Americans: What's in your pantry?

[nikah]

Hi. I live in Germany and I'm visiting family in the States for a few weeks over the holidays. It's time for me to grab all of the things that I normally can't find here! I usually go nuts in a Whole Foods, but I often see stuff in recipes which is difficult/impossible to obtain here, and think "if only I had picked that up last time". So I ask:

What non-perishable foods/brands do you use in your oil-free cooking that you'd miss if they weren't available?

ex. bouillon, seasoning mixes, dried chiles, liquid aminos

Of course due to various international laws, there's tons of stuff I can't take on a plane.I also don't expect you to know what I can or cannot get in Germany (feel free to ask - likewise we have products here that aren't available there). It's ok, I know what those things are.

[Lyndzie]

Here are some ideas: viewtopic.php?f=5&t=58628#p589751

[Plumerias]

We spent two months in Germany earlier this year. It was spargel season, an interesting cultural experience. Too bad we don't care for it, we would've been in heaven. The strawberries rocked though, as did the new potatoes. Now, as most of our Airbnb kitchens were sorely limited, frustratingly limited, we kept things rather basic, and thus didn't cook in our normal manner.

I assume you are aware of the limitations on liquids and powders. I saw some comments about powders, which include spices, on the Europe Through the Back Door forum (Rick Steves of our public television). We take a limited selection of spices with us, and shop locally in Europe. One of the things do I take is a jar of Mrs. Dash's original seasoning, which has a yellow lid. It's light weight, sealed to contain odors, and versatile. I did not look in that amazingly long Knorr aisle I saw to see if there is something comparable.

We use lots of dried chiles. For Indian dishes we get a bag at the local Indian grocery, Patel Brothers. Beware that even sealed this bag smells like part of an Indian grocery store spice aisle, and can perfume your entire suitcase. Now, we didn't look for Indian grocery stores in Germany, but I assume in the larger cities there might be options. We'd also miss the dried chiles we get at Hispanic stores, which DH uses in making chili in the winter. He'd really miss those, but again, we never looked there. And we never looked to see if cornmeal for making cornbread to go with that chili is sold in Germany.

Your dried beans selections seemed limited. However, WFM is not the most cost effective place to buy those. Instead look at the local grocery store(s) brand(s).

That's all off the top of my head. Have a nice trip and enjoy your family time.

[Pumpkin Pete]

Hi,

You may find the link below of interest.
It gives some idea of what families around the world spend on food on a weekly basis and the foods they buy;
http://time.com/8515/what-the-world-eats-hungry-planet/

[nikah]

Thanks everybody!

I think Lyndzie posted exactly what I need.

[nikah]

Plumerias:
You can bring liquids and powders in checked luggage; I definitely wouldn't try to bring any food in my carryon! I have never seen anything like Mrs Dash here, Germany doesn't seem to be much into salt-free or sugar-free anything. :/ The aisle of Knorr and Maggi stuff is crazy, but it's mostly just different flavours of salt.

I do have a few Asian supermarkets nearby that sell a limited amount of Indian foods (they also sell cornmeal fwiw) but that's a great suggestion. I used to live in the Indian neighbourhood in Chicago and I miss those shops!

Beans here are definitely limited; canned black beans for example can be a bit hard to find. I've never considered trying to pack those, as I'm not sure if it's considered a seed and there's a lot of restrictions on those. I might try it, it's not a huge expense if they were confiscated anyway. I miss a lot of the Hispanic foods as well, as those are much more difficult to find here and very expensive (a can of chipotles in adobo runs about the equivalent of $5!). I actually had a tortilla press brought over from the states; a thing I never thought I'd need until I moved to a country where "tortilla" is some horrible tasteless wheat blob.

Thanks!