Author: Pam
While cruising there are many cultural experiences you expect and some you may not think about in advance. Well, going to the grocery store has proven to be a cultural experience and somewhere we have actually spent a fair amount of time. In Mexico and French Polynesia we struggled with reading labels in Spanish and French, thank goodness pet food usually has a picture of a dog or cat on the box or can. In New Zealand we are able to read most labels. However, there are some very interesting differences at the grocery stores, whether it is a different word, phrase or name of food items. There is also a difference in the way the Kiwis use signage such as when selling dog food or enforcing hygiene standards.
First of all, when you arrive at the grocery store you get a trolley, not a grocery cart. We shop at three stores in Whangarei, New Zealand. The best deal for meat is at the Mad Butcher. You can always count on the Kiwis to come up with creative and extreme names. If you want to make cheese burgers, you buy mince; they do not call it hamburger or ground beef. The primary meat eaten in New Zealand is lamb, however we have heard they export the best cuts. We are both still warming up to lamb, but last night at the weekly BBQ we were introduced to “lamb popsicles” (rack of lamb renamed by Bill & Yvonne). They do not have much meat on the bone, but the flavor is mild.
We shop at Pak n Save when we don’t have a ride to the store, it is within walking distance to the boat. Pak n Save has a warehouse feel and philosophy. You bag your own groceries and pay ten cents per bag if you don’t bring your own. We have been to several grocery stores in the Cook Islands and New Zealand that have a large refrigerated room for the dairy section. It is very cold and not somewhere I am interested in browsing, I usually grab the milk and run back to the warmth of the rest of the store. Pak n Save has a design flaw in our opinion, when you enter the store you are forced to walk through the produce section, which means there is only one way to get back there if you forget something. Unless you enjoy feeling like you are swimming up stream or on some days taking your own life into your hands you usually don’t go back. Pak n Save also gets the prize for my favorite sign so far (they love their signs in NZ, there seems to be a lot to say). There is a tank of fresh green lipped mussels with a posted sign that requests for “Dear Valued Customers, for hygiene reasons please refrain from washing hands in mussel water, thank you”. I have only one question, why would you want to do that?
We also shop at New World, the more up market grocery store. The first time I walked into New World last year after cruising, the word WOW actually came out of my mouth. It is the nicest grocery store we had seen in over a year of cruising. We often go to the store with our friend Yvonne on Sunday and the list is usually mostly food and beverages in jars, cans and bottles that are too heavy to carry if you are walking, with of course the yummy bread and very expensive meats from the deli thrown in. However, Scott needs managing in New World as he stealthily slips almond cookies and chocolate coconut logs into the trolley in the blink of an eye.
Being resourceful and not wasteful is very important to the Kiwis, hence the many options for dog food. It appears perhaps no parts of the animals go unused. Next to the ham and bacon you will find the dog food in the refrigerated section. They are 5-6 pound large sausage-like rolls of dog food, such as Hound Log or Wag. The casual shopper not paying attention could easily end up frying up some wag in eggs on accident.
Eggs are designated by the numbers 6, 7 or 8, which equate to medium, large and jumbo. If you are a potato chip lover some of your choices include, lamb & mint, chicken (very popular), baked ham & Dijon mustard, zesty lime & black pepper and onion & balsamic vinegar. It is very difficult to find my all time favorite BBQ. Meat pies are more popular than the all American apple pie. They are not only sold at the grocery stores, but the gas stations and every café and bakery. We have heard, but have not seen that there are meat pies made with possum, an animal that is causing a national problem and is far from endangered. Possum or any other kind of meat pie is not even close to making it to my favorite food list.
If you are looking for zucchini, you have to look for courgettes, portabella mushrooms are flat mushrooms, turnip is Swedes, cantaloupe is rock melon, papaya is paw paw, eggplant is aubergine and kumara are the local sweet potatoes that are gold, orange or red. I have never liked sweet potato, but the kumara are really quite delicious.
Once you have finished your shopping the checkers are very friendly, they are always sitting down and they will ask you if “that is the lot”.
