Grocery shopping in Germany

[dagibbs]

I went to the neighbourhood grocery store -- it is bigger than a "corner store" but smaller than a supermarket. Probably comparable in size to the grocery store that is (was?) on Booth street a block south of Somerset.

It had an odd (to my eyes) selection of non-food stuffs. Paper napkins, plastic table cloths, but no plastic or other disposable cutlery or plates. Non-disposable glasses, mugs, plates, etc -- but also no cutlery. And, bras sitting in the same area as a bunch of the mugs and plates in nigh-identical packaging. An odd selection of tools -- large tree loppers, heavy duty buck saw with two blades, drill bits for putting 2cm - 5cm holes in wood, but no drill, no hammer, no screwdriver. And, the eggs weren't kept refrigerated.

And some of the prices made me wonder. I paid 5.20Eu/kg for Camembert -- at the current exchange that's about $8.30/kg -- but in Ottawa I'd probably pay about $25/kg. I expected wine (and other alcohol) to be much cheaper, seeing it as low as Eu1.99 for a 750ml bottle (probably bad wine) because I know how heavily "sin" taxed wine is in Ontario/Canada. But why 3x as much for Camembert? Where are we getting ripped off? Or is there some European cheese subsidy that is taking their prices way down?

(I ended up borrowing a few eating utensils from the place I'm staying. The room has an unequipped kitchen (stove, sink, two-burner stove top), and this place is not a standard hotel. It seems more oriented towards the long-term stay, rather than the short-term of a normal hotel.)

Comments

[bytowneboy.livejournal.com]

Pehaps what we'd consider artisan cheeses are cheaper because they're more of a staple in the diet? Less processed cheese?

Huh.

[dagibbs.livejournal.com]

Brie is a staple in my diet.

[bytowneboy.livejournal.com]

Sorry, I meant that there is a greater cultural demand for them there.

[dagibbs.livejournal.com]

I knew what you meant. I shoulda smiley'ed my response.

[bytowneboy.livejournal.com]

Agreed.

[scottij.livejournal.com]

"And, the eggs weren't kept refrigerated."

Actually, I was just reading about this. Apparently, in the U.S. (and Canada I guess), when the eggs are processed they are washed, which removes an outer waxy coating. This allows bacteria to get into the egg through the pores of the shell, requiring us to refrigerate our eggs.

In Europe, they do not wash off this outer coating, and so bacteria can't get in and they can safely keep their eggs out on the counter.

I have no idea why we wash our eggs here and Europe doesn't, or which approach is better, but there you go.

Drink a beer for me!

[mikepictor.livejournal.com]

Maybe since they look more gleaming white?

No idea really. Eggs are one of the best sealed foodstuffs out there, I've always wondered what the issue was with lack of refrigeration.

[elizilla]

I know people who do not store their eggs in the refrigerator. They get whole milk crates full, from a local farm, and the crate just sits there in the corner of the kitchen. I don't know if the eggs are washed or not, but they never have any problem with the eggs getting rotten.

[foms.livejournal.com]

I have heard that much of Europe has fairly strong dairy subsidies. There's also more demand.

Always refrigerating eggs is a fairly recent thing in Canadian stores. In my youth, there was often a section of refrigerator but if eggs were on sale, they often sat out. I think that some egg-borne bacteria have become more wide-spread. A connection?

[dagibbs.livejournal.com]

Yeah, and I think the milk-marketing board in Ontario (at least) and maybe other provinces (equivalent?) actually results in over-priced dairy in Ontario, and possibly Canada.

[theobviousname.livejournal.com]

I remember (far too many years ago) after 3 months in Europe, being a bit homesick and deciding to cook pancakes with maple syrup. I actually found the maple syrup before I found the eggs, because I kept looking for eggs in the refrigerated section...

I found it odd at the time too, but later (in Germany) had it explained that they'd never heard of refrigerating eggs.

[dagibbs.livejournal.com]

I'll bet the maple syrup was expensive, though.