A-ha!

Shopping in grocery stores in foreign countries is a mini-anthropological experience. In the Netherlands, the ubiquitous grocery store chain is Albert Heijn, or AH -- which, in Dutch, is pronounced "a-ha." Here is what A-ha! has taught me about being Dutch -- and being American:

1. Pea soup: The Dutch evidently love their "erwtensoep," which Wikipedia tells me is also called "snert." (Appetizing.) There is a whole set of shelves in our local A-ha! just for the snert, including on the bottom shelf industrial-sized cans of generic pea soup, suggesting snert-eating marathons in Dutch households.

2. "Exotic" vegetables: I can tell we are living on a different continent and in a different clime based on what is cheap in the produce section. I never really thought about it, but Belgian endives and Brussel sprouts are indigenous to someplace, and obviously that someplace is here. Same also with leeks and cauliflower. We are finding ways to work leeks into just about every meal.

3. Kaas: the Dutch really only eat Dutch cheese - and I can't say I blame them. Our useful word of the week: "belegen," meaning "matured," or cheese that is beyond "jonge" but cannot yet be classified as "oude." We love our belegen kaas.

4. "American" cusine: Catering to the large expat community here in the Hague, our local A-ha! has a long aisle of "international" cuisines, including significant selections of Asian, Latin and Indonesian ingredients. At the very end of the aisle are just a couple shelves which are apparently intended to represent American cuisine. And what, you might ask, do the Dutch associate with "American" cuisine? Evidently corn on the cob is such an anomaly in Europe that you have to buy it canned. There is also a company whose primary purpose seems to be to knock off American brands, such as Kraft mac & cheese, French's yellow mustard, and Cheetoh cheese puffs. However, the Hellman's "real" mayonnaise is real, but I am amused by the solitary American brand when there is an entire section of the store dedicated to actual "real" mayonnaise. Also represented in the American section: BBQ sauce, beef jerky, Skippy peanut butter, caramel corn, and jet-puffed marshmallows (the kind they wouldn't sell at Whole Foods).

When I head to Boston at the end of November, I will be taking an empty suitcase with me so I can stock up on my own favorite "American" items -- none of which are evidently American enough for A-ha! to stock in their American section. High on my list are Quaker rolled oats, rooster sauce, and Old Bay seasoning (for Jeff). Any other suggestions?