Grocery stores around the world often try to persuade their customers to buy more by having "exotic" displays of foreign products. However, they aren't necessarily accurate. Take the American sections, for example. You can find them in pretty much any country. Wild flavors of Dr. Pepper, chocolate-covered pretzels, hamburger cookies, and of course, Snapple—the cornerstones of every American diet. Continue scrolling, take a look at these shelves, and let us know in the comments if you think this is actually what Uncle Sam eats or the stores have stocked up on too much sugar and are trying to get rid of it!
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this is disgusting- i'm american and even WE would never eat that stuff
I think this one is mostly ok. Substitute Virgil's for Budweiser, ad some mac & cheese and that's about it.
You can buy Budweiser pretty much anywhere in the UK, and it's brewed here so it would have to be imported to count as American.
Load More Replies...I grew up partially in the UK but I am an American citizen with very American tastes. That said, there are food items from my childhood in the UK that I occasionally miss, e.g. Smarties, Digestives, bangers and mash, etc. I'm guessing that my local market stocks these items because I, an American citizen, routinely purchase these items from them (there aren't many folks from the UK in my area). My point being, maybe the items in the American section of these non-American supermarkets aren't there to satisfy the cravings of Americans but are there because those are the American food items that the locals have a hankering for.
Chocolate in the US is almost unrecognizable to Europeans. This is probably popular for ex-pats to get their candy-fix without having to learn new tastes. It's 'comfort' food so to speak. Restaurants in the UK, for example, serve all sorts of 'american' food. Best burger I've had in years was in a pub in Glasgow.
Hershey's is absolutely comfort food for me. I love European chocolates, absolutely, but Hershey's tastes like being a kid.
Load More Replies...American supermarkets have a European section- it is called fruit and vegetables
These are good examples of profoundly American things, but they are hardly the main constituents of an American diet.
News flash: U.S. grocery stores have sections dedicated to other countries as well. Typically it’s just the name brand garbage that comes from those countries and is about as representative of those countries as these images are of the U.S.. I would say one difference is we’re smart enough not to believe that’s what other countries eat as part of their regular diet.
Funny thing is that A1 is actually a British creation made originally by Brands.
A great deal of American food would not be suitable to be sold in Britain, it contains far too many 'chemicals'. Does this mean American products sold in Britain have to be specially made so therefore not really American?
We also have a European, Hispanic and Asian section. We don't get much though...
In the US, once you have kids, you will find yourself eating a lot of these. There is, however, a finite number Goldfish crackers that an adult can eat before they just become unacceptable*. It's directly proportionate to the number of them that you have to vacuum out of your car. *Does not apply to pretzel Goldfish.
I thought I was already snacking on these but my gosh, is your comment so real. Lol. They're always available and I've found I can't enjoy them much any more.
Load More Replies...Rejected Conspiracy Theory 1006: Pepperidge Farm is exactly like the Infosphere from Futurama.
Goldfish are a very common household snack, especially for children. My grandson loves them.
Caramel corn! I believe that did originate in the US as Cracker Jack.
If you haven't had a pumpkin pie before, I highly recommend it. You can make it as either a savory or a sweet pie.
Same for sweet potato pie. Freaking amazing, so long as it's not full of marshmallows.
Load More Replies...Wait until they find out there's an even easier can of pumpkin where you just add 2 eggs & some condensed milk....
That stuff is rather gross as it tends to be overly sweet. With just the plain pumpkin you control the spice mixture and sweetness level. It's much better.
Load More Replies...We have pumpkins, but if we want to make pie then we have to make the puree from scratch.
Load More Replies...Also good for when anyone in the family is having stomach issues (including the pets)
why do the "american" sections always have "nerds" & "A1" sauce? I can't think of anyone being abroad and thinking, "Oh my gawd, I need Nerds, Now!"
Why do so many of these shops have Fluff on the American shelf? I don't know anyone who eats it. Literally no one.
From what I've seen, it's either products that didn't sell in the US or products reworked for local tastes.
