Moving to Ireland: Grocery Look Alikes

annisa

8 years ago

There are certain things I take for granted about life in the United States. Going to the grocery store is one of them. I have my routine. I know where everything is located. I know what’s a good deal. I can cruise through the grocery store on autopilot grabbing the items we use most frequently.

In my experience, the hardest thing about moving to Ireland thus far is the mental effort that every single little thing, like going to the grocery store, takes. Even though I can thankfully read the labels, I can’t cruise through the store on autopilot.

How do I know if Tomato Sauce A or Tomato Sauce B tastes better? I don’t. So, I have to actually look at the label. Weigh the differences. Hush child who is nagging at me. Try to calculate how many milliliters are in an ounce. Hush child who is making farting noises. Grab a jar of tomato sauce in exasperation and leave. Remember I need pasta too. Repeat the above process. Get home and realize it doesn’t really matter what tomato sauce I purchased because I always add my own seasonings anyway. But at least I picked the jar with the pretty label.

Sure, I can’t always understand the Irish accent, but again, I am so thankful I’m not trying to learn a foreign language on top of all of this. Hats off to the people who are living that reality.

When I see brands that are familiar to me, it’s like a lifeline. It’s a little bit of home – even if it tastes or looks a little different.

I thought it would be fun to show you some of the items I’ve found in the grocery store that are the same as what you might find in the United States, but different too.

Frosted Flakes are called Frosties.

Sour Cream is Soured Cream. I have to admit, the word soured doesn’t sound quite as appealing to me.

On the plus side, it looks like I can spoon with it.

Just seeing if you were paying attention back there! Ha!

Cocoa Puffs are simply Nesquik.

When I’m buying chocolate cereal for my kids, I feel so much better because it is nourishing their minds.

Ritz Crackers are packaged differently than in the United States.

I think the cracker formula might be slightly different too. These look a little lighter to me, but the Ritz Aficionado in our household (my 6-year-old) doesn’t seem to notice.

Nutella seems to be the same here in Ireland.

Looks like we need another jar.

I feel like this is a good time to point out that we eat a lot of fruits and vegetables and other healthy stuff. I swear.

These are the least expensive eggs I’ve found in the store. I only mention they are the least expensive not because I’m cheap (I sort of am), but they look and taste like expensive, organic eggs do in the States. I haven’t seen any eggs with white shells yet.

Eggs are sold on-the-shelf in Ireland at room temperature. Each egg is stamped with an expiration date.

Also, my fingers look freakishly long in this photo.

I was surprised to find Philadelphia brand Cream Cheese here.

I have nothing witty to say about cream cheese. I am hungry for a bagel though.

I don’t think you can find Bacon Rashers in the States, but they are too wild not to share.

My husband and kids think these chips are awesome.

I do not. I will say the first one does taste like bacon. After that, these chips just taste…wrong.

However, I did crush a bunch of them up and used them as bread crumbs in some hamburger patties. Now, that was delicious and genius, if I do say so myself.

By the way, rashers are another name for bacon. So bacon rashers seems a bit redundant. Also, chips are called crisps here. Fries are called chips.

It’s confusing.

By the way, if you noticed the word Tesco on some of the packaging, Tesco is a supermarket chain located here. They sell groceries and other random household goods, toys, etc. I would say they are somewhere in-between a Walmart and a Target. Better quality than Walmart, but not as cool as Target.

Speaking of which, I need to make a grocery run.

It’s hard to take yourself too seriously when you take a selfie walking home with your groceries and toilet paper. I’m really, really happy I found the necessities on this particular day though! And I’m not talking about the Frosties!

If you want to know more about living in Ireland, check out these posts:

Living in Ireland: Life Without a Car

Living in Ireland: Inside My Kitchen

Living in Ireland: Christmas in Retail 2017

Living in Ireland: Storm Ophelia

Living in Ireland: That Time a Tree Came Down

Living in Ireland: Pediatric Emergency Medicine

Living in Ireland: Back After A Month in the United States

Living in Ireland: As Seen On My Commute

Living in Ireland: A Trip to the Hardware Store

Living in Ireland: Spring Flowers In Our Yard

Living in Ireland: Grocery Shopping