# Incredibly common products which the store clerk never heard of **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [September 23, 2021, 9:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/incredibly-common-products-which-the-store-clerk-never-heard-of/951225 "2021-09-23T21:29:40Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 9
**Author:** ![ThelmaLou](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thelmalou/32/390_2.png) [@ThelmaLou](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ThelmaLou)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2021, 8:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/incredibly-common-products-which-the-store-clerk-never-heard-of/951225/161 "2021-09-25T20:40:36Z")
> [@Broomstick](#): > > Yes, but the store I work at almost never has red jalepeños, just the green ones. Someone upthread commented that their store is getting in some red jalapenos, almost as if they were a different pepper. ---
**Author:** ![puzzlegal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puzzlegal/32/3827_2.png) [@puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puzzlegal)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2021, 8:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/incredibly-common-products-which-the-store-clerk-never-heard-of/951225/162 "2021-09-25T20:44:31Z")
> [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](#): > > Now suet, that’s a modern mystery. I have a chili recipe that wants suet but no one carries it. (and considering what it is, maybe they shouldn’t!). Does your store have a butcher? Ask the butcher. They no doubt create some suet when the trim the beef. ---
**Author:** ![thorny\_locust](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thorny_locust/32/431_2.png) [@thorny\_locust](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thorny_locust)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2021, 8:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/incredibly-common-products-which-the-store-clerk-never-heard-of/951225/163 "2021-09-25T20:45:47Z")
> [@ThelmaLou](#): > > Someone upthread commented that their store is getting in some red jalapenos, almost as if they were a different pepper And I’ve seen gardening advice sites claiming that jalapenos ripen black. No, they don’t. They do indeed ripen red. That black is how they react, at green stage, to a lot of sun exposure: think of it as a kind of sunburn, though it doesn’t hurt the pepper (and won’t hurt you if you eat it). ---
**Author:** ![Nars\_Glinley](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/nars_glinley/32/8177_2.png) [@Nars\_Glinley](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nars_Glinley)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2021, 8:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/incredibly-common-products-which-the-store-clerk-never-heard-of/951225/164 "2021-09-25T20:52:51Z")
IME, the chocolate ones are Long Johns and the maple ones are maple logs or maple bars. ---
**Author:** ![JaneDoe42](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/janedoe42/32/14104_2.png) [@JaneDoe42](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JaneDoe42)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2021, 8:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/incredibly-common-products-which-the-store-clerk-never-heard-of/951225/165 "2021-09-25T20:53:25Z")
> [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](#): > > Now suet, that’s a modern mystery. I have a chili recipe that wants suet but no one carries it. (and considering what it is, maybe they shouldn’t!). Suet is just rendered beef organ fat, you can make it yourself. Do it on a camp stove outside, it reeks. I hope your recipe is a good one, I rendered suet once and it was a stinky mess. I just buy it now. ---
**Author:** ![SmartAleq](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smartaleq/32/163_2.png) [@SmartAleq](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SmartAleq)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2021, 9:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/incredibly-common-products-which-the-store-clerk-never-heard-of/951225/166 "2021-09-25T21:05:17Z")
If you have Mexican tiendas in your town you can see about getting some “manteca,” which, locally at least, means the fat that renders out from making chicharrones (pork belly strips, like uncured bacon, slow baked to crispness) and it’s like a non-salty bacon fat and works beautifully in most south of the border recipes. ---
**Author:** ![Dr.Strangelove](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dr.strangelove/32/6613_2.png) [@Dr.Strangelove](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Strangelove)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2021, 9:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/incredibly-common-products-which-the-store-clerk-never-heard-of/951225/167 "2021-09-25T21:08:23Z")
> [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](#): > > I think our store has it, but I’m not sure I’ve seen in on the shelf. It might be in the Mexican foods area (if you have one), labeled _manteca_. Around here, the tubs/boxes may say _lard_ in small letters, but _manteca_ is always more prominent. ETA: Ninjaed! Sorta. I’m talking just about normal supermarket brands, like Armour. It’s the exact same product as lard, just with different labeling. ---