Load More Replies...There is Oreo cereal? How are y’all alive? What does that even taste like?
They do in my state of Florida. Lately they've had Taveners candy: gummies, allsorts, and one other I can't remember. I love the allsorts. Once they had Cadbury flake bars... OMG those were good! Our chocolate is no where near as good. I've seen Aero bars, need to try them. I've seen canned bread, don't think I want to try that...
Load More Replies...I cant get over how they only sell our sugariest junkies foods abroad
I doesnt taste like medicine and it is actually very good, put some coconut cream in it and you have yourself a delicious drink
Load More Replies...The price of American cereal over here is ridiculous. I’ve never tried any, only because I refuse to pay that much for a 330g box of cereal that wouldn’t share between 5 people for the week .
It takes a lot of money to import stuff from different countries.
Load More Replies...That is outrageous pricing. However Lucky Charms and Reese's Puffs are two of my favorite cereals. Highly recommend at least once.
Majority of these can be found in (UK) B+M and Home Bargains stores, mostly at half the price too.
Lucky charms. heard so much about it on TV (I'm not from America btw)
I once paid £5.50 for a bag of flaming hot crunchy Cheetos that were imported from America so the price of the cereal doesn't shock me.
As an American, most of this looks right to me as quintessential American food. But canned black beans? I had no idea those were unique to the USA. I assumed canned black beans were a universal staple.
its not unique but im guessing thats just an American brand of black beans. its like we have peanut butter from NZ but we'd still put Jif in the international section
Load More Replies...I wouldn’t call this “quintessential American food.” I’d call it a handful of products from stores that are generally the size of a half of a city block. “Quintessential American” would be a produce department that takes up a quarter of the floor space in a store with a plentiful selection from growing regions all over the Western Hemisphere. Quintessential American would be a meat department with every animal and cut of meat that one could want. Quintessential American would be store shelves packed full of goods with unparalleled selection and variety. Quintessential American is pure abundance. But if looking at a junk food section labeled “American” fits within your narrow world view, vaya con Dios.
1. this was posted on the 4th of july, (independence day) 2. IS THAT REESES PEANUT BUTTER CUPS PEANUT BUTTER WHERE CAN I GET THAT?
Cherry flavored marshmallow fluff? I don't live in a part of the US that is that fancy.
Jif peanut butter is plain weird to an Aussie. Over here, Jif is a brand of cleaning product.
I would have cried in happiness if I was in a foreign country and saw Vlasic Pickles. So often, you can't find a good American-style pickle anywhere.
I know it's not what it said, but I read this as Vague and Plague and I just had to stare at the wall until my brain restarted.
I'm going to adopt two cats and name them Vague and Plague. Thank you!
Load More Replies...I had no idea Tropical Punch and Raspberry were considered "surf and turf." You learn something new every day 0_0
I liked nerds when I was a kid, I remember the melon flavour ones the best for some reason.
20 years in Colorado and I was completely oblivious to our state’s official marshmallows XD
Ok, this got a laugh out of me. We have a "Testicle Festival" within a drive's reach every year.
Load More Replies...Considering how Rocky Mountain oysters aren't oysters, I dread to think what these are made of
What the hell? Is it really only America that has marshmallows? Are they joking?
American here, I bought that once because it was on sale. I can see why you love it, it was quite delicious.
Load More Replies...Yeah, looks like the one in my local grocery store. I used to be able to get Jelly Babies there, but no more. Makes me sad.
Only the one bottle of Irn Bru left: made in Scotland from girders!
I remember these in the late 90's, had them in a vending machine at work, they weren't so bad.
Wait until you try the peanut butter stuffed chocolate covered pretzels lol
Glad to see one of these having healthy cereal and not just the junk food ones.
I was just thinking that. We have a ton of healthier cereal options
Load More Replies...Cheerios and Oreo just appear in the normal aisle these days, we have had them both for a long time.
