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View Full Version : Here's a weird question: European food/stuff they don't have in America...



Sombolia
May 4th, 2011, 08:27 AM
Haha ok, bear with me.

In June I'm going on a graduation trip to Europe. We're visiting Germany, France, Italy, Switzerland, and maybe Austria and England.

What my friend and I really want to try are food, candy, drinks, etc that they don't sell or that are rare in America. Like... Kinder eggs, for example. We don't have those here.

So um, if you can think of anything... xD Thanks!

If not, just talk about food in your country. :irule:

King Simba
May 4th, 2011, 10:22 AM
If you come to England, I recommend trying Cadbury's or Thornton's chocolate. ;) In my opinion you can't go wrong with them. Since you say you're visiting Switzerland, Swiss chocolate is supposed to be very nice too, so if you haven't tried it already I would recommend you to try some.

Also, if you visit England, be sure to try our most traditional meal of them all... fish and chips! :D With a bit of malt vinegar and some mushy peas. Delicious. :slurp: Oh, and brown sauce... HP brown sauce (not with fish and chips, but just in general). Leor had quite an experience trying them while he was here these last couple of times, and I must say it was amusing to see what his reactions to them were. But this time he went home with quite some things they don't sell in Mexico, so I know he approves well of them. :p

I'm trying to think of more, but I can't remember them right now... xP

Revo
May 4th, 2011, 10:54 AM
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EjQ5Yw72xtA
Sorry, this ad just popped into my head the second that Cadbury's Chocolate was mentioned :p.

King Simba
May 4th, 2011, 11:03 AM
Ah, the Caramel bunny. I remember seeing her at Cadbury World. :lol:

Wide Eyed Wanderer
May 4th, 2011, 01:28 PM
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EjQ5Yw72xtA
Sorry, this ad just popped into my head the second that Cadbury's Chocolate was mentioned :p.

Yum.
:rawr:

...chocolate doesn't look bad either!
:lol:

Revo
May 4th, 2011, 02:42 PM
When you get to Middle Europe, try out Milka chocolate. It's the best chocolate I've had. I kinda feel bad for Americans, because I could not find a single chocolate brand that tasted good while I was there. Especially Hershey's was despicable :yuck: .

Sombolia
May 4th, 2011, 05:00 PM
Aw, I like Hershey's... but I've heard that European chocolate is a lot better. :psst: I'm definitely gonna have to stock up on that. :lol:

Simbaspirit
May 4th, 2011, 06:14 PM
Cadbury is the best :D We get it in Canada, but americans don't :p actually, theres a lot of food items we have in Canada that America doesn't have..:thinks:

I haven't been to Europe, but being of European descent, there's a few things I can think of. Schnitzel in Germany, Earl Grey Twinnings tea in England (they do have it in America.. but you've gotta have english tea in England :D), and fresh croissants in France (way better than the ones at the grocery stores)

King Simba
May 4th, 2011, 06:21 PM
Earl Grey Twinnings tea in England (they do have it in America.. but you've gotta have english tea in England :D)
I don't drink tea that much (OMG, an English person who doesn't drink tea! :gasp: :lol:) but I've heard Yorkshire Tea is good too. ;)

Dare
May 4th, 2011, 06:29 PM
Like... Kinder eggs, for example. We don't have those here.


Hehe, did you hear about the lady who had one seized from her car when she was crossing the Canadian/US border?
Ridiculous...

nathalie
May 4th, 2011, 06:34 PM
What?

I LOVE kinder :D

like 3 months back, I must have eaten about 100 of those little bars in a weeks time o_O *blush*.
What can I say ... I was in need of some chocolat ^^

Dare
May 4th, 2011, 06:56 PM
What?

YES! The woman was obviously a terrorist, threatening the lives of our children by attempting to smuggle an instrument of death over the border. I certainly feel safer knowing that our brave border guards are ever vigilant in protecting us against the import of candy.

