What do Americans eat? Big supermarket tour

1 When I wrote about my food basket that I was buying in the States for a week, many Russian emigrants who settled in the country tried to shame me: Why are you going to Walmart? It's a homeless shop! I would like to go to Whole Foods! It was funny to read those comments. There are some stereotypes about Walmart here, as we have about Auchan, but all Americans do it. Buy immediately for a week is convenient, besides, products are usually the same everywhere, and in hypermarkets cheaper. From the point of view of the experiment, this network suited the best possible: you can go to the ABC of Taste in Moscow, but it will not be a typical Russian supermarket. Walmart in America is like Auchan (or OK) in Russia.



2 The fruit and vegetable section begins immediately from the entrance. I like that the products here sometimes try to lay out beautifully. Wherever possible. An important difference from our stores: the fruit here does not need to be weighed, the cashier will do it himself.



3 Prices today I will not write, you will calculate if you want. Fruits look beautiful, but not because they are unnatural, but simply they were neatly laid out for you, and removed frank rotten, which no one will take anyway, and it spoils the view. Watermelons in America all year round, and own: there are southern states where they can be grown all year round.



4 The same with other fruits, vegetables and berries. Cherries and raspberries in December in the middle climate - a dream! You can always buy a special set, where everything will be cleaned, cut: know only in your mouth throw! Why not? The person who first guessed to remove the skin from an orange, cut watermelon and sell ready-made is probably a multi-billionaire.



5 Garlic a dozen different kinds. Ordinary, packaged, pickled, cut into small pieces...



6 Greens and salads of all kinds.



7 Delicacy shop. Parmesans and jamons are sold here, but there was such a queue that you wouldn't approach. Christmas is on the nose, people are shopping for the festive table!



8 And here are four different display cases with meat products. A whole huge stand with bacon, separate with breakfast ham, sausages and all sorts of semi-finished meat like chevapchichi, hamburger patties and so on...



9 Evil tongues say Walmart is a store that doesn't specialize in food. Well, there are ten rows of refrigerators. And each sells one thing. The choice is huge. All these racks, about twenty branches, are ice cream. There are hundreds of them, honestly!



10 Next comes the same long fridge, and it's full of frozen pizzas of all kinds.



11 And the pizza range doesn't end. Chicken wings, ready lunches, cakes. Demand creates supply, and competition creates more product options. Not especially a fan of such ready-made food: it is tasty, but certainly harmful. I only buy pizza and sometimes nuggets.



12 If we talk about sauces, there are also a million options. Americans love all sorts of salts, and even made a popular snack of pickles in the form of sauce. He squeezed pickles into a piece of meat.



13 Meat. Pork chops, ribai steaks and mince. From the unusual, it is sold here, including in the form of sausage.



14 Well, and elderberry, hams and the like delicacies. Somewhere in line for weight, and packaged can be taken right away. Popular and whole ham, they are just in time for the festive table and buy. Thanksgiving turkey, Christmas pig.



15 Large selection of seasonings. This is about one-tenth, only two small shelves hit. Seasonings are divided into two categories: for amateurs in the kitchen and for professionals. In the first case, on the package write for which particular dish the bag is intended.



16 Canned meats and vegetables. Separately, I will focus on SPAM, for the glory of which I once filmed a video, somewhere in an abandoned city of Montana.



17 A whole long rack of breakfast cereals, cereals, pads, and the like. Americans of all ages are fans of this.



18 Chips. I stopped eating them a long time ago, but packaging is tempting, of course. Chips here are never eaten dry, necessarily with some sauce (dip), which is also a great many.



19 This is something I can't give up...beef jerky. All the men in America love to eat those dried pieces of beef. Ten bucks for a big pack that still flies into the stomach :



20 cheese counters. Cheese of a dozen different types is packed. As you already know, Americans are sensitive to wrappers. The manufacturer must be recognizable visually and visible from afar. Well, the four most basic types of cheese: ordinary, sliced in pieces (there are cheese bars), grated, cheese sticks, Mexican fresh cheese, similar to our Adygean cheese.



