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How to spot the crazy American in Aldi....


Mom in High Heels
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She's the one taking photos of the 'typical' American foods with her phone to share on the WTM forums and trying not to giggle.

 

Every week, Aldi has a theme week, where they highlight something special, a season, event or country. Every year, the week before the 4th of July is American week. I always find it equal parts amusing and horrifying at what 'typical' American food means to them.

 

Hot dog IN A JAR. Blech.

 

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Pre-made pancakes

 

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Pre-made microwavable cheeseburgers, hotdogs and wraps

 

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Ribs, marinated steaks and fried popcorn shrimp (other than during Asian week, I've never seen fried shrimp sold)

 

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TBC for more photos!

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I had too many photos, so here are the rest.

 

 

SWEETS!

 

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I have to say I've never seen these in America before!

 

A mix of chocolate covered peanuts and cornflakes

 

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Combo ketchup and mustard and combo ketchup and mayo (though this isn't a bad idea!)

 

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I didn't get photos of everything, but apparently, Americans are also fond of cranberries and blueberries, because they had cranberry preserves, cranberry juice, blueberry preserves and blueberry juice, sweet popcorn (they sell it in huge tubs) and peanut butter. People were literally filling their carts with peanut butter. You can actually get peanut butter over here, but it's all American brands and is crazy expensive ($4-6 per jar). The peanut butter during American week is only €0,89 (about $1.15) a jar, but their jars are about 1/3 the size of a standard American jar of peanut butter.

 

Anyway, in light of our recent threads, I thought you might enjoy seeing this.

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My peanut butter comes from COSTCO so American. The one time I tried Aldi peanut butter...we did not finish the jar. Odd grainy texture.

 

Hot dogs in a jar. Well, ds accidentally ate some(yes, that is plural) and really liked them. He had not had hot dogs in a long time but still....the look on his face after! He keeps telling me we need to buy them. ;)

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Hot dogs in a jar. Well, ds accidentally ate some(yes, that is plural) and really liked them. He had not had hot dogs in a long time but still....the look on his face after! He keeps telling me we need to buy them. ;)

 

 

How does one 'accidentally' eat hot dogs? Especially in the plural? ;)

 

 

 

It cracks me up how the products all claim to be from the "original American recipe." And if you look at the jelly beans, they read "Fruity and Crunchy!" Are jelly beans crunchy?

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they have American theme in the Adi's here as well. All in that same red packaging. we got some Marshmallows. the American style ones taste very different from the Australian ones I got a few bags of Australian peanuts in the shell American Style :laugh:

 

 

I bought marshmallows at Aldi last night - they are bigger than the ones we normally get here. Hobbes likes toasting marshmallows but not eating them; Calvin likes eating them but not toasting them. So we will build a fire in the fire pit they helped to construct and all have fun.

 

L

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I bought marshmallows at Aldi last night - they are bigger than the ones we normally get here. Hobbes likes toasting marshmallows but not eating them; Calvin likes eating them but not toasting them. So we will build a fire in the fire pit they helped to construct and all have fun.

 

L

 

they are bigger than the ones we have normally in Australia as well. We had them in hot chocolate last night :coolgleamA:
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Where's the marshmallow fluff? My (American) sister introduced us to fluff. I recently found it in Woolworths. Unfortunately I let dd taste it, so now I have to 1) buy it and eat half the bottle immediately 2) hide the bottle really well or 3) my personal favourite option - do both.

 

they are bigger than the ones we have normally in Australia as well. We had them in hot chocolate last night :coolgleamA:

 

 

Dh brought found American marshmallows a couple of weeks ago. They were fabulous - bigger than the ones we get here, but also all white. Somehow those taste better than the pink ones!

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How does one 'accidentally' eat hot dogs? Especially in the plural? ;)

 

 

Your mom takes you to a day out with a big home ed group held at a church with a kitchen. We all brought food to share for lunch. I always bring a main like mini pizzas and a treat item so my kids(both picky to began with) normally just eat their own food but look social. :lol: They are allowed to eat whatever they want when at these lunches but normally stick to things they know.

 

Dd was in the kitchen some of the time so she saw the jars. Ds was running around with the guys and missed where the hot dogs came from. The kid likes hot dogs a lot so when handed one in a bun happily ate it and asked for more. I didn't see what he was eating until all the hot dogs were gone so I just asked him about them on the way home.;) He now points them out when in Aldi.:lol: Dd cringes big time.

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I bought marshmallows at Aldi last night - they are bigger than the ones we normally get here. Hobbes likes toasting marshmallows but not eating them; Calvin likes eating them but not toasting them. So we will build a fire in the fire pit they helped to construct and all have fun.

