Language Mishaps at the Supermarket

[popcorn]

I am an idiot. I bought three packs of popcorn at Lidl yesterday only to find out I bought the suss ones...that means sweet, not salty!

And I even knew that salt was salz, but it didn't click in my head. Now I have a lot of sweet popcorn that is tasty, but really not what I had in mind.

What have you bought at the grocery store thinking it was one thing only to find out it was something else?

[lolo]

I bought some 'golden syrup' thinking it was, well, syrup. For pancakes.

That is some of the nastiest, watery, gross stuff I've ever had in my life. Ew. www.lylesgoldensyrup.com/

[popcorn]

What is it? Just a gross sickly sweet dessert syrup?

[aMrsin09]

I use the Golden Syrup as a one for one exchange with Corn Syrup, but I'm surprised it was watery.

[ktkl09]

DH has had langage mishaps because I ask him to buy something but he mis understands what I meant. Example: Me: "Will you buy some raisins?", he retourns with grapes, but this is an easy mistake to make in French.

When I was an au pair, during my first couple months here, I was looking for chocolate frosting an picked up thé Swiss version of Marmite (it was in à squeezable tube near the cakes mixes...). When I got home, I tasted it and had a big surprise! :-(

[lolo]

It's more of a vegetable oil/corn syrup rather than a pancake syrup. So gross on pancakes, let me tell you.

They have started stocking maple syrup over here which is amazing, even it's super costly.

[dorothyinAus]

The biggest problem I have is that I write the list with terms I use for the products -- for example I write on the list ground beef, corn meal, or raspberry jelly. Then DH reads the list and always questions what I mean.

The other confusion I have is that I still think in terms of pounds and ounces and I sometimes have trouble with the conversion to grams/kilos. That's how I ended up with 2 kilos of potatoes when I really needed 2 pounds.

[CakeLover]

May 27, 2012 5:11:52 GMT -5 dorothyinAus said:

The biggest problem I have is that I write the list with terms I use for the products -- for example I write on the list ground beef, corn meal, or raspberry jelly. Then DH reads the list and always questions what I mean.

The other confusion I have is that I still think in terms of pounds and ounces and I sometimes have trouble with the conversion to grams/kilos. That's how I ended up with 2 kilos of potatoes when I really needed 2 pounds.

Yep, that's me on a routine basis at the grocery store. Especially if I'm following a recipe. If its a recipe I do regularly, I just write all the conversions on my recipe card. Butter always kills me, cups to grams and pounds to kilos. I should be a pro once I leave here. Maybe?

[NomadicMama]

May 27, 2012 3:45:44 GMT -5 popcorn said:

What have you bought at the grocery store thinking it was one thing only to find out it was something else?

No, not yet. . . But, as you can attest, that is because I grocery shop in "the bubble" (aka the commissary). As I get more brave, I'm sure I'll end up with some unintended items!!!

Is the sweet popcorn like kettle corn?

[dorothyinAus]

May 27, 2012 6:45:24 GMT -5 NomadicMama said:

As I get more brave, I'm sure I'll end up with some unintended items!!!

Definitely brave the local supermarket, even if your first visit is just a scouting mission. I try to visit a local grocery in every place I visit, just to see what's the same and what's different.

[NomadicMama]

May 27, 2012 7:23:44 GMT -5 dorothyinAus said:

May 27, 2012 6:45:24 GMT -5 NomadicMama said:

As I get more brave, I'm sure I'll end up with some unintended items!!!

Definitely brave the local supermarket, even if your first visit is just a scouting mission. I try to visit a local grocery in every place I visit, just to see what's the same and what's different.

Oh, I've been to a couple of supermarkets--more to scope. I just haven't bought something with an intended purpose or need only to find out it wasn't what I thought it was. One can't go wrong buying milk and Ritter Sport chocolate bars!

[crimsonandclover]

May 27, 2012 5:31:19 GMT -5 CakeLover said:

May 27, 2012 5:11:52 GMT -5 dorothyinAus said:

The biggest problem I have is that I write the list with terms I use for the products -- for example I write on the list ground beef, corn meal, or raspberry jelly. Then DH reads the list and always questions what I mean.

The other confusion I have is that I still think in terms of pounds and ounces and I sometimes have trouble with the conversion to grams/kilos. That's how I ended up with 2 kilos of potatoes when I really needed 2 pounds.

Yep, that's me on a routine basis at the grocery store. Especially if I'm following a recipe. If its a recipe I do regularly, I just write all the conversions on my recipe card. Butter always kills me, cups to grams and pounds to kilos. I should be a pro once I leave here. Maybe?

Yeah, I've lived in Germany for 9 years and still have problems with butter. The basic lb/kilo conversion I'm usually ok with. But here's a great site for all that crappy volume/weight cooking conversion stuff:

www.recipes4us.co.uk/us_cups_to_weight.htm

And my mishap was buying "brown sugar" thinking it would be like American brown sugar. No, it was literally just cane sugar that was brown. Oops.

[clogged]

Oh the brown sugar got me, too!! Usually I have issues with people swearing something is X and I buy on faith, but it isn't X at all.

"Klopfix" isn't baking powder, it's more purely chemical version of cream of tartar.
"stroop" from friesland isn't molasses, it's stroop (syrup, like golden syrup). from friesland
"maizena" isn't corn meal but corn starch
"advocaat" is not egg nog. not even close. It's highly alcoholic egg yolks and nasty as hell.

[bugabean]

Some people like corn syrup on their pancakes. Not me, mind you, but I have known people (in the States) to do this on purpose, for whatever reason.

