tips. And of course, I’m sharing those tips with you again. According to you, these are the things you simply have to buy at supermarkets abroad.
I’m writing this from Gran Canaria, by the way, and I also love browsing around the local Spar here. So far, the spicy olives are the clear favorite — the supermarket olives here are unbelievably delicious; we still have a lot to learn from them. So I’ll definitely be taking some home.
What you should get at supermarkets abroad
Can you go on vacation and not bring anything back from the local supermarket? Impossible! We previously shared some tips on what you want to bring back from the French Grand Frais, a food-lover’s paradise. Clearly, many of you have discovered this supermarket too, as the responses show:
Groceries in Europe
1. France
‘Rillettes, duck fat, persillade, confit duck leg, butter, butter, butter, Brets crisps, mayonnaise… most of it from the market, incidentally. Biocoop and Grand Frais are the favorite supermarkets.’
‘In almost every large French supermarket, you can buy sausages somewhat reminiscent of our smoked sausage. With cheese inside, fry them briefly, and serve them with sauerkraut.’
‘Duck and goose liver.’
‘Wine at Auchan or Aldi. French Aldi is €2 per bottle cheaper than the same quality in the Netherlands and Belgium.’
‘Grapefruit lemonade syrup.’
‘The honey mustard salad dressing, simply the supermarket’s own brand.’
‘Brets crisps! The best crisps there are.’
‘Spice mixes at the local market. It doesn’t matter which market. Everywhere you’ll find a stall selling fresh spice mixes specific to the region. It’s lovely to recreate the taste of your vacation at home. We actually do this in every country we visit.’
2. Germany
‘Mashed potatoes with bacon bits.’
‘Spirits, about €8 per bottle cheaper. Personal-care products at DM or Kaufland are almost half the price compared with the Netherlands or Belgium. The four-ply toilet paper at Kaufland is dirt-cheap and better than Albert Heijn’s most expensive option. Wine at German Lidl is between €1.50 and €2 cheaper than at Lidl in Belgium.’
3. Spain
‘Reflex.’ (A fantastic remedy for muscle and joint pain, ed.)
‘Nenuco (baby products, ed.), Maja talcum powder, sauce for patatas bravas, aioli, chorizo sausages for the journey home.’
‘Schweppes Naranja.’
‘Spanish mustard.’
‘Ajo y Perejil spice jars.’
4. Sweden
‘Rolls of marzipan from the baking section.’
5. Sicily
‘Pistachio paste. And pistachios di Bronte. Bronte is a village in the hills of Mount Etna where the very best pistachios come from.’
‘The entire trunk filled with pasta. It’s so much cheaper here than in the Netherlands, and the supermarkets here also carry all kinds of pasta varieties that you can’t find here.’
‘Cannoli. Sure, you can buy them in the Netherlands too, but the way they taste in Sicily… that’s a whole different story!’
6. England
‘Yorkshire Tea.’
‘Starbucks hot-chocolate powder for making hot chocolate at home.’
‘Mustard/honey salad dressing.’
Groceries in the Antilles
7. Curaçao
‘Starbucks coffee creamer in various flavors.’
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