Can I be alone in finding german supermarkets and food generally dull and uninspiring?

[diyxyz999]

Having to cook everyday, nevermind think what we will eat and hence what I need to shop for - bores me rigid, but goodness do find german supermarkets boring and uninspiring. I have been here nearly 3 yrs and can I find a potato big enough to bake? I cannot find fish stock cubes - just some liquid in a jar for 3 euros!

Fastfood - always a variation on a sausage and fries with a spicy salt mixture on them. No chance of a baked potato.

I do like the germans and I like living here but goodness their cuisine leaves a lot to be desired.

Having just returned from a frustrating trip to the supermarket, rant over!

[WallyBantersJunkBox]

I finally found an Edeka in our vicinity and I think it is great - like a German stab at Waitrose. Ours has a good ethnic section and the fruit and veg looks fresh.

I mainly do Kaufland or Marktkauf. I find that they "overdo" in the same way we do - how many aisles of crisps are there in Asda these days? And biscuits? I find it a bit overwhelming when I come back.

In Germany it's the ham section, and the pork section of the meat department that I find a bit overwhelming when I am popping in for a bit of Cotto! I still haven't worked out all the cuts and joints, and what are those boxes of fat that look like polystyrene packing pellets? What are they for can someone tell me?

Even though the yoghurt sections are phenomenally huge they have the most limited range of 0% fett. Everything is full fat.

I get Irish Butter and there is a good section of British cheese so I never have a problem with this.

If they had fresh pittas, hummus, fresh dips and Total 0% greek yoghurt I would be a happy bunny.

Eating out I find food in this area very stodgy - Schweinbraten, Maultaschen, heaped plates of spatzle covered in butter, kartofelnpuffer, potato dumplings and durums stuffed with chips!

When we go to Lake Garda the pizza restaurants cater for the German palate with a pizza covered in Wurst and Pommes - a sausage and chip pizza!

We even found frozen chips you can cook on a bbq in Kaufland on Saturday!

[TheKitchenWitch]

I wonder if I'm just really lucky where we live because I haven't found it to be dull or uninspiring at all!

Our local Neukauf would give any UK supermarket a run for it's money - it's got everything, it's beautifully laid-out, my parents are always in awe of the meat, deli, cheese and fish counters when they come over.
And the people working there really know there stuff - my cheese woman knows exactly what kind of cheeses we like so when they get something knew in she's all like "Ooooh, Mrs KitchenWitch, you just have to try this!". She's usually spot on, too :o

Obviously they don't have things like Marmite - but then, why would they? That's got to be a niche market.

Fruit and vegetables I buy from local stalls and farm shops - it's much cheaper, they taste way better and it means we're eating seasonally. Also get eggs and milk from local farms; proper orange egg yolks, and thick cream on the milk!

I agree though that you have to adapt what you cook because of what's available - we don't have jacket potatoes very often because those huge potatoes aren't always available, but then again, I don't really see that as a problem. They don't often have parsnips, either.
On the other hand, they have a range of radishes that I'd never even heard of back in the UK, and I don't think eg. white asparagus is popular in England but it's the norm here.

I love the way so many restaurants offer seasonal menus, too. So at the moment, there are lots of asparagus and strawberry things (not together!!), and come autumn it'll be wild mushrooms and pumpkin etc. I think there's much more of an awareness of seasonal eating, which I like.

[tb]

The good thing is that Aldi in Germany still sell those lovely dark chocolate covered toffees that they stopped selling in France. Schokotoffees or something like that. I'm pulling all my fillings out trying to find an acceptable replacement from Intermarché and failing.

Golden syrup is quite easy to make -

200g sugar
50g water

1 kg sugar
600g boiling water
2 slices lemon


Method

1. Pour 200g sugar and 50g water into a large saucepan. On medium heat, twirl the pot around and caramelise the sugar until a dark golden colour.
   

1. Add the boiling water, the kilo sugar and lemon slices.
   

1. On low heat boil for 45 minutes until thick (stir it ocassionally if you must or leave it alone to do its own thing).
   

1. Cool and pour into sterilised jars or bottles. Label and store in a cool place.
   

There now you'll be able to make flapjacks, millionaires' shortbread etc and not have to pay an absolute fortune for a little tin of the stuff.

Hope that helps.

[LancashireMan]

Germans build good cars and run excellent communal swimming pools at reasonable prices. They are not world class at running supermarkets. Along the lines of - we all can't be good at everything - no point in bleating on about it.

(did my 11 years in Germany 1980s/90s)

[TheKitchenWitch]

Ah, then you have missed the supermarket revolution, LancashireMan!

[WallyBantersJunkBox]

But no supermarkets were any good in the 80's! And the people who build cars don't stock supermarkets!