[ktkl09]

My mom used to put powder sugar and corn syrup on our pancakes as a special treat, I remember loving it.

[allibally]

I brought home Chocolate Popcorn thinking it was Carmel. I didn't even look at the wording on the package. If I did it would of been obvious.

Somethings I bought and knew what they were and they just tasted terrible. I'm looking at you pastel color cardboard Fruit Loops.

[elenetxu]

May 27, 2012 16:13:35 GMT -5 allibally said:

Somethings I bought and knew what they were and they just tasted terrible. I'm looking at you pastel color cardboard Fruit Loops.

I was deceived by bagel look-alikes here in Spain months back. That was a HUGE letdown.

[allibally]

May 27, 2012 16:19:06 GMT -5 elenetxu said:

May 27, 2012 16:13:35 GMT -5 allibally said:

Somethings I bought and knew what they were and they just tasted terrible. I'm looking at you pastel color cardboard Fruit Loops.

I was deceived by bagel look-alikes here in Spain months back. That was a HUGE letdown.

An "American" donut at the local takeaway in Switzerland. Oh lord it was so terrible. It had fake flavored strawberry frosting inside the donut. Blergh. I still can think about that.

[travelingturtle]

I was also let down with Fruit Loops, Skittles, M&Ms and the oreos. It's odd, but I don't mind the oreos that I can get at the check-out line, but when I buy the oreos that come in the bigger package I'm not a fan. I also don't like to get Asian food unless it's at an Asian market. My lesson learned is that if it's a sweet object, it's best to get something that I'm not familiar with instead.

I did buy an Apple Gelle hoping it was going to be like apple jelly, but it wasn't.

[crimsonandclover]

Occasionally Aldi has an American week, and the bagels they have are really pretty good. I bought 2 packages, but the next time they sell them I'm stocking up and putting them in the freezer.

[aMrsin09]

May 27, 2012 19:23:16 GMT -5 @publius said:

May 27, 2012 16:26:40 GMT -5 travelingturtle said:

I was also let down with Fruit Loops, Skittles, M&Ms and the oreos. It's odd, but I don't mind the oreos that I can get at the check-out line, but when I buy the oreos that come in the bigger package I'm not a fan. I also don't like to get Asian food unless it's at an Asian market. My lesson learned is that if it's a sweet object, it's best to get something that I'm not familiar with instead.

I've made the mistake of not reading the Froot Loops box before purchasing. I was so excited to see it that I didn't notice it declaring in three different languages that it was, "made with no sugar!" until it was too late. Who wants to eat Froot Loops if there isn't a cup of excess colored sugar at the bottom of the bag?

Doesn't that just make them coloured Cheerios?

[allibally]

May 27, 2012 18:15:01 GMT -5 crimsonandclover said:

Occasionally Aldi has an American week, and the bagels they have are really pretty good. I bought 2 packages, but the next time they sell them I'm stocking up and putting them in the freezer.

In 2010 it was at the end of July beginning of August. We had a mishap at the one in Switzerland and I never went again really.

But they had really good products for American Week.

[allibally]

May 27, 2012 19:44:14 GMT -5 aMrsin09 said:

May 27, 2012 19:23:16 GMT -5 @publius said:

I've made the mistake of not reading the Froot Loops box before purchasing. I was so excited to see it that I didn't notice it declaring in three different languages that it was, "made with no sugar!" until it was too late. Who wants to eat Froot Loops if there isn't a cup of excess colored sugar at the bottom of the bag?

Doesn't that just make them coloured Cheerios?

They were flavored with fruits. But they all tasted the same to me. And they tasted terrible. Cheerios are delicious the European Fruit Loops are not.

[blushing]

I have had a giggle at this thread, I grew up calling golden syrup just syrup, that is the standard in SA. And in SA we call cornflour Maizena so when I came over here I had to google what the actual product was, but in my head I still call it Maizena.

[mouseinlux]

I've been rather lucky and my only mistake has been boiled eggs instead of eggs as I didn't read the package.

Oh wait, I got muesli bed rolls thinking that they just had lots of oats etc in them...when I put tuna and cheese on I discovered that raisins didn't taste too bad in that combination

My mum once got strawberry flavored cottage cheese, nasty surprise when you put it on a sandwich to eat!

[ktkl09]

Oh god the fruit loops, bagels and donuts are here are so nasty. But still I buy thé bagels and cover them in cream cheese ;-)

[popcorn]

Well now I know what to look out for! Ew to the fruit loops.

[Deleted]

It took me a really long time to realize that "rocket" is arugula, and that "coriander" is actually cilantro (they come from the same plant...the leafy part is what americans call cilantro, and the seed is what americans call coriander -- but to the Brits it's all just coriander). Oh yeah, and that "courgettes" are zucchini.

[GilliC]

I can never remember the names of the cuts of meat in Norwegian. It drives me nuts. Aside from the ridiculous price, this is the biggest reason I don't buy meat very often!

[wise_rita]

May 28, 2012 4:55:51 GMT -5 @villainv said:

It took me a really long time to realize that "rocket" is arugula, and that "coriander" is actually cilantro (they come from the same plant...the leafy part is what americans call cilantro, and the seed is what americans call coriander -- but to the Brits it's all just coriander). Oh yeah, and that "courgettes" are zucchini.

When using the self-checkout at the grocery store in Oz I had to ask the helper person what a courgette was called. At home we call it a squash (I guess a Norwegian translation? I don't know, DBF brought that word into our home) and in the UK it was courgette.

I had no idea to look for it under zucchini.

I haz smarts.