 

L

 

 

Get some chocolate covered digestives and make Smores. They are the best Smores ever! Even dd loves them and she is not a marshmallow fan. Normally just feeds them to her brother.

 

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I shop Aldi exclusively for groceries here in the US and I've NEVER seen the ketchup/mustard swirl!

 

But really big marshmallows ARE here right now too. :hurray:

 

Maybe we should do a map pinning for where in the world the marshmellows have arrived at Aldi.

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Dear Mom in High Heels,

 

Thanks for doing the undercover work at Aldis. What a hoot!

 

Jane

 

LOL! You should have seen the looks I got by the few people who saw me. I'm sure they thought I was crazy. BTW, was dresses in all German clothing, except for my black trousers, because apparently German women don't have hips or thighs bigger than pencils, but I blended quite well, except for the whole picture taking thing. :) Aldi didn't even have their entire range out yet. I may have to go back in a day or two and snap some more.

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Ew, are those shelf-stable pre-made pancakes?? That's just weird.

 

Right this second, I'm actually eating frozen (well, microwaved) gluten-free pancakes that I bought a ton of when Aldi had them a few weeks ago as a special buy. With local, farm fresh eggs, LOL.

 

The regular Aldi peanut butter has always been nasty! The "natural" stuff is better than name brand though. Americans are weirdly and fiercly loyal about their peanut butter brands. I think my only two house rules growing up were no country music and Jif peanut butter only. I think my mom cried the first time she saw a jar of Skippy in my house.

 

I have the giant marshmallows in my pantry right now too! The kids were playing "Angry Snow Birds" with those and giant Popsicle sticks.

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Not any weirder than shelf stable bread or pastries though. Not much of a difference.

 

I find hotdogs in a jar weird.

 

I'm just imagining the texture to be something like leftover reheated pancakes or something. Or those nasty waffle "cookies" my mom makes every Christmas.

 

Hot dogs in a jar... reminds me of those canned Vienna sausages.

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is it odd that the thing I find funniest is that they claim Apple Pie is made with Mürbeteig? I know what that is. I make it. It is very yummy. However, it has no relation to pie crust. :tongue_smilie: For one thing, it has eggs, and lots of sugar. You usually press it in to the pan, not roll it, and it makes great streusel.

 

Oh, and the "fruity and crunchy" jelly beans. :lol:

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is it odd that the thing I find funniest is that they claim Apple Pie is made with Mürbeteig? I know what that is. I make it. It is very yummy. However, it has no relation to pie crust. :tongue_smilie: For one thing, it has eggs, and lots of sugar. You usually press it in to the pan, not roll it, and it makes great streusel.

 

Oh, and the "fruity and crunchy" jelly beans. :lol:

 

 

Isn't Mürbeteig short crust? That's what I've heard it is. I would think that's kind of like pie crust. Maybe I'll have to buy some and try them out!

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I remember how excited I was in Japan when I saw a sign for "American corn bread". And then how confused I was when it turned out to be sliced white bread with whole kernels of corn in it!

 

I remember ordering an "American" hamburger in Norway once. One of the toppings was corn kernels. :001_huh:

 

 

Even when it's wasn't July I saw weird stuff in the supermarket in Europe. "Big American" frozen pizzas, with quite unusual combinations of toppings, for example. And American apple pie that wasn't, yes. It's a stupid easy recipe, how does one screw it up all the time?

 

But Mexican food was even worse. Knorr sells "dinner packages" of "Burrito" and the like and they are....odd.

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I think the jelly beans are crunchy because they aren't fruit gums which are gummy bears but soft.

 

Also jelly in the UK (at least my part) is jello. Picture the look on the dc's faces when they were served a HUGE bowl of vanilla ice cream and jello at their first birthday party here. They still want to know what happens to all the cakes....candles get blown out and the cake disappears.

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I think the jelly beans are crunchy because they aren't fruit gums which are gummy bears but soft.

 

Also jelly in the UK (at least my part) is jello. Picture the look on the dc's faces when they were served a HUGE bowl of vanilla ice cream and jello at their first birthday party here. They still want to know what happens to all the cakes....candles get blown out and the cake disappears.

 

 

Really? We've always taken the cake off the table to slice, then handed the slices straight back. Jelly and ice-cream is also served, but I've not heard of it being instead of cake, but rather an extra.

 

L

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Isn't Mürbeteig short crust? That's what I've heard it is. I would think that's kind of like pie crust. Maybe I'll have to buy some and try them out!