I can’t speak for Colombia but growing up in Mexico peanut butter was almost non existent and hot chocolate was a very different type (both great though)
Load More Replies...These are the same kinds of shelves I pass in my stores, on the way to getting the stuff I need.
this is somewhat off topic but you can't get more Texan than H.E.B
this is the most accurate to actual American supermarkets. Some healthy cereal, some junky, crackers, oil, dressing, cookies, jello, vinegar, pudding. I live in the US and this seems right.
At least they have Raisin Bran and Great Grains, healthier than others I've seen.
This does seem like the best cross section I’ve seen so far. We do have things other than pop tarts and marshmallows
Pink lemonade is nothing new in Britain but now sure if it can still be bought
I once ordered a snapple from a street vendor in New York when we were there on a school trip (from Europe). Following the sale the Vendor yelled at my teacher... "yo... you need anything?" To which my teacher replied yelling back: "NO because you're only after my money!!!" He was my accounting teacher. I was like... well yeah, dafuq else is he supposed to be after??? Your friendship? Your clothes??? Only time i ever drank Snapple and will always be reminded of that short, weird exchange between my teacher and a random vendor in New York because of it.. the drink was blue and not very impressive but it did the trick in relieving my thirst.
I an truthfully say, as an american, that we have none of this, and I have NEVER heard of this brand. My guess is that it is in Europe and makes "American" food to appeal to the market.
Mcennedey's is a brand you find in Lidl when they do American week.
Load More Replies...Firstly, I do not recognize this brand. Secondly, who puts hot dogs on pizza, in the crust no less, and with ORANGE cheese? Hell no. Chicken cutlets stuffed with cheese, yes. All the fried snacks, also yes. Barbecue ribs, yes again, but not frozen!
Lidl! We have the same in Italy during the American week! I am sure this items do not belong to the American style, but during the Chinese week we can find lots of Chinese stuff that seem legit 😃😃
As a whole, most Americans eat hot dogs on hot dog buns with hot dog toppings and not on pizza, and never stuffed in the crust. We've had several Aldi stores near us for years and have never seen wiener pizza. I fully believe that the products are being processed and packaged together due to many types of wieners and sausages being typical German food and they're trying to blend the two cuisines together .
If this is what I think it is... Its a corn syrup glazed nilla wafer with sesame seed on top for the bun, a peppermint patty between the two of them, and some tinted coconut/icing for the condiments. They're pretty damn good.
Load More Replies...Almost every picture has either marshmallows or "fluff". I can't remember the last time I ate a marshmallow, and I've never (to my knowledge) eaten fluff. What makes them so American?? I'm American, living in the USA, and neither of those things is part of my, or my friends' diets.
So take the fluffer and spread it on a piece of bread, take your peanut butter and spread it on a separate piece of bread. That folks is what we call a fluffnator here in America
Load More Replies...Are we all just going to ignore the fact that they spelled it "Amerika"
Someone has never had peanut butter cups.
Load More Replies...No one in the US would be caught dead eating hotdogs in a freaking jar.
Hot dogs in a jar! We have the same thing in the "...World Market Stores".
Did it ever occur to anyone that Americans eat food other then pure sugar
Nope. ESPECIALLY NOT the chocolate bars. American chocolate is putrid. They use butyric acid in processing their chocolate and it gives the chocolate an unpleasant flavour. Americans don't notice it because they're brought up on it, but to someone who has eaten really good chocolate, the flavour is very definite.
This is the first photo that has Ranch dressing in it. I do think that's a "must" for an American grocery section.
The original picture on twitter is a bit taller, cake mix is on the shelf below marshmallows.
Load More Replies...Why is this the first time in my life yet the second time on this list I'm seeing those... are they hot dogs?... in a jar... *yargh*
Bisquick is awesome. Pancakes, bisquits or waffles, just adjust the milk & egg ratios.
Instant gelatin desserts are not eaten in Europe. We have instant puddings, though.
Load More Replies...Is that Shoprite brand of white cheddar mac & cheese???? My favorite!
