I would miss giardiniera. Speaking of… last weekend we went to Edzo’s in Evanston and they had fries covered in giardiniera. They were… amazing. I’m lost in thought thinking about them.
I’m sorry. What were we talking about?
Outside North America, maple syrup.
I once tried to bake a Pecan Pie in Germany. Tough finding pecans but then could not find corn syrup, brown sugar or graham crackers. When I described them, all were considered for livestock only.
I’ve lived in foreign countries. I was way too busy chowing down on local cuisine to really miss something, but as soon as I got back home, it was time for a serious bowl of chili.
My Australian mother-in-law, who was in the U.S. for our wedding nearly 11 years ago, STILL complains about American donuts. I didn’t really notice a huge difference - they’re a bit cakier in Australia, but donuts = yum in both countries, as far as I’m concerned.
We were on the Central Coast, NSW. I didn’t actually think to ask the butcher - that would have been a good idea!
Israel to US.
I miss Falafel. Oh, and if you go into some Falafel joint and they say do you want tzatziki and you say do you have tchina and they say what and you say do you have Tahini, trying to accomodate possible variations in accent, and they stare at you… who set this store up? What is this, a joke? It’s a very cruel joke!
Marzipan - why can’t you find any in the US?
And coffee. A good cappuccino. You can’t find a decent cup of coffee in the entire US, and I’ll stake my life on that.
Not too easy to find outside of Chicago, even less overseas, I’ll bet.
Was this a while ago? Because all the supermarkets I’ve been into in France sell maple syrup - Casino even make their own brand of it. And brown sugar is widely available.
I’ve got no idea what corn syrup or graham crackers are/look like, so you’re almost certainly right there, but your other two things are common, at least now.
It’s sold at Wal Mart here, so it’s presumably available at pretty much any other super center as well.
I haven’t eaten meat in nearly 10 years but American friends of mine love Irish sausages, I think you just need to get a quality brand.
With regard to pizza, I think perhaps it matters what region of the US you’re coming from because the pizza I’ve had in Ohio say was only passable and not nearly as good as a few of the local places here. I imagine NYC or Chicago would be better bets. TBH growing up we heard the myth of American pizza but when I first visited NYC I thought the pizza was just ok.
We’re currently in Kazakhstan and while the local food is great, we’ve been missing pub food a bit, particularly sausages. Most of the sausages we see here are made from processed meat (more hot-dog style) or they’re more salami-ish…or these really thick horse sausages, but kinda missing some normal fresh beef sausages.
I’m sure it would be something I wouldn’t even think of until I got a serious jones on or tried to cook without it.
(I remember once I stayed with a family in Spain while I was studying Spanish. As a hostess gift, I presented them with a large container of pure Canadian maple syrup. They were mystified as to what they could do with it, and I didn’t know how to say “pancakes.”)
I knew someone who had been a Peace Corps Volunteer in Romania, and her host family had a bottle of maple syrup that had been given to them as a gift from a previous host daughter. Apparently, they mixed the syrup with seltzer water and drank it.
Next time you are Albany, Ca, try Sophia Cafe :).
When I was in Europe last month, I brought maple syrup for my European colleagues (yeah, much too typical, but I couldn’t think of anything better), and I also copied the recipes on top of the cans to give to them. One of them is a “maple cooler”:
2 tablespoons maple syrup
1 tablespoon 35% whipping cream
Ginger ale
Mix maple syrup and cream in a glass. Add ginger ale and serve immediately.
I must say I haven’t tried this recipe, so I don’t know if it’s any good.
Thanks for the rec! Sounds great.
[drooling]
Now I am having a craving for felafel and all the trimmings in a pita, and unless I make it myself, there isn’t any place within about 50 miles to get one =(