# Has anyone bought from this place?



## Madame Wells

Ciao Tutti,

I'm an American who likes to cook a lot of American dishes. I live in Italy but time to time I go to Germany to shop for American products. I came across a site called FOODS from Home. I was wondering has anyone bought from this site or store? And if so, have you used the shipping option or van pick up? They say they can deliver to Italy. I would like to order some items next month, but I wanted know if anyone has tried them out. Thanks for any info.

Ciao


----------



## Bevdeforges

Used to live in Germany and now live in France - but I've found that using "authentic" American products is simply too expensive and not really worth it. I've generally found local products that can be substituted (like yesterday when I made my Jim Beard pumpkin pie recipe, with pumpkin from our garden, creme fraiche instead of "heavy cream").

What sorts of US products do you get from this place? Perhaps we can suggest reasonable substitutions for you.
Cheers,
Bev


----------



## Madame Wells

Ciao Bev,

Thanks for the reply. I have lived as an Expat since the early 90's. I have substituted till the cows come home. But now I noticed this type of shops popping up and I just want to have a touch of my home country in my pantry. Things like Kayro syrup and brown sugar, though I have found substitutes for these, I just want the original. I plan to buy in bulk. Yes, it's more expensive. But the last time I went shopping in the States, I was shocked how the prices had gone up. So for me it's a treat and cheaper than a plane ticket if I can have a taste of home.


----------



## Bevdeforges

I guess it depends on where you are. Here in France, we have brown sugar - in both dark and light versions - though it took me a while to figure out where to find it. (Apparently it's popular in the north of France so is considered a "regional specialty.")

Karo syrup and molasses, I agree, aren't generally easy to find here. Then again, back when I was living in Germany (15+ years ago), you couldn't find stalk celery except in specialty shops around Christmas time. Now, it's pretty common.

Fresh cranberries are only available here (in France) in the weeks before Christmas - which is weird because I know they grow the things in Belgium and the Netherlands - but even Carrefour imports Ocean Spray brand cranberries from the US. Some of the other stores here offer European cranberries, but only at Christmas time.

The site you mentioned in your original post looks interesting, and seems to have a bricks and mortar shop, too, which is promising. In the past, I've seen a number of "foods from..." websites, often set up by members of the various expat clubs and associations around Europe. And there are a few of the expat clubs that place bulk orders with some of those sites to save on shipping costs and take advantage of bulk rates. If you have an expat club in the area, you might want to see who they use.
Cheers,
Bev


----------



## Phil Gillette

*American products in Germany*

There are several American military bases in Germany, Italy, and Spain, and they all have commissaries where an incredible number of American products are available, at tax-free prices. In Italy, they are at Aviano, no. of Venice, Livorno, Naples, and Sicily. Of course, you can't shop there unless you have what is called SOFA status, basically military, their families, and U.S. military civilian employees. I live in Dietzenbach, near Frankfurt, and if you are in the area, contact me at [email protected], and I can give you some more detailed info.

Phil Gillette


----------



## fido

I just had a look at that site but there seemed to be a lot more British products than American. Looks like they don't sell the legendary spray- on cheese! If I do go to live in Germany I won't bother with shops like that but I might try making my own cheddar cheese, beer and other items I can't find to suit my UK conditioned palate. Just relocationg from England to Scotland I found there are quite a few foods which are either not on sale or are different to the English version. For example, the Scots have a propensity for including oats in everything whereas the English mainly only eat oats in the form of porridge. Where I come from in central England most of the bakers recycle some of their unsold bread into bread pudding but I've never seen bread pudding in Scotland.


----------



## Madame Wells

Phil Gillette said:


> There are several American military bases in Germany, Italy, and Spain, and they all have commissaries where an incredible number of American products are available, at tax-free prices. In Italy, they are at Aviano, no. of Venice, Livorno, Naples, and Sicily. Of course, you can't shop there unless you have what is called SOFA status, basically military, their families, and U.S. military civilian employees. I live in Dietzenbach, near Frankfurt, and if you are in the area, contact me at [email protected], and I can give you some more detailed info.
> 
> Phil Gillette


Thanks Phil, 

I have been to the American Base store in Vicenza. It was in pure heaven. But you must know someone. And you also risk them loosing their privileges for sharing it with non military personnel and dependents.


----------



## Madame Wells

Bevdeforges said:


> I guess it depends on where you are. Here in France, we have brown sugar - in both dark and light versions - though it took me a while to figure out where to find it. (Apparently it's popular in the north of France so is considered a "regional specialty.")
> 
> Karo syrup and molasses, I agree, aren't generally easy to find here. Then again, back when I was living in Germany (15+ years ago), you couldn't find stalk celery except in specialty shops around Christmas time. Now, it's pretty common.
> 
> Fresh cranberries are only available here (in France) in the weeks before Christmas - which is weird because I know they grow the things in Belgium and the Netherlands - but even Carrefour imports Ocean Spray brand cranberries from the US. Some of the other stores here offer European cranberries, but only at Christmas time.
> 
> The site you mentioned in your original post looks interesting, and seems to have a bricks and mortar shop, too, which is promising. In the past, I've seen a number of "foods from..." websites, often set up by members of the various expat clubs and associations around Europe. And there are a few of the expat clubs that place bulk orders with some of those sites to save on shipping costs and take advantage of bulk rates. If you have an expat club in the area, you might want to see who they use.
> Cheers,
> Bev




