# Stuff that you can only get in the US **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [July 20, 2002, 7:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stuff-that-you-can-only-get-in-the-us/119951 "2002-07-20T07:03:53Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Motorgirl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e36b37/32.png) [@Motorgirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Motorgirl)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2002, 5:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stuff-that-you-can-only-get-in-the-us/119951/21 "2002-07-20T17:50:13Z")
Not sure if these products are truly unique to the US, but… For several years we had an apartment-mate from Austria. He was fascinated by and became addicted to several foods while he was here, so we served them at his going away party, and also gave him large quantities as a going-away present. Easy-Cheese (a metal squirt can which purports to be full of real cheese). Possibly made by Nabisco, but I’d have to check the label. Nestle Quik/NesQuik (yeah, I know Nestle isn’t a US company, but he looooved the containers of chocolate milk, and drank at least one every day). Since we didn’t think milk would travel well, we made him a gift of a Costco-sized cannister of it in its powdered form. Kraft Macaroni n Cheese (Dinner) - he loved this stuff. I know this is ultra-popular in Canada, but I don’t know about Europe. And when a friend of mine was living in Switzerland for a few years I sent him regular care packages of Oreos, Chips A Hoy, Kraft Mac-n-Cheese and Hamburger Helper. (the poor guy couldn’t cook and complained that Swiss cookies weren’t sweet enough). ---
**Author:** ![MattK](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/76d3ee/32.png) [@MattK](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MattK)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2002, 11:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stuff-that-you-can-only-get-in-the-us/119951/22 "2002-07-20T23:06:26Z")
US stuff I can’t get here in Germany, but I’d love to have: Mountain Dew (illegal because of some ingredient) Almond M&Ms Nerds Skittles Snapple drinks Vanilla Coke Sweet peanut butter (ours tastes weird) Real marshmellows ---
**Author:** ![Kilt-wearin\_man](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/82dd89/32.png) [@Kilt-wearin\_man](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kilt-wearin_man)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2002, 11:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stuff-that-you-can-only-get-in-the-us/119951/23 "2002-07-20T23:52:15Z")
Decent salsa/picante sauce- I dunno about most of the world, but a friend who married an Aussie said that the stuff they had that claimed to be “salsa” was more like ketchup with onions in it. Ick. ---
**Author:** ![Sunspace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sunspace/32/1250_2.png) [@Sunspace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sunspace)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2002, 1:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stuff-that-you-can-only-get-in-the-us/119951/24 "2002-07-21T01:20:46Z")
> [@](#): > > Fortunatly for the rest of the world, Marmite doesn’t seem to have emigrated out of Britain yet. I found it next to the spices in a Loblaws food store near Ryerson University in Toronto. The store sells cleaning and home maintenance supplies as well as food, so that probably explains its prescence. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Mudshark](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f04885/32.png) [@Mudshark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mudshark)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2002, 2:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stuff-that-you-can-only-get-in-the-us/119951/25 "2002-07-21T02:59:41Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by EggNogg \* > \*\*Fortunatly for the rest of the world, Marmite doesn’t seem to have emigrated out of Britain yet. > > egg \*\* I have Marmite in my kitchen. My father thought it was a “good” idea to buy it. ---
**Author:** ![monica](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a183cd/32.png) [@monica](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/monica)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2002, 3:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stuff-that-you-can-only-get-in-the-us/119951/26 "2002-07-21T03:14:49Z")
Already in Use, I actually saw Native American statues in a tourist shop in Greece. ---
**Author:** ![divemaster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/divemaster/32/78_2.png) [@divemaster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/divemaster)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2002, 6:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stuff-that-you-can-only-get-in-the-us/119951/27 "2002-07-21T06:50:35Z")
Ok, you guys. **WHAT THE F** \* IS ‘MARMITE’??!!\*\* 😛 ---
**Author:** ![Equipoise](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/equipoise/32/151_2.png) [@Equipoise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Equipoise)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2002, 7:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stuff-that-you-can-only-get-in-the-us/119951/28 "2002-07-21T07:43:17Z")
We went to England a few years ago and a friend studying there _BEGGED_ us to bring her some Captain Crunch cereal and Kool-Aid. I know, I know, but we took her some anyway. She also said that strawberries aren’t that big over there, but we didn’t even try to bring her any. ---
**Author:** ![Urban\_Ranger](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/e9c0ed/32.png) [@Urban\_Ranger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Urban_Ranger)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2002, 8:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stuff-that-you-can-only-get-in-the-us/119951/29 "2002-07-21T08:04:21Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Spoons \* > But there’s an idea, **ClarificC** : American candy. \*\* The only good US candy is jelly beans. Otherwise Belgian and Swiss chocolates beat you by a mile. ---
**Author:** ![Urban\_Ranger](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/e9c0ed/32.png) [@Urban\_Ranger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Urban_Ranger)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2002, 8:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stuff-that-you-can-only-get-in-the-us/119951/30 "2002-07-21T08:09:07Z")
I would say Native American handicraft. ---