 

 

I've also seen it translated as shortbread, but it's not quite that either. The consistency is a bit stickier? It's cakier than pie crust, but also sweet. I have always maintained that Kuchen is much closer to pie than cake, in spite of it being universally translated as 'cake', because a Kuchen has a base (Boden - Mürbeteig is just one kind of Boden. Others are closer to sponge cake.) and is filled with fruit. But it's not really pie either.

 

It probably is closer to shortbread - they also make cookies out of it. I mean, would you call shortbread with apples on top "pie"? It would end up much more like Apple cobbler. And you can't make cookies out of pie crust...

 

Okay, I googled and there are some recipes online for Mürbeteig that are a much closer to pie crust than the ones I'm familiar with (there are many variants - some are made without sugar). I think "Mürbeteig" is the closest translation they've got for pie crust, even if it isn't quite. Could be the stuff in the box really is pie (since it is 'nach amerikanischer Art'! :lol:), so they just used the closest description they had? I bet they taste a bit more like Kuchen than pie, though. ;) I have an Apfelkuchen recipe made with Mürbeteig. It even looks like pie if I make a lattice top. But it doesn't taste like American apple pie. (Okay, I'll admit here I actually like Kuchen more than pie...)

 

I also like how the frozen hot dogs are "Fix und fertig für die Mikrowelle!" :D

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Even when it's wasn't July I saw weird stuff in the supermarket in Europe. "Big American" frozen pizzas, with quite unusual combinations of toppings, for example.

 

\

 

 

I was waiting for someone to post about the "Big American" pizzas. Those cracked me up when shopping in Amsterdam. I took photos. I wasn't sure if the "big" was referring to Americans in general or to the pizza, but the pizza was not "big" so I am still confused. I didn't buy one so I have no idea how it tastes. But funny:)

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I think it's funny but I don't think their attempt was SO bad.

 

hot dogs in a jar - never seen these in the US but you can buy Vienna Sausages. The one & only time I've ever had them was when my aunt (emmigrated to the US in her 30s) sent me some in a care package when I was studying overseas. I tried them because I was curious. They were kind-of like bologna, but grainier. Gross. Anyhow, they are FAR from popular or typical American but I consider it a decent attempt. I mean, hot dogs are kind-of gross anyway - they're in some liquid in the plastic package too, so it's really not different.

 

Pre-made pancakes - only weird because they look shelf-stable - so really only weird/different, not weird bizarre.

 

Pre-made microwavable cheeseburgers, hotdogs and wraps - eh - good effort. I've never seen totally put-together burgers or hotdogs. Wraps are available though. Are there cucumber slices on the hotdogs? That's something my foreign parent would do, thinking it was American. Even after living here for 50 years.

 

Ribs, marinated steaks and fried popcorn shrimp - All these things are available in my grocery store. They can't be that popular because it's just one small section but they're there. Kind-of like the Swanson frozen lasagna - I used to buy that once in a blue moon before we went semi-GF.

 

Donuts, cheesecake & cake - these seem reasonable. But... why is the Raspberry cake 'crunchy'?

 

I'm with bolt. on the Jelly Beans - I think the coating IS crunchy.

 

The apple pies look good - if the crust is shortbread I think that's a good-enough substitution. It isn't authentic American apple pie but we have all kinds of variations - apple crisp, apple crumble, etc.

 

A mix of chocolate covered peanuts and cornflakes - I agree, not American. But I've had something similar at Aldi here - & it's yummy! Also - there's a Ritter bar I can get at Target that has corn flakes in it. My kids thought it was hysterical but we all loved it.

 

Combo ketchup and mustard and combo ketchup and mayo (though this isn't a bad idea!) - GENIUS! Never seen this in the US but I wish I did.

 

didn't get photos of everything, but apparently, Americans are also fond of cranberries and blueberries, because they had cranberry preserves, cranberry juice, blueberry preserves and blueberry juice, sweet popcorn (they sell it in huge tubs) and peanut butter.
I'd say that was spot-on (except for the cranberry preserves - never seen those). Dried cranberries/blueberries/etc have become super-popular in the last year. I'd say cran-juices have been popular for many years. Kettle corn IMO has also been making a surge - I've noticed an increase in people buying it during the scout popcorn sale. & Peanut butter - goes without saying. Oh - & I much prefer the grainy peanut butter to the totally smooth. I'm weird that way.

Fun picture! Thanks for sharing!

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I bet they taste a bit more like Kuchen than pie, though. ;) I have an Apfelkuchen recipe made with Mürbeteig. It even looks like pie if I make a lattice top. But it doesn't taste like American apple pie. (Okay, I'll admit here I actually like Kuchen more than pie...)

