Supermarket gifts/souvenirs
 

--what have you found in a foreign supermarket that made a good gift (for yourself or somebody else)? I like to shop this way and got the idea for this thread from a tip on another thread.<BR><BR> I'll start: in Holland I buy Douwe Egeberts coffee in the Albert Heyn supermarkets. I never have enough It's Dutch people's every day coffee and I love it, and so do the people I bring it to.<BR><BR>

My teenage son got a kick out of the canned drink called HEMP, complete with a picture of a cannabis leaf on it, found in Germany. (Totally free of any of the said substance)

Supermarkets in Austria sell heavenly Mozart balls and other chocolate treats, beautifully wrapped. <BR><BR>Sainsbury's in England for chocolates and all sorts of interesting treats.

While not in Europe...I found some very unique and fun chopsticks in Beijing. I paid less than a dollar for 8 pairs, which I now see sold for $10 a pair in the U.S. I also found some of my favorite slippers at the same supermarket.<BR><BR>In Europe, I try to look around for cookies, teas and unique candies to bring home.

Any brand of filter coffee from Italy! I usually buy the cheapest, and still cannot believe how good it is!

In Switzerland you can buy ready made cheese Fondue in packs that don't need refrigeration (about 6 month shelf life) and the Caotina chocolate powder is way better then Nestle Quik anyday. Of course in Italy Tartufo Oil and Virgin Olive Oil-even the cheapest brands are good quality. I love stroop wafels from Holland and my husband always has to have PG Tips and Digestive biscuits from England. In France all those intersting mustards, pates, and sauces.

Chris hi!<BR><BR>Yes, Caotina is heavenly, but that cheese fondue? <BR><BR>In Switzerland, go to EPA or ABM for chocolates. Best prices.

I'm still hoarding the Tartufo olive oil I picked up at the grocery store in Montalcino. Which I'd bought more....

Pumpkin oil is very easy to get at supermarkets in Austria and very difficult to find almost anywhere else. Use in salad dressing or just add some to a bowl of roasted pumpkin seeds and eat as a snack. Very healthy and tasty. In Belgium, most supermarkets carry a variety of Belgian beer at cheap prices. <BR>

In London and Paris, lovely scented and wrapped very prettily- soaps. And chocolates...very good coffee, like the everyday coffee that we never get in the US! and in London also, biscuits in little tins.

I buy these as gifts for myself . . . tomato paste in a tube. I can't get these here and I love them. I'm aways needing just a tablespoon of tp and these are perfect. They need no refrigeration and are VERY cheap. I try to stock up anytime I'm out of the US.<BR>

Hi Sandy..I used to bring back the tomato paste in the tube too but then found lots of it on the shelf in a local deli that specializes in Polish foods. Bet you could find it too if you look for a really good deli in your area.

Sandy, there are stores in the NE called Kings, they are an English co.They carry Dickons and all the English brands, and have the tubes of tomatoe paste,garlic paste,ancovy paste,very handy,love to use them myself~

Hi Ursula,<BR>I agree the packaged Fondue isn't the BEST but my family who live in a very rural area of the US can't get all the ingredients for a real fondue (gruyere, real Emmental, kirsch, Swiss wine). So this stuff is the next best thing they can get-unless you know of a good fondue recipe using processed plasticy American, cheddar, mozerella, and/or "Swiss" cheese:)

Chris: Fully understand. BTW, I wasn't sure you where American up to now.<BR>Enjoy Flims and Happy Holidays! It's really the weather for a nice cheese fondue these days.

In Australia, I found some fabulous breakfast tea. I stock up on loose breakfast tea in England, too. It is a lot cheaper over there than it is here. In Holland, I always buy cocoa, and in Paris, Germany, and England, I buy flour. In Portugal, I buy table linens (I know..not food and not in the grocery store, but what a deal, and so pretty!!!) And yes, Switzerland has excellent chocolates.

Ursula,<BR>Vielen Dank. Frohe Weihnachten. Haben Sie eine gute Reise nach Paris.

Not at a supermarket, but at a roadside stand in the South of France last May, we bought soap, small burlap bags of herbes de Provence (my sister-in-law and nieces will be getting one as part of their Christmas presents), lavender sachets, and a string of cicadas which hangs on our front porch. We also bought some fruit, tomatoes, etc. for picnicking.<BR><BR>j

In Austria, they sell cookies called "Fanfares" that my husband and I just love. In fact, that's one of the few things we brough back home with us. The other thing was salt. When I had a sore throat, I bought some salt that comes from Bad Ischl. I had forgotten that Austrian salt doesn't taste as salty as our salt. Supermarkets are really a treasure trove of interesting gifts and souvenirs.

Don't know about gift giving but Tesco in London sells a canned product called American Hot Dogs (in brine). Just thought it was amusing.