...but seriously, I believe that importing and/or distributing a Kinder Surprise Egg is illegal in the US, due to choking hazard concerns or something.
:thinks:

Now I'm hungry. Sombolia, my apologies for derailing your thread.
*wanders off to buy some Bueno*

nathalie
May 4th, 2011, 06:59 PM
Wow, that's ... weird ...
It's the same everywhere, but it says on the wrapper "ages 3 and up, choking ..."

I found this o_O

When Lind Bird was recently stopped at the U.S. border and selected for a random search of her vehicle, she was surprised to learn that a $2 piece of candy could net her a whopping $300 fine. At issue was a Kinder Surprise egg — a chocolate egg that contains a small plastic toy inside.

When customs officials discovered the Kinder candy in her car, Bird says it was confiscated. She was warned that the small candy is illegal in the United States and was considered “contraband.”

The children’s candy has been banned in the United States because officials worry small children could choke on the small toy inside it.

“It’s just a chocolate egg,” Bird told CBC News. “And they were making a big deal. They said ‘if you were caught with this across the border you would get charged a $300 fine,’” she said.

“It’s ridiculous. It’s so ridiculous,” she added.

The candy is perfectly legal in Canada, but the U.S. takes the domestic ban on the chocolate treat very seriously. CBC reports that U.S. border officials have seized more than 25,000 Kinder eggs in 2,000 separate seizures.

Mike Milne, a spokesman for U.S. Customs and Border Protection said the candy ban is supported by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. “They have been determined to present … a choking hazard to young children,” he said.

In addition, the U.S. government sent Bird a seven-page letter asking for her formal authorization to destroy her seized Kinder egg.

“I thought it was a joke. I had to read it twice. But they are serious,” she said.

If Bird wishes to contest the seizure, the letter notes that she can pay $250 for the egg to be stored until a compromise can be hammered out.

——–

In case you’re curious, a comprehensive list of items Canadians can’t import into the U.S. can be found here.

But there are loads of other products of Kinder ... not just the eggs.

And so many fake-Kinder-eggs throughout the years too.

TeeKay
May 4th, 2011, 07:17 PM
Marmite! Definitely one of those things you have to try at least once - marmite on toast.



Earl Grey Twinnings tea in England (they do have it in America.. but you've gotta have english tea in England :D)
I actually prefer Tazo earl grey (which is an american brand) to Twinings, have to order that online specially over here though.

Simbaspirit
May 4th, 2011, 10:30 PM
haha I definitely am a regular consumer of Kinder products.. yay Canada! :D

King Simba
May 4th, 2011, 10:40 PM
Speaking of Kinder chocolate, I like the little chocolate bars. ;) I haven't had the eggs in a while though.

Speaking of choco eggs, I recommend trying a Cadbury's Creme Egg too. The only thing is they're sold only around Easter, which is a shame. =/

And I've never tried Marmite. Maybe I should change that someday. :idiot:

Sombolia
May 4th, 2011, 11:54 PM
:lol: No problem, Wicked. I know they're illegal here but I'd never heard of that happening. Too funny.

I am keeping a note of these suggestions ;)

Sadiki
May 5th, 2011, 12:20 AM
Well at least in Germany I would would really recommend you eat some sausage, that is what they are well known of. In France I would eat some local pastries as well as taste some wine and cheeses they have to offer. Actually in all European countries I would try their cheese as by what I see US selection on cheese is rather limited compared to most of Europe. Switzerland... well most certainly chocolate is one thing you gotta try, which is other thing I would try out in every European country as it's quite suburb compared to American chocolate, even thought See's chocolate is pretty good. In Italy, never been there so I don't know what to recommend, but pasta dishes are what they are known for so I would give them a try. Also before going I would check up some websites what locations you go to have to offer as local specialty as most places have something that is unique for it and can be only gotten from that area. If you have a chance to, go to market places, they most of the time have specialties there and reasonable prices too.

I'm sorry I can't be very specific help as from countries you're headed France and England are the only ones I really spent time in... and even in France it was just Disneyland pretty much.

