Well, another Christmas over and I'm sure the supermarkets in England are proudly displaying the Easter Eggs already, which is a good thing as I, for one, can't get enough of that loveliness that is a Cadbury's Creme Egg.
I have a secret stash here in my cellar as you cannot buy them in Germany so I rely on visiting Englanders to keep me supplied. I now only have one left........ but I'm not going into panic mode just yet as I have visitors coming in a couple of weeks to top up the contraband!
However, the diminishing supplies got me thinking - what are the foodie bits I miss most from back home? I know I could probably get most of them here if I really tried - but it's not quite the same as popping into Sainsburys.
So here you have it - my 'Friday Five' - those things I can't do without.....
5)Bacon - in the land where pork is almost raised to a godlike state, the state of bacon is, suffice it to say, absolutely shocking. Fine if you want lardons to start of a stew or soup, and fine if you want very thin strips of streaky to wrap around things - but if you're after a bacon sarnie or bacon and eggs for breakfast, then it's disappointing. All that seems to be on offer is very, very thin, small rashers of streaky bacon. On the very odd occasion I see back bacon in the shops (it's marketed as 'English Bacon') you only seem to get 4 rashers to a pack so you'd have to empty the store if you wanted to make the family bacon butties for breakfast. Good smoked back bacon is another of those foodstuffs I make sure I fill up on when home, and ask those coming over to smuggle with them, sometimes only a bacon sarnie will do to start the day!
4) Self Raising Flour, yes, I know you can make your own but I never, and I mean never, manage to get it just right. As a result, some of my baking has become quite interesting - in a not very appetising way. And yes, you can find it in 'Ethnic Supermarkets' (though not in the Turkish ones I've been to) but that requires finding the right sort of shop and making a special trip, instead I come back with kilo's of it from the UK!
3) Crisps - proper ones that is - not the pale imitations you find here - pappy, paprika flavour.... nope - I want a burn your mouth salt and vinegar, a scrumptious prawn cocktail, even a ready salted kettle chip. Now yes, you can get some of these here, but - and it's a big BUT, paying 3Eur plus a pack for kettle chips - no siree, and the salt and 'vinegar' flavour you can get here doesn't deserve the name. So I always need to stock up when home. Actually, you could also add here twiglets (see no1 for the real reason!) and Bombay Mix which I've not seen anywhere here.
2) Cadbury's Chocolate - Creme Eggs, Dairy Milk, Crunchies...... I'm not that fussy when it comes to the purple stuff!
1) Marmite - food of the Gods - need I say more?
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ha ha - I hadn't read this when I wrote my bacon post... Yes I agree with all of those - when I lived in France (despite all the yumminess that surrounded me there) I always ALWAYS had a jar of marmite with me, and I remember once driving 2 hours to Toulouse to visit the M&S that had opened to source custard powder.
ReplyDeleteOh - good old Bird's - always have a tub or two of that in the supplies too..... 'Vanilla Sauce' is a very pale imitation of proper custard!
ReplyDeleteOh how I miss bacon! And fish & chips and an Indian takeaway - any takeaway for that matter! I love France and the food here is incredible, but without a good Friday night takeaway, I feel lost.
ReplyDeleteI'm with you on the takeaways there - good Indian food is very hard to come by here - and the chinese takeaway just isn't the same. It's also on the list of required eats when back 'home'.... along with fish & chips and cornish pasties!
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