Grocery Shopping in Germany

5 Things That Shocked Me About European Grocery Stores (As A Canadian Living In Germany)

     Before my trip, I researched some of the differences between living in Canada versus Germany. I learned that the outlets are different, that the food would be higher quality, and to expect most people would speak at least a little bit of english. However, the longer I'm here the more differences I keep finding. 

    While theres plenty of department stores and big name brands that hold more resemblance to their North American relatives, the local grocery stores show less familiarities. So, as a Canadian living in Germany, here are 5 things at the grocery store that shocked me the most. 

Unrefrigerated Milk and Eggs 

    

    This one made me do some research because I had never seen eggs or milk in an isle like this. Apparently, milk is pasteurized at a higher temperature over here which kills all bacteria that can make it spoil. Since it is sterilized it is actually shelf stable! 

    This means you can sell it in the isle instead of needing fridge space. Of course, once opened it wouldn't be sterile any more so it should be kept cold, but you could buy a bunch and put them in your pantry unopened like you would pasta sauce. 

    As for the eggs, they aren't washed! It's common to open your carton and find feathers and little pieces of straw on the eggs. 

    We had chickens when I was younger, so I knew how eggs have their own protective coating on them. This is called the cuticle and it keeps bacteria out incase the shell is fractured. It comes off when you wash them- which is usually required in North America. 

    Since it isn't a requirement to wash the eggs here, most companies won't so that they can stay at room temperature.

Nutri-Score

    I had to take a picture of the 'chocolate chips' over here! 

    On most packaged foods like this- even packaged produce and dairy products, there is a little label called a nutri-score. It's meant to show customers the nutritional value so they can choose the healthiest options more easily. 

    It still makes us giggle because of course treats and junk food are not 'healthy' so they are labelled 'E', but we didn't need a label to tell us that. Apparently it is a newer system- it was introduced in Germany in 2020. It isn't legally required by every company but it's very common.

Packaging

        We first noticed the sizes were very different than home when we were shopping for bagels. The largest package we could find in grocery stores was a pack of 4, while at home it's normal to buy them in packs of 6. All the packaged food was smaller or sometimes half the size we would see in Canada. 

    We noticed this pack of tiny waffles labelled XXL- and it made us laugh because it wouldn't feed either of our families for breakfast or last very long as a snack. I think some Europeans might have a heart attack if they stepped into a Costco back home or a Walmart in the states:) 

 Pickle Flavoured Ketchup? 

    Actually, the common condiment (besides mayonaise on EVERYTHING) is curry-ketchup! I still haven't wrapped my head around that one yet, I don't hate it but it is so confusing for my tastebuds. 

    We were trying to be careful not to buy the curry one that we didn't notice this one was pickle flavoured😂. I had made a comment that the recipe was definitely different over here, but I couldn't put my finger on what it was. This is a snapshot from the moment Ethan noticed it ^. 

    Now that we know, it's actually good- but when you're expecting classic Ketchup it will make you take another tentative bite! 

   

Signs and Prices

    One of the bigger grocery stores near us (selection similar to a Walmart at home) has store signs like this in bright red. With the large exclamation marks, I thought they were warning signs- but they are just regular isle markers.  

     It might have been in my head, but I felt like the alarming colours put me on edge and made me want to hurry and get our shopping over with as fast as possible😂. 

    Something that also keeps making me take a double take is the pricing labels being above the product instead of below it on the shelf. This brand of energy drink is like a knock off Redbull that I haven't seen anywhere else, and you can see is only 0.45€ compared to the Redbull for 1.39€. 

     Oh! I guess I've already given 5 examples but this reminded me how surprised I was to find out taxes are included in the label prices, so shopping on a budget is a lot simpler!

... 

    Those are some of the main differences I've noticed while shopping! I will probably make some separate posts about the other day to day things that have shocked me while being here, but until then..

Ciao ciao for now:)