Dare
May 5th, 2011, 01:06 AM
I second pasta in Italy - after visiting Italy a while back, it took me a while to get used to eating US pasta again. Of course the cuisine also depends on which region(s) you'll be in...for example, Tuscany is known for its high quality beef (which I recommend), and several cities are known for specific dishes, like Milan and their ossobucco. If you like fish, you should wander over towards Venice...they have some rather unique seafood dishes.

Those are just a few o' the more well-known parts of Italian cuisine, but seriously...it's all good stuff, and much better than anything I've had in the US.

..and now I'm hungry again.
XD

Leorgathar
May 5th, 2011, 01:21 AM
Whoa, I never knew that story behind Kinder chocolate eggs, and we have them in Mexico too, actually =/ so with the US having 2 neighbor countries who have Kinder products, that's even weirder.

Moving on, I recommend Thorntons and Cadbury's products from England, I enjoy having some when I'm there :slurp:
As for Germany, you could try HARIBO gummies (http://www.germanfoodgrocery.com/published/publicdata/GERMANFOOD/attachments/SC/products_pictures/haribo_goldbaren_enl.jpg), they have a lot of variety, not just gummi bears :cheese:

Sombolia
May 5th, 2011, 02:16 AM
Ah man that all sounds great STM... I can't wait to have Italian pasta.

We'll be in Venice in Italy. It's too bad I don't like seafood.

King Simba
May 5th, 2011, 07:06 AM
Yeah, you must try pasta while you're in Italy. You'll enjoy it. :)


As for Germany, you could try HARIBO gummies (http://www.germanfoodgrocery.com/published/publicdata/GERMANFOOD/attachments/SC/products_pictures/haribo_goldbaren_enl.jpg), they have a lot of variety, not just gummi bears :cheese:
I recommend the Starmix myself, but the cola bottles are always my favourite. ;)

Wide Eyed Wanderer
May 5th, 2011, 09:59 AM
Haribo's were full of artificial colourings for years so I've never actually tried them (allergies!), I can vouch for Milka chocolate though. I'm really not a chocolate person but Milka is delicious!
:cheese:

King Simba
May 5th, 2011, 10:41 AM
Milka chocolate is one of my favourites too. :D I like Milka Happy Cows the best, but they're really all delicious. :slurp: I haven't tried any for a while though.

I like a lot of chocolate. Can you tell? :haha:

Sadiki
May 5th, 2011, 05:28 PM
I personally am hard to please when it comes to candy. I really don't like most HARIBO candies, those taste like wax coated shoe bottoms to me. I always have a weird texture in my mouth after eating them. I used to like them when I was a kid, but now days there is so many better candies at least in Finland, but that is not where you're going Sombolia so I wont be telling you what to try there... ;)

I would also recommend you Fazer's chocolate bars, but I don't think any of the central Europe countries cell that, but if you run into some place that does sell it. Give it a try. Audra really loves Geisha ( milk chocolate bars with hazelnut filling ) and Maya ( milk chocolate bar with hint of chili in it ), but I do fear you wont be finding any.

Sombolia
May 5th, 2011, 11:34 PM
That's about it. If you're in England, you'd better make a point of coming to see me after all those years in the guild on Neopets and such! :P

I've always wanted to try curry... mm, extra spicy. :kovusmile:

And of course! I already talked about seeing LKS and Dani too. But I don't know if we're even going to England yet. :(

Sombolia
May 20th, 2011, 02:03 AM
Yay for thread bump...!

Well, as it turns out we're not going to England (booo), but we do have a seven-hour layover in Toronto during which we'll be given some time to explore outside the airport, so I'm looking forward to trying some good ol' Canadian poutine (which is sold in some places in the US, but not way down here in southern California).

Between my friend and I we have a quite a list going--we have to find some way to get lunch for our selves every day, so we're pretty much planning that aspect around what foods we want to try.

Any more suggestions?
:munch:

Xacheraus
May 21st, 2011, 12:47 AM
Fortunately, I've had alot of the aforementioned Euro candy, thanks in part to my awesome Swedish brother-in-law! I can truthfully say that Marabou chocolate is some of the best stuff on earth. My favorite type of candy though is gummy, and so HARIBO. :D