Ever tour through the international aisle at your grocery store? Most major grocery stores have them, and they contain a sampling of foods that you can find overseas. It’s also helpful in finding certain ingredients for specific cultural dishes. While nothing can beat a store that specializes in the goods you’re looking for, it’s still a nice and inclusive gesture for bigger grocery outlets to include a bit of a variety — especially if that varietyhappensto include Rowntree gummies from England.
The same goes for countries outside of the U.S. There’s an American section in many grocery storesin various countries, just to make travelers feel more at ease. But, what is American food, actually? Aren’t many of our favorites pulled from other countries?
Imgur user ninj uploaded a photo from a Finnish grocery store that showed the American section, and the food is equal parts impractical and right on the mark. Behold — this is how the rest of the world sees us.
As a brief hint, let’s just say there’s a lotof candy. Not just one or two notable favorites, but snacks you probably haven’t enjoyed for a couple years, like Tootsie Rolls and Junior Mints.
ninj / Imgur
Aside from candy, it looks like there’s a variety of sauces available. Perfect if you’re having a steak in Finland and they’re not totally sure what A1 is. Cake mix dominates the top shelf, since as you know, Americans love baking cakes while traveling.
As an American myself, I can’t help but notice some omissions from the aisle that I’d really miss if I was in Finland for a long span of time. Like, maybe…
And of course…
Followed by some of these.
But then of course they’d probably have to install a refrigerator and freezer in the American aisle, and that’d likely disrupt the whole layout of the store. But still.
The American aisle in the U.K. is just as bad. As the narrator in this video states, it’s… all candy.
But at least it’s better than in France, which has misspelled maple syrup. Not cool!
All in all, you’ve got to hand it to this store — we’re big fans of junk food, and there’s no denying it. It’s hard not to be. After all, what cures a bad day better than chocolate and a giant glass of wine? Of course, for all of you outside of America that may be reading this, yes — we alsoeat plenty of veggies, fruits, and protein just like you do.