**Author:** ![Kal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/9de053/32.png) [@Kal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kal)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2002, 7:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stuff-that-you-can-only-get-in-the-us/119951/31 "2002-07-21T19:37:33Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Equipoise \* > \*\*We went to England a few years ago and a friend studying there _BEGGED_ us to bring her some Captain Crunch cereal and Kool-Aid. \*\* If your friend is still in England, tell her to try Golden Nuggets - They are a different shape but taste just like original flavour Captain Crunch. ---
**Author:** ![AHunter3](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ahunter3/32/368_2.png) [@AHunter3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AHunter3)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2002, 8:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stuff-that-you-can-only-get-in-the-us/119951/32 "2002-07-21T20:05:55Z")
I would imagine that corn on the cob, butternut squash, acorn squash, rutabaga, watermelon, tangerines, and possibly blueberries (?) would be hard to find if you weren’t in the US. 'Course, most of that isn’t terribly practical to ship, I suppose. ---
**Author:** ![Lissla\_Lissar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/8491ac/32.png) [@Lissla\_Lissar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lissla_Lissar)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2002, 8:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stuff-that-you-can-only-get-in-the-us/119951/33 "2002-07-21T20:07:48Z")
Marmite is a weird British spread- I’ve heard it’s similar to Bovril- a meat flavoured spread made out of yeast. Someone correct me if I’m wrong. You can get it all over Toronto, and I have friends that eat it. I’ve never tried it, though. ---
**Author:** ![Duckster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/duckster/32/1244_2.png) [@Duckster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Duckster)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2002, 12:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stuff-that-you-can-only-get-in-the-us/119951/34 "2002-07-22T00:39:09Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by kittenblue \* > Perhaps times have changed, but when friends went traveling years ago, they took their own toilet paper because the european stuff wasn’t as user friendly as our squeezably soft stuff. The TP they brought back was really really awful. But as I said, perhaps times have changed. Perhaps this is why Americans are hated around the world - our toilet paper. We can never truly be hard asses like the rest of the world when our toilet paper is so squeezeably soft. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Neurotik](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/91b2a8/32.png) [@Neurotik](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Neurotik)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2002, 2:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stuff-that-you-can-only-get-in-the-us/119951/35 "2002-07-22T02:29:53Z")
Nonsense, when I was in the UK, I found the toilet paper to be soft, quilted and very very luxurious. I can only hope that is a trend throughout Europe, as when I was in Spain a few years ago it was like wiping with parchment paper. ---
**Author:** ![tritone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/8e7dd6/32.png) [@tritone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tritone)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2002, 3:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stuff-that-you-can-only-get-in-the-us/119951/36 "2002-07-22T03:31:34Z")
I’ve heard a rumour that you can get peanut-butter M&M’s in the USA, and I’ve certainly never seen those anywhere else - just as well, I suppose, cos if they sold them over here I’d probably be well and truly addicted by now. For a long time, we couldn’t get Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups over here, and every time anyone in the family went to the USA they would bring back bagfuls of the things. Yup, I’d definitely go with the American candy/chocolate idea 🙂 Marmite is disgusting. Vegemite is delicious. Yes, there _is_ a difference. ---
**Author:** ![Neurotik](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/91b2a8/32.png) [@Neurotik](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Neurotik)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2002, 3:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stuff-that-you-can-only-get-in-the-us/119951/37 "2002-07-22T03:35:57Z")
I can confirm the peanut butter M&Ms and they are the absolutely best M&Ms ever created (I will **NOT** argue about this!). Maybe I’ll send you a bag for your birthday 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Karellen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/779978/32.png) [@Karellen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Karellen)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2002, 4:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stuff-that-you-can-only-get-in-the-us/119951/38 "2002-07-22T04:50:58Z")
Porn. (Depending on what country your friends are going to.) ---
**Author:** ![Leifsmama](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/a698b9/32.png) [@Leifsmama](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leifsmama)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2002, 5:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stuff-that-you-can-only-get-in-the-us/119951/39 "2002-07-22T05:15:23Z")
When I went to France I took maple syrup to the family I stayed with. They poured it over ice cream. ---
**Author:** ![Sivalensis](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c4cdca/32.png) [@Sivalensis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sivalensis)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2002, 6:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stuff-that-you-can-only-get-in-the-us/119951/40 "2002-07-22T18:19:41Z")
i lived in france and was actually able to find one brand of maple syrup (the real stuff) and peanut butter in the store (in a backwater town). things i couldn’t find were: orange soda (the minute maid kind, the stuff that looks like toxis orange sludge. they have plenty of orangina type) -root beer -decent salsa -decent tortilla chips -popcorn (except in movie theaters) -decent cookies (though the other pastries are good) -pepper flakes (for anyone who wants to make red beans and rice) -pumpkin pie mix -stuff with mint in it i found lots of candy over there. they have candy bars and such, though not as much as sugar candy (there are really good peach gummies). don’t you dare bring chocolate like hershey’s…the chocolate from chocolatiers (shops) is miles above anything made over here or in britain (sorry guys), though cadbury is good and sold year round there _grin_ [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stuff-that-you-can-only-get-in-the-us/119951.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stuff-that-you-can-only-get-in-the-us/119951.md?page=3)