Why do they have Crisco? Do other parts of the world not have vegetable shortening?
Please ignore Emma London. They must be a troll because they sprout only falsehoods. We do have things like Crisco.
Load More Replies...Some of the stores have gelatin, but I most surprised to see the Stuffing mix. Everybody seems to think we exist on sugar only.
There must be a lot of people who drink Clamato, because it's been around for over fifty years, and I see it on the shelves of nearly every supermarket, but I can't imagine actually buying it. "Our tomato juice isn't selling well enough, how can we improve it?" "I know -- we'll add *clam juice*!!" WTF??
I had a great aunt who loved it--I think she may have been spiking it, though.
Load More Replies...Take the root beer and a scoop of vanilla ice cream put them in a glass and you have yourself a root beer float
Now I might have picked up some AW Rootbeer if it wasn't diet. I can't drink anything with aspertame or "most" other fake sweeteners. Get the real stuff, and I might buy it. LOL!
All the stores feature representations of sugar galore in the 'American' section. What I find curious is no protein bars.
No wonder other countries think we dont eat healthy....well some of us do....you gotta weed through all this junk tho
No people just asume that its popular so they just put it in here
Load More Replies...never seen the tubs of cereal. that's a lot to just pour milk into and eat. also where is all the root beer?????
Yeah no. I haven't had any of these "foods" since the onset of puberty.
I'm waiting for the first person to complain that the flag is backwards.
It's on the other side, depends where you are standing it's in the correct position.
Load More Replies...This is the first post where I've seen Jiffy mix! It's sort of a relic of the Great Depression, but very good if you want a side dish or a desert in a hurry.
There's another similar one that has some Jiffy hidden way, way up near the top. I was happy to see it. If I was living abroad it would be a real taste of home.
Load More Replies...Those La Frontera taco sauces in the upper right corner are legit! Just discovered those myself and may never buy one of the powdered mixes again.
The frozen breakfast sandwich I could see, but do they not have 2% milk in Germany? Organic milk costs enough here, I can't imagine what it costs after it has flown across an ocean.
There are cows in Germany. I'm fairly sure they don't import it.
Load More Replies...I think the Op wanted to emphasise the fact, that milk should contain just milk...
Gotta say, I've had those Jimmy Dean Croissant things before, and they're pretty dang tasty. Of course, your blood pressure will spike for about 3 hours after eating one. Salt Bomb.
I've got really low blood pressure...I should try this...
Load More Replies...Cholula hot sauce and Stubbs BBQ sauce are about the best there is, really. And what’s with the baking soda??
I'm wondering about the baking soda too. Maybe US baking soda has a different formulation from other countries?
Load More Replies...Baking soda - good for cleaning and used in baking. Don't be embarrassed, they have whatever someone sells to them. Go to Polish stores or German stores in America. You won't see a dissimilar display.
Come on now. Baking soda? Surely this store also sells baking soda. I don't believe that's uniquely American. 😂
Might be an American branded baking soda. I mean, we get KitKat's, but I'm prepared to bet macha tea flavoured KitKat's would be labelled as uniquely Japanese.
Load More Replies...mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm oh uh mom why does this taste like powder
I don't want to think that box mixes are american-c'mon. they're really easy to make and are really good! most of the time
I am amused at the choice of "French's" for mustard at a French supermarket. I think it's one of the better yellow mustards.
Gasp! No wonder we still don't have world peace with them selling Aunt Jemima's pancake mix! Off with their heads!!!!
French's mustard in the American section of a French supermarket. Ironic.
The original image on twitter is much taller, A&W is on the bottom shelf.
Load More Replies...Yes, what we consider Root Beer is very different tasting than what Europe considers root beer
Pickled anything is a delicacy here in the south! But regular hotdogs in a jar? Not for me!!
i'm a native New Yorker, born in Brooklyn. I have never seen a hot dog in a jar. just give me my Hebrew Nationals, thanks.
