Sunday, May 20, 2012

American Food, German Style

This American pizza has BBC(?) sauce, salami, ham, bacon, kidney beans, onions, and corn.
Luckily I can find most food I'm used to eating from the States in Germany, and this has become even easier in the past few years I've heard.  I get 500g jars of peanut butter from the organic store (since the small jars in international sections are too small,) the occasional cheddar cheese slices, and about half way through my year here, I discovered the elusive fresh hummus.  Brands for sweets have made their way over here too, like certain candy bars, Oreos, Pepperidge Farms, etc, though I normally don't eat these at home much anyway.  There are of course many things lacking, (baked beans, Wheat Thins style crackers and Nature Valley granola bars don't exist,) so Germans have come to the rescue for starving Americans.
For example, Kraft macaroni and cheese is only available in specialty shops for expensive prices.  So instead, why not try American Dream Noodles Texicana Salsa or BBQ Noodles for a cheap 99¢?

And if you have that, why not have a whole picnic?  You can make hamburgers, with the buns below, and cover them in Hamburger sauce, which appears to be some sort of white goop.

For dessert, don't forget marshmallows!  Or American style cookies, which are standard chocolate chip cookies and the only one of these products I've actually had and trust buying (they're actually pretty good.)

Most German-American products seem to combine lots of sugary and savory things - think kidney beans in chili sauce, chocolate chip muffins, brownies with cranberries - to create a not so appetizing product that usually is not quite like what we have at home.  The best is the packaging; who knew the Statue of Liberty was so fond of marshmallows?  Who is the Mike Mitchell of Mike Mitchell's American brand?  But in all seriousness, it does point to the concerning American trend of adding some sort of unhealthier sugary or zesty flavor to almost all of our products.  

How far removed are these products?

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