21 yogurts. Almost everyone says they are low in fat.



22 Philadelphia cheese. Nearby put bagels - such round buns with a hole in the middle, but not bagels. And these bagels with soft cheese - this is the real pleasure of tomorrow, I tell you!



23 Bread is also a huge shelf, although in my opinion it is more diverse. In fact, there are just bartons of different manufacturers: here it is mostly all white. There is rye, but it does not reach Russian black or Borodino. And Mexican cakes are popular, too.



24 Milk is sold in huge bottles. Because another system of measures: not liters, but gallons. Thanks to falling oil prices, gasoline is now cheaper than milk in the US.



25 Eggs. There's nothing to add.



26 All kinds of soda and other harmful beverages. Upstairs are portable refrigerators. It's very relevant in the heat.



28 You can walk endlessly along the food rows, but I am done, otherwise this fast will last forever. Walmart sells a lot of stuff. Clothes, for example. Not very fashionable, but rather practical and cheap. I have been buying socks for three years and in large quantities. Their shirts are fun. This year, the fashion collection is represented by T-shirts with stubborn cats. I even tried one, but for some reason I didn’t buy it.



29 Before the winter holidays, many people come to Walmart for gift cards. The fact that in Russia for some reason and did not take root, in the States is almost the main gift for friends, but not very close. Each chain of restaurants and shops has its own cards. You know your buddy likes to go to Outback steakhouses? Give him a $25 card. That's enough for him to take his wife to a restaurant, which is what dinner for two usually costs. There are also prepaid bank cards. You don't know what to give, and cash in an envelope is inappropriate? Give a Visa or Mastercard, the person will decide what to buy.



30 That's the end of Walmart. It's a normal store, isn't it? Gentlemen snobs, calm down and go for once, there is not so much fear :



31 For comparison, I will show another large hypermarket. It's also quite popular, and it's called Costco. This is an analogue of our Metro: Cash & Carry, small wholesale. There is also a card access system, but anyone can get one, you only need to pay $ 55 membership fees per year. Or just pay with an American Express card, they have a joint contract.



32 Yes, I forgot to tell you when I was in Walmart that there are a number of electric carts at the entrance to each store that anyone can take. They are intended for the elderly and disabled, but I repeat: anyone can take them. You won't need a certificate.



33 In Costa, too, they sell everything from food to clothing. There is one trick with clothes: unlike Walmart, you can find “branded” things at very low prices. Clothes are sold piece by piece.



34 But the food will have to take wholesale, a few pieces. Or just a big special package. A can of Philadelphia or ketchup is enough for a year!



35 Gift cards here are also more profitable: for example, four to 25 will not be 100, but 80. And the cakes here are delicious! I give the advice of a good gift to an American: you can give him such a fashionable shower watering for any holiday. It is likely to have a standard one. And here they do not understand anything in normal souls: the watering water is not even removed, but screwed to the wall! But this is a separate conversation, maybe I'll write a post about typical American housing.



36 And home appliances here may be more profitable to buy than anywhere else. Costco has some secret agreements with suppliers, even special versions are made for them. It's cheaper on Amazon, though. Basically, almost everyone today buys equipment online.



37 Large packages of chocolates and cookies.



38 The corner of the hungry ulcer. Just like in Auchan, only here this fast food is at least delicious. And here's a little detail about Costco: there are no plastic bags. Bring or take these boxes for free. Don't spoil nature. I remember one time I was yelled at in a Russian hypermarket when I wanted to take an empty, ownerless box to put food in.



39 There are many different stores in America, except hypermarkets. All of them cluster, as a rule, in such “plasases”, small one-storey shopping centers with a large parking lot and separate entrances. But maybe next time about them. If you want.