**Author:** ![SmartAleq](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smartaleq/32/163_2.png) [@SmartAleq](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SmartAleq)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2021, 10:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/incredibly-common-products-which-the-store-clerk-never-heard-of/951225/168 "2021-09-25T22:39:44Z")
> [@Dr.Strangelove](#): > > ETA: Ninjaed! Sorta. I’m talking just about normal supermarket brands, like Armour. Haha, I was in a tienda and they had a sign up for “manteca” and I was actually expecting white, non rendered lard in a green box but nope, got this light brown, amazing smelling deliciousness instead–four bucks for like a quart jar of the stuff. Seriously, the best tasting fat for cooking imaginable. ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2021, 10:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/incredibly-common-products-which-the-store-clerk-never-heard-of/951225/169 "2021-09-25T22:57:14Z")
_The white, egg-shaped varieties of the eggplant’s fruits are also known as garden eggs ,[[24]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eggplant#cite_note-24) a term first attested in 1811.[[25]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eggplant#cite_note-25) The Oxford English Dictionary records that between 1797 and 1888, the name vegetable egg was also used.[[26]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eggplant#cite_note-26)_ - Wiki ---
**Author:** ![Peter\_Morris](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/peter_morris/32/359_2.png) [@Peter\_Morris](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peter_Morris)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2021, 11:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/incredibly-common-products-which-the-store-clerk-never-heard-of/951225/171 "2021-09-25T23:54:47Z")
UK, 1986. Away at University, and living on campus. My student cookbook had a recipe that required something called sour cream. So I went to the campus supermarket. The nearest other shop was several miles away. I couldn’t find sour cream. I asked the assistant for sour cream. Answer : all our cream is fresh. I tried to explain the concept of sour cream. Answer: if cream goes sour we throw it away. I explained that there is this thing called sour cream used in dips and sauces and other things. Answer : sounds disgusting, and we don’t sell it. I asked if they could possibly order a pot for me. Answer: why don’t you just buy some cream and let it go sour? A few months ago. I asked in my local supermarket for egg salad. I was shown a green leaf salad with a cold boiled egg. No, I explained, I want chopped boiled egg in mayo. Blank stare - they had never even heard of the concept. They eventually understood that it’s like potato salad, but with egg instead of potato Even then, they didn’t know if they sold it or not. ---
**Author:** ![OldOlds](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/a3d4f5/32.png) [@OldOlds](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OldOlds)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2021, 12:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/incredibly-common-products-which-the-store-clerk-never-heard-of/951225/172 "2021-09-26T00:45:41Z")
My wife makes old fashioned mince meat, with real meat. She gets her suet from the local Wegmans. ---
**Author:** ![puzzlegal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puzzlegal/32/3827_2.png) [@puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puzzlegal)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2021, 12:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/incredibly-common-products-which-the-store-clerk-never-heard-of/951225/173 "2021-09-26T00:47:18Z")
> [@thorny\_locust](#): > > – And Discourse has given me an award for popular link, for the link to pictures of grass whips. This is mildly interesting but also a bit confounding, because I’m pretty sure this is the first time I’ve gotten that award, and I’ve certainly posted links to things I thought were a lot more important to look at than pictures of grass whips. > > – Dried mushrooms I have both seen and used. I’m not sure whether all the local groceries carry them, but some do. The interest in your link suggests that lots of posters wondered what a grass whip is. I happened to be in the supermarket today, and noticed a display rack of many types of dried mushroom. I took a photo, but then remembered this site doesn’t host photos. 🙁 Anyway, lots of kinds of dried mushroom available in my local supermarket. The display was in the produce section, sort of between the dried fruits and nuts and the fresh produce. It was actually very close to the fresh mushrooms. ---
**Author:** ![thorny\_locust](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thorny_locust/32/431_2.png) [@thorny\_locust](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thorny_locust)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2021, 1:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/incredibly-common-products-which-the-store-clerk-never-heard-of/951225/174 "2021-09-26T01:17:46Z")
> [@puzzlegal](#): > > The interest in your link suggests that lots of posters wondered what a grass whip is. True. And that not nearly as many wondered about any of the other stuff I’ve posted. ---
