As promised: The German supermarket food

Approaching the end of my fourth year of playing basketball in Germany I can easily say I’ve bought my own groceries in Deutschland more than I actually have in America.  And I want to say that I applaud all mothers who do their weekly shopping and have kids: I’m 26 and I STILL don’t know all of the brands and foods that I prefer (luckily I’m not picky).  Upon my first trip down the aisles of a German supermarket it became clear that most of my favorite American foods wouldn’t be found upon their shelves.   My dad would send me a couple of packages each year with my favorite goodies but I would have to find a way to get my daily 2,000 calories or more (err on the side of more) a day.

I’m lucky enough this year that one of our sponsors is a butcher and he provides us with warm, tasty, balanced meals every day of the workweek but there are still 16 more meals and countless numbers of snacks to buy.

So, originally this blog about German food that I love was going to only include “easily travelable” items like its American counterpart however, there really aren’t as many packaged goods here as there are in America to choose from.  That being said, on top of packaged goods, I have compiled a list that includes some foods with an expiration date less than five years long, some that actually go bad within a week!  (Believe it or not, these do exist, and they are very yummy).

My Favorite German Supermarket Foods

And dare I say they are all better than the American counterpart

Gummies:  First things first: Haribo is located in Bonn, Germany and it is the biggest gummy manufacturer in the WORLD.  The gummy bears are good, yes, and so are the peach rings, but my favorite is Tropifruiti: yum.  And the gummies in Germany are so good that even the store brands will make your mouth water.

Chocolate: Come on, Europe as a whole produces much better pure chocolate than America.  Sure, we dress it up with nuts, peanut butter, and/or caramel but if you want pure, delicious chocolate then Europe is your place and again, even the cheap kinds are good.  Ritter Sport is my absolute favorite and I love their little square shapes.

Wafer cookies:  Oh my gosh, I never knew I loved wafers and chocolate (think those cheap sugar wafers that come in strawberry, chocolate, and vanilla in the U.S) until I came to Germany.  My favorite is the mixed bag that includes chocolate covered, cinnamon sprinkled, and vanilla filled wafers: amazing.  The “Manner” wafers (actually an Austrian brand) I just discovered this year and I can’t buy them anymore or they are gone within a couple days.  Many wafers in this country are filled with hazelnut, which is to Germany what peanut butter is to America.

Spekulatius cookies:  Also known as spice cookies; you can find these in stores for the Christmas season and they go so well with coffee.  I like to bring a bag home every Christmas to share with my family.

Dr. Oetker frozen pizzas:  I’m not a big frozen pizza girl, I don’t even eat any in America, but probably every month I’ll have one here in Germany on a day when I don’t feel like cooking.  Dr. Oetker is the best; my favorites are the Spinach or Hawaiian sorts.  Most of the pizzas here are thin crust opposed to the pan crust that is, I’m beginning to think, synonymous with American pizza.

Radler:  German beer, in general, is much tastier than most American beers but my favorite is the Radler.  It is an easy 40/60 mix of beer and a lemon soda (like Sprite) so they could be easily enjoyed in America as well but in Germany, Radler comes in a bottle.

Broetchen:  The translation for this word in English is “roll,” but I almost don’t want to tell you that because “roll” doesn’t even begin to describe this tasty, warm, crunchy and soft at the same time, bread.  Normally the Germans eat these at breakfast, topping them with butter, jelly, cheese, or meat.  Who am I kidding, the bread in general is a thousand times better than the bread at home.  Bakeries make fresh bread every day and Germans actually buy it fresh everyday (say what!?).

Muesli:  While Germany doesn’t have the selection of sugared cereal that America does, it does have a bigger selection of granola.  Another popular breakfast here is yogurt with granola, oats, dried fruit, and/or chocolate (known as muesli) and I have taken to that pastime as well.  I do still stick with my eggs and toast for most breakfasts but the yogurt and muesli comes in a close second and usually doubles as an afternoon snack.

Schupfnudeln:  These are sort of potato noodles that are molded into chubby finger-like shapes.  These come in air-tight packages and you just warm them up in a pan (no water) and I love to dip them in applesauce.  I really wish I could bring these home for everyone to try but maybe someday I’ll try to make them myself!

In general, there are a LOT more packaged American foods that I enjoy but the fact that there aren’t infinite amounts of packaged goods here in Germany could attribute to my healthier eating habits on the eastern side of the Atlantic.  Really though, I love food on a universal level and could find something anywhere to make my taste buds dance.