North American Supermarkets are horrific

[DaddyCool]

We've been complaining about the supermarkets around here (Canada) for months. I'm sick of buying sandwich meat and produce and it being rotten two days later. I was looking carrots last night but couldn't bring myself to buying them. I was able to bend them a full 180 degrees.

so anyway, we were watching old reruns of "Gordon Ramsay's Kitchen Nightmares" last night on BBC Canada. There was a scene of the in Tescos and we were drooling at the mouth.

I mean, Tesco's is considered crap in the UK but its superior to these pits.

the selection of meat, cheese, real dairy products, organic, alcohol....

... and you want to know the most annoying bit? They all think its wonderful (generalisation of course)

Message withdrawn

Do you know, I htought it was just me.
We go to visit the in laws in California and the bread was vile, dd1 kept asking for not sweet bread. And, yes, no cream, or even real butter, just pretend stuff.
I also found iut hard finding anything vege in restauransts.

Califrau, did you see the girl from hot dog on a stick on deal or no deal? That is a bad uniform and she wore it all the way through the episode!

Now, what's all this about the food being past it's sell by date and going off too quickly? I think the preservatives in the foods over here are unreal. I mean I truely don't think I've seen a piece of bread go moldy, the milk stays fresh forever and the meat is injected with such bright 'colors' that it always looks nice! If you can get over the fact that a) the bread is way too sweet (do you find that americans are surprised when you point this out?); b) their idea of sausage is no where near what we would expect and c) you aren't going to be able to get all of your home comforts, I have a lot of praise for the supermarkets over here. Admittedly it did take me a while to get used to the above but...

there are no queues, like ever. There is someone to pack your bags for you. You don't have to empty the shopping from the cart onto a conveyor belt and then repack because the cart goes right up to the cashier. The staff are generally nice and usually very polite and helpful. Hence why when I return to live in UK this year I will only be doing internet shopping so I don't have to go to the hell hole that is Tesco, asda etc.

And the apples are arranged so beautifully aren't they?

Ugh, that sounds so depressing. (Happily thinks about recent Tesco delivery...)

No experience of America but in Spain last year could only find small food shops, NO milk (same when in France only UHT), dd just didn't have any all week!

Honestly, lived on cheese and meat and pasta...

Sigh I miss "whole foods" most fab supermarket on the planet.

I have never been to America so I am obviously in a good position to have strong offensive opinions on it

But my American friends have cupboards full of food that they say is "really good!" which means that it is low-carb or low-sugar. But it's all CHEMICALS. They have all this food and none of it is really actual FOOD food. It's weird.

My Favorite supermarket is Trader Joes
Lots or organic stuff, there apple pie is to die for, they encourage you to use re-usable bags and have really interesting foods from around the world.
The absolute real reason I love them is they sell real Dorset Cheddar, yes real cheddar.

We used to get either sliced square wholemeal bread, which wasn't too sweet, or sliced "Italian" white - in a red, white and green wrapper - which was not that different from English bread, but then there are a lot of Italians on NY, I wonder if you can get it in CA or the Midwest?

The thing that struck me most was the cereal aisle in a Publix I went to in Florida. It had everything from completely sugar/sweetener free cheerios to those vile multicoloured sugar frosted puffs of god knows what with added marshmallows. Fab.

yes wendy! we buy the 'italian' bread which is pretty close to the normal stuff. we've never gone near the stuff that pre-packaged down the bread aisle.

the worst was we were looking for lard or shortening for baking. could'nt find it anywhere. asked the lady and she led us to these boxes on the shelves by the flour. they can't be bothered refrigerate lard/shortening so they add preservatives called BHT/BHA. Google this. It's a highly carcenegenic spew which is completely and utterly unecessary. problem is, you can't get the proper at all so everything you eat that requires lard/shortening has this shite in it.

In Canada, it's Homo milk.

I like the clothes shopping in Canada (ok, in downtown Montreal and downtown Toronto - not Walmart), and the book stores. It's just the supermarkets that depress me. The nice little food stores can be fine.

Gay milk?

oh wait homogenised

I get it

Why do I always take these threads personally?

Read the thread, mp

they may be horrific bUt YOU oh sunny sunster are a ray of glemaing light att he end of the homo milk aisle

Oh sorry, you did already.

sunny? Is all this your fault???

Well this is really about you

When we say "American" we mean "Sunchowder" and when we say "Supermarkets" we mean "Sunchowder's larder"

It's all code

Should have added a there!

Are you a supermarket, Sunchowder?? I had no idea!

Yes I should read the thread and not the last three posts

I luurrvve you all you know it! I have a fabby larder, I should post photos.

yes she is "" sinchowders larder" sh ehas a loovely recylcablebag

and nice young grammar school sixth formers who call you maam

no tattos or midriffs aloowed