**Author:** ![purplehorseshoe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/purplehorseshoe/32/2996_2.png) [@purplehorseshoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/purplehorseshoe)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2021, 1:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/incredibly-common-products-which-the-store-clerk-never-heard-of/951225/175 "2021-09-26T01:39:08Z")
> [@puzzlegal](#): > > this site doesn’t host photos. Sure it does. But it’s a lot easier to do on a laptop/desktop, and I almost exclusively Dope from my phone. So I don’t remember the instructions (sorry!) but basically you post the image link. ---
**Author:** ![ThelmaLou](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thelmalou/32/390_2.png) [@ThelmaLou](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ThelmaLou)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2021, 2:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/incredibly-common-products-which-the-store-clerk-never-heard-of/951225/176 "2021-09-26T02:00:16Z")
I can upload photos directly from my phone to the imgur mobile site. Instant post-able image link. ---
**Author:** ![Asuka](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/dec6dc/32.png) [@Asuka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Asuka)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2021, 2:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/incredibly-common-products-which-the-store-clerk-never-heard-of/951225/177 "2021-09-26T02:09:40Z")
I was at a Target a decade ago buying cooking supplies for a cake I was baking. I asked a clerk “Where are the measuring cups?” And the (male) clerk asked me completely seriously “For bra cups?” before I clarified for baking. Now ever since it’s had me wonder if there are indeed large cups women can place their breasts in to measure their cup size. ---
**Author:** ![Smapti](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smapti/32/17938_2.png) [@Smapti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smapti)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2021, 2:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/incredibly-common-products-which-the-store-clerk-never-heard-of/951225/178 "2021-09-26T02:10:33Z")
As a grocery store clerk, I often encounter the opposite of this problem - a customer is looking for a common product, but they’re using a regionalism for it that I’m unfamiliar with, or have a “unique” name for it that they seem to expect everyone to be familiar with. I recently found myself learning that “salsa inglesa” is what Spanish-speaking peoples call Worcestershire sauce when I had a woman asking me where the “English sauce” was located and me having no idea what she meant until she showed me a picture on her phone. A coworker of mine recently had a man asking for “papajohn cheese”, which is what he seemed to think Parmesan was called. A few years ago I had an old-timer looking for fry sauce ask me where “the goo” was. I could go on for hours in that vein. ---
**Author:** ![puzzlegal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puzzlegal/32/3827_2.png) [@puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puzzlegal)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2021, 2:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/incredibly-common-products-which-the-store-clerk-never-heard-of/951225/179 "2021-09-26T02:28:35Z")
> [@purplehorseshoe](#): > > Sure it does. But it’s a lot easier to do on a laptop/desktop, and I almost exclusively Dope from my phone. > > So I don’t remember the instructions (sorry!) but basically you post the image link. Naw, to show an image here, you need to upload it to some other site first, and then link it. It’s against the rules to upload it here. (Although not completely impossible. One or two posters have done it.) I don’t want to mess with creating an account on yet another site, and leaving a photo lying around there if the only point is to show it here. My other two Discourse sites allow photo uploading directly, so I tend to forget that this one doesn’t. ---
**Author:** ![mixdenny](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mixdenny/32/2962_2.png) [@mixdenny](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mixdenny)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2021, 3:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/incredibly-common-products-which-the-store-clerk-never-heard-of/951225/180 "2021-09-26T03:49:03Z")
> [@Ruken](#): > > I was looking for pitas in a now-closed grocery in Urbana, IL, and the staff had no idea what I was talking about. Flatbread? Pocket bread? Nope… Pita is pocket bread as far as I know. ---
**Author:** ![DesertDog](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/desertdog/32/11503_2.png) [@DesertDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DesertDog)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2021, 4:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/incredibly-common-products-which-the-store-clerk-never-heard-of/951225/181 "2021-09-26T04:19:40Z")
> [@thorny\_locust](#): > > True. And that not nearly as many wondered about any of the other stuff I’ve posted. “Ohhhh. _Grass_ whip – I missed the ‘gr’” [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/incredibly-common-products-which-the-store-clerk-never-heard-of/951225.md?page=8) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/incredibly-common-products-which-the-store-clerk-never-heard-of/951225.md?page=10)