 

 

 

 

We always teased my mother that no matter what she cooked in her kitchen, it tasted like Slovak food. She really tried to branch-out but we had all kinds of slovak stir-fry & slovak beans & rice & slovak spaghetti.

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Love the American products. :laugh: Fruity and crunchy jelly beans makes sense to me, though I'd still think the labeling odd. Now I want jellybellys--just the right amount of fruity and crunchy.

 

Giant marshmallows have made it to our Aldi in GA. I didn't get any, though. I think I will next time because they're giant so they must be better. :lol:

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Really? We've always taken the cake off the table to slice, then handed the slices straight back. Jelly and ice-cream is also served, but I've not heard of it being instead of cake, but rather an extra.

 

L

 

My kids would say thats because your dh is American, those were the cake parties. ;) Several of their friends have an American parent. It happened several times so I will admit I put it down to cultural. Frequently toppings(sprinkles, m&m's, etc) came out with the ice cream. So fun but not what they expected.

 

I do know what happens to the cakes, they get put in a tin and eaten over the next week by the family. Very different from my philosophy of get the cake out of the house right away. I feel like a bit of a failure if I have leftover bday cake. :lol:

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Really? We've always taken the cake off the table to slice, then handed the slices straight back. Jelly and ice-cream is also served, but I've not heard of it being instead of cake, but rather an extra.

 

L

 

Hmmm. I've never been to a birthday party in the US where the cake wasn't cut right at the table after being blown-out. Not that I can recall, at least.

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And if you look at the jelly beans, they read "Fruity and Crunchy!" Are jelly beans crunchy?

 

 

That's what I was wondering too.

 

Hotdogs in a jar threw me until I remembered those things called " Vienna Sausages". My cousin loved them when we were kids & ate them all the time. <shudder>

 

P.S. I wonder if the Austrians take photos of Vienna Sausages in the grocery store in the US and then lament to their friends how wrong we have it...? Lol.

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My mom loves pickled bologna. It's disgusting, but she loves it; when we were station in KY it was her favorite B-day gift ever.

 

The hotdogs in a jar look like the pickled bologna that people love here in Kentucky. It is for sale in every grocery store. I don't care for it, but others like it sliced and served on a saltine cracker.

 

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I agree with Rosie. I want me some popcorn shrimp.

 

Some of that stuff looks good, and some of it....blergh.

 

I just feel fortunate there was no chocolate pie in those pictures, as I literally just watched The Help.

 

I've been wanting to try "sweet" pies (the notion was completely odd to me, till I had a triple chocolate pizza, then I understood LOL!) and known American pies (key lime, chocolate etc) but after watching that movie, I'm kind of blergh about it.

 

I do NOT understand cornbread stuff either. I gave it a chance and made a meal with cornbread topping, took a bite....and well it was never swallowed.

 

Grits, biscuits and gravy, and anything like that is a no-go to. Why would ....ugh...its just gross.

 

Then again I have obsessions with lambs fry & kidney items, which makes DH (who is the british one, and should be the one liking it more than me) go green. My fathers english, and I grew up on food based around that and most of it made me *ugh* rhubarb pie (rhubarb is banned here) brussel sprouts by the bucketful and bread and butter pudding (and lets not forget the odd haggis *shudder*)

 

The more I look at what western civilization actually eats everyday, the more stuff like bat stew, eyeball soup & giblet/offal kebabs actually start to look interesting, yum and healthy.

 

I mean why would you create a iced krispy kreme donut cheeseburger, and only in western civilization would that become famous and popular (gross).

 

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The world is just odd with food, I'm odd with food too. I'm a tomato sauce/ketchup-a-holic. I put it on everything, I have an obsession with french-branded wholeseed mustard, and would live on steak and kidney stew for the rest of my life, and am among the very few that actually love hospital food.

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I mean why would you create a iced krispy kreme donut cheeseburger, and only in western civilization would that become famous and popular (gross).

 

 

 

Famous, yes. Time will tell if it will actually becomes popular. It's new right now - of course people are going to be talking about it & trying it. Doesn't make it actually popular beyond that. I'm willing to bet many people are trying it now just to say they did, not because they'll like it or start eating them regularly.

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I mean why would you create a iced krispy kreme donut cheeseburger, and only in western civilization would that become famous and popular (gross).

 

tumblr_m7v12grd3o1qj8qieo1_500.jpg

 

The world is just odd with food, I'm odd with food too. I'm a tomato sauce/ketchup-a-holic. I put it on everything, I have an obsession with french-branded wholeseed mustard, and would live on steak and kidney stew for the rest of my life, and am among the very few that actually love hospital food.

 

these are not popular in the US. Many people would classify this as disgusting and would not eat it. But they would eat these items separately.

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