Ciao Bev,

It's very true. My husband travels a lot for business throughout Europe and Russia. I often have him bring me items from the local markets. He brought me cranberry sauce and dried cranberries from Poland. I got the best vanilla from Hungry, And molasses from Switzerland. I agree with Fido who says most of the products from this site are English. I saw on Amazon.uk that they have a store called American Soda, that has a better selection of American products. But the prices and the exchange rate of the pound and euro and that damn shipping is always getting in the way. I thought I would start off slow. I want to try them both out. Thanks about France. I was there this summer. What is Brown sugar called there?


----------



## Bevdeforges

Madame Wells said:


> What is Brown sugar called there?


It kind of depends where you are. Up north, where my husband is from, it used to be called "cassonade" but these days the cassonade you get in the grocery stores is actually raw sugar - granulated, but kind of a light brown color. Not at all what you and I think of as brown sugar.

Lately, though, I've found it in the grocery stores here called "vergeoise" and it comes in both light and dark variety. The dark is VERY dark and just wonderful! Very soft and moist.
Cheers,
Bev


----------



## twostep

Phil Gillette said:


> There are several American military bases in Germany, Italy, and Spain, and they all have commissaries where an incredible number of American products are available, at tax-free prices. In Italy, they are at Aviano, no. of Venice, Livorno, Naples, and Sicily. Of course, you can't shop there unless you have what is called SOFA status, basically military, their families, and U.S. military civilian employees. I live in Dietzenbach, near Frankfurt, and if you are in the area, contact me at [email protected], and I can give you some more detailed info.
> 
> Phil Gillette


I hope you know what problems you can get into by shopping subsidized and tax exempt items with intent of resale:>)


----------



## twostep

We have been back and forth several times. Molasses and corn syrup you can get at larger department stores such as Karstadt. Craisins you can get at a regular supermarket. Unraffinerierter Vollrohrzucker is brown sugar:>)
Your best friend "Reformhaus". Every small town has one. Work your way past the diabetic section and you will find what you need from molasses to powdered buttermilk.


----------



## Madame Wells

twostep said:


> I hope you know what problems you can get into by shopping subsidized and tax exempt items with intent of resale:>)


I hope that's not the case! These men and women are helping to protect us and it is a privilege for them. I was lucky enough to become friends with a lady there who helped me out during the holidays. If you only knew some of the hardships facing these families. While it was great experience to go to the base, it's for them and they deserve it. I think I will stick with my other sources.


----------



## Madame Wells

twostep said:


> We have been back and forth several times. Molasses and corn syrup you can get at larger department stores such as Karstadt. Craisins you can get at a regular supermarket. Unraffinerierter Vollrohrzucker is brown sugar:>)
> Your best friend "Reformhaus". Every small town has one. Work your way past the diabetic section and you will find what you need from molasses to powdered buttermilk.


Thanks! Do you know if these stores are also in Southern Germany? Say in the Munich area. I maybe there during the holiday period and would like to check them out.


----------



## twostep

Madame Wells said:


> I hope that's not the case! These men and women are helping to protect us and it is a privilege for them. I was lucky enough to become friends with a lady there who helped me out during the holidays. If you only knew some of the hardships facing these families. While it was great experience to go to the base, it's for them and they deserve it. I think I will stick with my other sources.


Just FYI - Commissaries.com - Authorized Shopping


----------



## twostep

Madame Wells said:


> Thanks! Do you know if these stores are also in Southern Germany? Say in the Munich area. I maybe there during the holiday period and would like to check them out.


Bavaria is not a Third World Country and Munich covers quite a bit of real estate:>) 
Google "Reformhaus Muenchen". Most of them have a contact us line on the web site. Let me know if you need help. Vitalia is just one of them. "Bio Laden" is another option.


----------



## Madame Wells

twostep said:


> Bavaria is not a Third World Country and Munich covers quite a bit of real estate:>)
> Google "Reformhaus Muenchen". Most of them have a contact us line on the web site. Let me know if you need help. Vitalia is just one of them. "Bio Laden" is another option.


It's Not! Ha, ha, Just kidding. I know that some stores may exist in some regions of a country and not like others. That's all I meant. Thanks for the info.


----------



## twostep

Madame Wells said:


> It's Not! Ha, ha, Just kidding. I know that some stores may exist in some regions of a country and not like others. That's all I meant. Thanks for the info.


This particular breed of cat has been around for a while; way before the current health food movement. Another thing you may want to look for are small grist mills. Freshly ground flour in various grind grades. I even found one in the nether regions of Alabama. Polenta with stone ground corn so fresh you better freeze it:>)
Just post if you need help translating sites.


----------