While cruising there are many cultural experiences you expect and some you may not think about in advance. Well, going to the grocery store has proven to be a cultural experience and somewhere we have actually spent a fair amount of time. In Mexico and French Polynesia we struggled with reading labels in Spanish and French, thank goodness pet food usually has a picture of a dog or cat on the box or can. In New Zealand we are able to read most labels. However, there are some very interesting differences at the grocery stores, whether it is a different word, phrase or name of food items. There is also a difference in the way the Kiwis use signage such as when selling dog food or enforcing hygiene standards.
First of all, when you arrive at the grocery store you get a trolley, not a grocery cart. We shop at three stores in Whangarei, New Zealand. The best deal for meat is at the Mad Butcher. You can always count on the Kiwis to come up with creative and extreme names. If you want to make cheese burgers, you buy mince; they do not call it hamburger or ground beef. The primary meat eaten in New Zealand is lamb, however we have heard they export the best cuts. We are both still warming up to lamb, but last night at the weekly BBQ we were introduced to “lamb popsicles” (rack of lamb renamed by Bill & Yvonne). They do not have much meat on the bone, but the flavor is mild.
We shop at Pak n Save when we don’t have a ride to the store, it is within walking distance to the boat. Pak n Save has a warehouse feel and philosophy. You bag your own groceries and pay ten cents per bag if you don’t bring your own. We have been to several grocery stores in the Cook Islands and New Zealand that have a large refrigerated room for the dairy section. It is very cold and not somewhere I am interested in browsing, I usually grab the milk and run back to the warmth of the rest of the store. Pak n Save has a design flaw in our opinion, when you enter the store you are forced to walk through the produce section, which means there is only one way to get back there if you forget something. Unless you enjoy feeling like you are swimming up stream or on some days taking your own life into your hands you usually don’t go back. Pak n Save also gets the prize for my favorite sign so far (they love their signs in NZ, there seems to be a lot to say). There is a tank of fresh green lipped mussels with a posted sign that requests for “Dear Valued Customers, for hygiene reasons please refrain from washing hands in mussel water, thank you”. I have only one question, why would you want to do that?
We also shop at New World, the more up market grocery store. The first time I walked into New World last year after cruising, the word WOW actually came out of my mouth. It is the nicest grocery store we had seen in over a year of cruising. We often go to the store with our friend Yvonne on Sunday and the list is usually mostly food and beverages in jars, cans and bottles that are too heavy to carry if you are walking, with of course the yummy bread and very expensive meats from the deli thrown in. However, Scott needs managing in New World as he stealthily slips almond cookies and chocolate coconut logs into the trolley in the blink of an eye.
Being resourceful and not wasteful is very important to the Kiwis, hence the many options for dog food. It appears perhaps no parts of the animals go unused. Next to the ham and bacon you will find the dog food in the refrigerated section. They are 5-6 pound large sausage-like rolls of dog food, such as Hound Log or Wag. The casual shopper not paying attention could easily end up frying up some wag in eggs on accident.
Eggs are designated by the numbers 6, 7 or 8, which equate to medium, large and jumbo. If you are a potato chip lover some of your choices include, lamb & mint, chicken (very popular), baked ham & Dijon mustard, zesty lime & black pepper and onion & balsamic vinegar. It is very difficult to find my all time favorite BBQ. Meat pies are more popular than the all American apple pie. They are not only sold at the grocery stores, but the gas stations and every café and bakery. We have heard, but have not seen that there are meat pies made with possum, an animal that is causing a national problem and is far from endangered. Possum or any other kind of meat pie is not even close to making it to my favorite food list.
If you are looking for zucchini, you have to look for courgettes, portabella mushrooms are flat mushrooms, turnip is Swedes, cantaloupe is rock melon, papaya is paw paw, eggplant is aubergine and kumara are the local sweet potatoes that are gold, orange or red. I have never liked sweet potato, but the kumara are really quite delicious.
Once you have finished your shopping the checkers are very friendly, they are always sitting down and they will ask you if “that is the lot”.
1 comment:
I love the colorful and educational descriptions of your experiences. Leaves me full of anticipation of your next entry!
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