Shopping Experiences

Well, since I still can't upload pictures, I'm moving on (for now) to some photo-less posts.

I don't think I've mentioned much about grocery shopping.  My shopping habits have changed dramatically since moving here.

For the most part, I do my shopping at a grocery store that, while small, and incomplete, is very much like what you probably shop at in the States.  There is a bakery, though the pastries, cakes, and some of the breads are quite different.  We have a meat counter, which would be mostly unrecognizable.  The cuts of meat here (other than chicken and ground beef) are quite a bit different. For the most part I have bought meat only from the case of already packaged items, so I can see what I am getting, instead of having to ask for a certain cut of meat. We buy our milk off the shelf, at room temperature.  It is valid for 3 or 4 months.  We buy our eggs off the shelf too, though I always store them in the fridge at home.

There is a deli, but only a case of pre-packaged meats and cheeses. Mozzarella and parmesan cheese, ricotta, ham and salami dominate. Cheese is in a block or slices. No bags of pre-shredded anything. There are a few other cheeses, and occasionally "smoked bird" lunch meat, which I am assuming is chicken. Cheese variety is one of the things I miss the most.

There is a lot of popcorn, a variety of herbs for medicinal teas and beverages.  There is a long aisle of pasta and some incredibly horrible pre-made pasta sauces.  There are very few canned fruits and vegetables. It is very difficult to find canned tomato products, such as tomato sauce and diced tomatoes, which I have always considered a staple in my cooking.

Crackers and cookies abound.  There are about 10 varieties of breakfast cereal, and most of them contain the word "frosted" in the name.  Granola is big here, and I buy a lot of oatmeal. Chocolate comes in large bars or blocks.  There is milk, semi-sweet and occasionally some with crisp rice or cashews. The rest of the candy aisle we have not found worth spending money on.

There are tons of fresh fruits and vegetables.  They may or may not be fit to eat.  The grocery store, at least in our town, doesn't put a lot of emphasis on keeping the produce aisles appealing.  I can pick up 25 apples before I find 5 that are worth buying.  Rotten or moldy fruit or swarms of gnats are not typical concerns.  It is hard to find seedless grapes, I've never seen seedless watermelon.  The lettuce is brought in fresh from hydroponic farms every day.  The tables are heaped with potatoes, onions, garlic, cabbage, carrots and seasonal fruit...papayas, mangos, tangerines, oranges, pineapples, limes, and always a good supply of bananas.  Unless they are out, which is not really that uncommon.  Do not look for a hot pepper.  It doesn't exist.

There is a very long aisle of beans and rice.  How many brands of basic rice do you suppose there are at a US grocery store?  I would guess 2, max of 3.  Here there are dozens.  Naturally, dried beans are popular, and cheap.  The most popular is black beans, but also to be found are brown beans (similar to pinto), white beans, kidney beans, and lentils.

We have your basic dry staples, sugar, flour, salt, a lesser selection of spices, oil, vinegar, and so on.  There are flours we don't recognize, like flour of mandioca - yucca root.  There are at least 4 varieties of  ground corn or cornmeal for various purposes, including the popular polenta.  Vanilla extract is hard to come by, but there is an abundance of powdered vanilla essence, and vanilla sugar. We have cake mix, but it's horrible. We have boxed jello and pudding, but nothing "instant."  Baking powder, yeast, etc all come in very small packages. Rows of sweetened condensed milk (in a carton, not a can) and likewise with whipping cream, which, naturally, is ultra-pasteurized and sold at room temperature, too.  Ketchup, mustard, mayo, even in brands we recognize. 

There is a dairy aisle, 20 choices of margarine, and usually 2 choices in butter.  Yogurt brands abound, but flavors do not.  Primarily, we have seen choices of strawberry, plain, and plum, with an occasional seasonal variation, like papaya with oat.  No cottage cheese, or sour cream, but we've found some relative substitutes.  Processed cheese spread is popular, as is refrigerated "fresh" pasta.

Frozen food is limited to pizzas, a few appetizer items, occasionally boneless chicken breast, french fries and at times, vegetables, such as corn or peas.  We also have very small selection of (in my opinion) really horrible and overpriced ice cream.

There are no canned soups, condensed or otherwise. Very few salad dressings, and we don't like any of them. Rarely sauces or marinades (think bbq, teriyaki, chutney) can be found. No canned beans. There are no boxes of mac & cheese, but oddly plenty of ramen noodles. No peanut butter, but plenty of jam. Meal in a box? no. Dry seasoning packets for pot roast, gravy, chili seasoning, chop suey, chicken a la king? No. There really is very little to make a quick and easy meal. This is quite a difference from Walmart, whose shelves are lined with boxes claiming "ready in 15 minutes" or "just add ground beef for a complete meal." 

Aaaah, quick and easy, yet highly processed American diet....I do not miss you.  More on that in a later post.

My biggest frustrations with shopping is lack of supply.  My typical experience is either: You find it, you love it, you never find it again, or: You find it, you love it, when you go back for more, the shelf is empty....for 3 weeks.  It really doesn't seem to matter if it is a popular item of not.  If they are out, they are just out.  I seem to be the only one getting riled up about this.  Brazilians just accept it.

My favorite thing about shopping here?  Someone ALWAYS carries out my groceries.  Or I can just have them delivered to my house (carried in) for about US$2.

This post grew into far more than I planned, so separately, I'll share with you how my cooking and our shopping and eating habits have changed since we arrived here.