Never seen these in my life....I'd see them as some kinda food from Europe
The 🇺🇸 is big and while I haven’t been everywhere within the States, I’m pretty sure hot dogs are not sold in a jar like this.
Hotdogs in the uk come in a jar pickled in brine. They are made of rubbish and pregnant women are told not to eat them. They aren't something we eat unless you go to a greasy stand in a car park but people here tend to prefer burgers if they do that.
What is wrong is that we all don't just eat sugar. Our perception of Aussie food (no section in our local stores) is beer and Vegemite. Cheers!
What is with those "Dino's" jars??? They are in so many of these pictures, and in forty years of shopping I've never seen hot dogs in jars at any supermarket I've ever been in.
This is exactly what I was thinking too! The only time I've seen jarred hot dogs in the USA was in the German section of international foods.
Load More Replies...As far as i can tell, most of this stuff is legit, but I have never in my life seen *jarred* hot dogs in the supermarket. ( Just to the left of the Bisquick. )
Ugh I commented on that very thing a few posts up. And this is now the FOURTH pic of these hideous things I've seen on this list. I'm done. I've had enough internet for the day.
Load More Replies...We have jarred hot dogs at "...World Plus" markets. The ones I dared to try said they were from Germany.
What's with all the Nerds? And I thought Jelly Belly's were British?
What do you mean jolly ranchers hard candy is the only type of jolly ranchers here
Load More Replies...We call it bicarb in the UK. So this is would only be helpful. Worth remembering that not everything has the same names as the US.
Load More Replies...And it all looks to be fully-stocked, almost as if nobody buys it. I personally think its disgusting.
Load More Replies...A1 is OK. The rest of this is junk that almost nobody over 12 eats on a regular basis.
I was thinking the same thing. Looks like they're selling TVs in the background.
Load More Replies...I could go for some of that squeeze cheese. Oh wait, they have some of the cheese in a can. Just an FYI to those Europeans wondering. Spray cheese is good/decent on or with things. It is fairly revolting on it's own, especially the American Cheese one. So spraying a bunch of it into your mouth the first time you try it is probably going to be kind of traumatizing. :-)
We know, you make that abundantly and unnecessarily clear.
Load More Replies...A good portion of the American diet is very high in sugar, whether it's supposed to be savoury food or sweet. That's why over 30% of Americans are either diabetic or pre-diabetic. Many more are pre-diabetic and aren't even aware of it. Somebody has to keep the health and drug industries going!
Load More Replies...Right? My personal collection is bigger than that.
Load More Replies...https://twitter.com/missginsu/status/1014217633065992196/photo/1
Load More Replies...I have never seen any of those varieties of peanut butter before... We have plain, and honey-roasted.
Fluff is from where I live and I'm counting it in all these entries.
Load More Replies...I've seen more Fluff in these pictures than I've seen across the US while in the service. I always thought it was pretty much a New England staple.
I wonder who chose these particular items. The others have largely been a product of what people eat on American television, but this is a decidedly southern regional palate.
no one of these brands are in California. so maybe they are just saying they are "American"?ooopss. the sloppy joe are familiar!
Oh my! Look at all those Payday bars! Where is this store because I might need to move !
Lucky charms are priced 12 euro a package in the Netherlands. Insane!
Not much cheaper in North America. I stopped eating cereal years ago because of the price.
In Ireland Arizona tee is for 0.99euro! Love it! Brits overprices everything!
Whether anyone wishes to understand or "believe" ALL FOOD IS GENETICALLY MODIFIED. If it is fruits and veggies, they are all hybrids aka genetically modified, all protein are derived from hybrid animals aka genetically modified. What it should say, if correct, is screwed with the genes.
Right? Golden Rice is genetically modified to contain more nutrients, so it's often distributed to children who have less access to varieties of food to keep them, you know, alive and not completely vitamin-deficient. But the non-GMO crowd (read: Greenpeace) are all up in arms about how it's genetically modified so don't let anyone eat it, oh no!
