You may remember that in my grocery store blog from when I first got here there were so many new and exciting foods. The things they have in Australia that aren't in your typical Connecticut, Maryland or South Carolina grocery store. Well, I still get excited going to the grocery store and seeing what I can find. Except now, I've discovered the things they DON'T have here that I used to find in plethora in any North American supermarket.
Tootsie rolls. Best described as chocolate starbursts? The blue wrapper vanilla ones are my favorite.
Cool whip. That artificial, creamy stuff that some people love. Personally I don't like whipped cream so Cool whip doesn't do it for me, but I do use it for recipes (aka my Grandma Droz's frozen strawberry deliciousness or something close to it). When I asked two Australians if they have ever heard of it, I got a confused, "What?" Then I had to attempt to describe it which resulted in a trip to Wikipedia to which I discovered:
"Cool Whip is a brand of imitation
whipped cream named a
whipped topping
by its manufacturer. It is used in North America as a dessert topping
and in some no-bake pie recipes. It was originally described as
"non-dairy" as it contained no
cream or
milk and no
lactose; however, it did contain the milk derivative
casein. In 2010 both
skimmed milk and light cream were added to Original Cool Whip."
Root beer. Try explaining the flavor of root beer to someone who's never tried it. Australians may have never heard of root beer, but Dr Pepper is an international special next to IronBru.
And the number one things I haven't been able to find an equivalent for...graham crackers.
And yet, somehow, s'mores have become the trend in Perth restaurants. I heard of a restaurant that had a s'more dessert and I had to try it, if not to see what they were doing with the graham cracker situation. Perhaps they were importing them and I could bargain for one over priced box. After getting over the fact that they referred to them as a Canadian dessert (they are rumoured to have started in the Girl Scouts of America!), I figured I'd give them a go. I had been warned they weren't proper s'mores, but a dessert dish kinda all mushed together. Ok, I can handle a little culinary creative license. This is what I got. Can you spot the graham crackers?
If you could see them, you're blind. Because there were ZERO GRAHAM CRACKERS in these s'mores.
It was a yummy chocolate mousse thing, homemade toasted marshmallows (it's very difficult to find the proper campfire marshmallows, but they have small ones so I could make do)
I have tried to explain graham crackers to Australians, but there really is not equivalanet. So I went on a hunt (via Google) to find them. Surely, someone in Perth had to have them. I came across a blog that mentioned David Jones had an American section (albeit no graham crackers). David Jones is an upscale department store. Think fancy Macys or Sears. Well, as I discovered on a Saturday outing, their basement is a little gourmet cafe, with gourmet food shelves, which just happens to have an "American" section. Now what do you think they stock in their American section?
Can you find the price on these little cans of New England specialties and giant jar of pickles?
A $19 jar of pickles?!!!!!!!!!!!
I also found where Australia is keeping their entire supply of canned pumpkin.
But they did have one $9 bottle of corn syrup, which on more than one occasion I have needed for a recipe.
My one purchase? All utility, still-includes-trans fat (that's for you Bill, even if I know you don't read my blog) Bisquick. Biscuits, shortcake and pancakes here I come. But when I went in the next week to purchase another $8 box, it was gone! And replaced by a single box of Aunt Jamima pancake mix, spanish version. Oh well, my flour and baking soda are well stock, even if it requires a little extra effort and never turns out quite right.
I am hoping that it is restocked randomly with each import. And maybe
one day they'll have graham crackers. Until then, I'll have to cope with
the five shelves of repeated hot sauces and vanilla.
Besides the random fancy-department-store American section, there are some "American" delicacies that can be found if you know where to look and happen to get a good day. You never know where you may find things. The discount store may not
only stock the random campfire marshmallow, but they've got fluff and a
random assortment of poptarts (which they do carry a limited selection
of in the regular store, but these are apparently the high sugar no good
American flavours no one likes) Can I get a frosted Cherry please?
Woolworth's just started stocking Texas Pete sauce, which you can use (and need) to make buffalo sauce (another item not purchasable in Perth).
I once saw applesauce in a British Food section (but apparently it's not a regular item).
That little tiny sign that you can't see is the "British" section
And not only may you have to go on a hunt to find your favorite items, once you find the "Section" there may be only one or two options. It's no super Wal-mart. No choice of pretzel twists, pretzel minis, mustard preztles, honey wheat twists, sour dough nibblets, sourdough sticks. This is by far the largest selection I have seen of pretzels yet.
You're lucky to find one bottle of Ranch dressing. No homestyle, buttermilk, fat free, lite from Wishbone, Hidden Valley, Ken's, Kraft and your gourmet and generic store brands. I tried one, and it has not made it back on to my salad.
Now don't get me wrong. Even if I can't find some of my old favorites, that doesn't mean I haven't found new ones. Crumpets, dates, sweet chili sauce, and caramel are just some of my treats to tickle my taste buds.