Load More Replies...Have a google of what cucumbers, bananas and tomatoes etc looked like a hundred years ago and see how much they have changed
Load More Replies..."I hate Bosco, it's not the drink for me! Mommy puts it in my milk to try and poison me. I fooled mommy: I put it in her tea. And now there's no more mommy to try and poison me!"
Oooh, bottlecaps! Those are actually really hard to find these days! They were one of my favorites, forty years ago. Haven't seen them in a long time.
I came to say basically the same thing. I didn't know they were still being made. I loved those in the 70s.
Load More Replies...FLUFF again! Most Americans outside of New England have never seen FLUFF!
We have international aisles here in America. It's mostly Asian and Mexican
we do not have a british aisle in our stores. we have a mexican aisle and sometimes an asian aisle . and half of ths stuff I see here as an american I myself would not eat. not all americans are junk food junkies
Awwww yiss: Newman's Own salad dressings! (First time I've seen Campbell's soup in one of these pictures, I think?)
You can get them a pound cheaper and also not in an "american food" section in B&M in my experience. Thankfully, I got over my addiction to these, but my love of the Penn State sour cream and chive pretzels however, will never go away. ever.
Glad that's finished - after looking at all these pictures my teeth are aching!!!
Seems almost all have included Nerds. Is that how they see us, as a bunch of nerds?
The only truly American foods I see there are Kraft mac & Cheese, Chips Ahoy, and Snickers. Oh, Cracker Jack!
To be fair, in NZ it is actually an International Section, so a mix of a few nationalities.
That’s actually bang on. They even got Yorkshire tea which is the best lol. Not to sure bout the curry. Very surprised hinez rival Branson isn’t there though lol
Has anyone ever seen bottled hotdogs for sale in the US? I lived there for 20+ years and have never seen anything like those.
I think it’s interesting how many stores had multiple kinds of Nerds. I’ve never seen them like that in the US. The only time we got Nerds was in tiny packages at Halloween.
can't relate to this post as I'm european and visiting the US is only a plan. Could someone explain what is wrong here?
Americans don't just eat junk food and sugary cereal
Load More Replies...A lot of these are what I would call “ comfort foods “ you don’t eat it every day but have a craving for your own taste of home occasionally.
Which I think is the point. Everyday 'normal' food that we all eat will be available in the rest of the shop. This is just a taste of home that is specific to the US but in the way that all countries have. UK will have unhealthy nostalgic treats too.
Load More Replies...Be interesting to see how the international sections in American supermarkets compare. Think those sections in any supermarket always tend towards the stereotype - German bratwurst, Spanish chorizo, British baked beans, etc.
In my neck of the woods there is a chain of stores called 'World Market' and they stock food and booze from all over the world. Obviously not an entire grocery stores worth for each country, but a good showing. It's all packaged food though, nothing fresh.
Load More Replies...Has anyone ever seen bottled hotdogs for sale in the US? I lived there for 20+ years and have never seen anything like those.
I think it’s interesting how many stores had multiple kinds of Nerds. I’ve never seen them like that in the US. The only time we got Nerds was in tiny packages at Halloween.
can't relate to this post as I'm european and visiting the US is only a plan. Could someone explain what is wrong here?
Americans don't just eat junk food and sugary cereal
Load More Replies...A lot of these are what I would call “ comfort foods “ you don’t eat it every day but have a craving for your own taste of home occasionally.
Which I think is the point. Everyday 'normal' food that we all eat will be available in the rest of the shop. This is just a taste of home that is specific to the US but in the way that all countries have. UK will have unhealthy nostalgic treats too.
Load More Replies...Be interesting to see how the international sections in American supermarkets compare. Think those sections in any supermarket always tend towards the stereotype - German bratwurst, Spanish chorizo, British baked beans, etc.
In my neck of the woods there is a chain of stores called 'World Market' and they stock food and booze from all over the world. Obviously not an entire grocery stores worth for each country, but a good showing. It's all packaged food though, nothing fresh.
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