Grocery Shopping

The supermarket…..you never know what you’re going to get. Outside of North America I know I am not going to get Miracle Whip. In Dubai, I’m not going to get beer or wine unless I’m at the right supermarket, and out of curiosity happen to ask someone what’s behind those big old steel doors on the outside of the building.

What was the very first thing I did when I got to Norway and dropped off the bags? I made John take me to check out the grocery store. There was choice of several since close to the bunker; none of which are very big when compared to the ones I’m used to back in Canada or the U.S. Somehow they manage to cram everything you’d need in them, mostly saving space with narrow aisles. I’ve been in a few stores where the aisles are so narrow you’d be hard pressed to pass another cart. I’m avoiding those ones since no one yet understands me when I say “Unnskyld meg” (excuse me). I think it’s supposed to sound something like “unshool my”….but I’m not quite there yet. Maybe I’m just too timid to enunciate properly…maybe all that’s coming out is a wee mutter.

The store we went to that night was one of the many incarnations of the Co-op. It was okay…a 5 on a scale of 10. We haven’t been back. We’ve found that the Co-op at the Kvadrat Mall is the biggest store so far and it seems to have everything we need. What surprised me is how many Old El Paso products there are. Norwegians must love their tacos because there’s a whole aisle dedicated to Mexican food supplies. The Italians, the Chinese, and the Indians are competing for space one aisle over.

The bread here is amazing! Most loaves are put on the shelves unsliced and it’s up to you to slice it and bag it yourself. I first thought that this was so a person could slice it to whatever thickness they preferred but apparently not, there is no adjustment on the bread slicing machine. There are lots of different varieties available, all of the ones we’ve tried have been delicious. I’m surprised at how trim everyone is here considering the amount of bread and cheese there is in the Norwegian diet….must be all that carb burning cross-country skiing!

Another thing I noticed is how long the meat keeps in the fridge. I was a little dubious about the best before date of my ground beef being 10 days away from the day I bought it, but I gave it a shot, and it was fine. Same for the chicken breasts (2 weeks), the cooked bbq. chicken (3 weeks) and the stew beef (2 weeks). They must have a different process for preparing meat to make it last so long….maybe it’s irradiated. I seem to remember there was something I heard back in Canada during one of those big meat recalls about irradiated meat solving a lot of bacteria problems. And I always kind of wondered how the Danes could label their chicken Salmonella-free. They must have zapped those little microbes with some gamma rays or something. (I've since learned that the meat isn't irradiated, it's just got a shorter time from hoof to table here....so it's fresher when it hits the grocery.)

So far the quality of the food has been excellent. I’ve noticed there are several hydroponic greenhouse operations in the area, and many barns that have big signs advertising strawberries. Can’t wait for summer! It looks like I’m still going to have to bring a few things over with me the next time I come back. The selection of garbage bags is pitiful and they are so “delicate”….barely make it to the bins upstairs. I find myself buying grocery bags to substitute. Nobody sells laundry detergent in large containers….everything comes “bachelor” sized. Typical for Europe, the selection of household products is a tad light. But there’s enough to get the job done. I can handle it because I was delighted to find they sell green pickle relish at all of the stores I’ve been to so far. That makes up for a lot of things.

All in all, I have no major complaints about the grocery stores here except one; you are your own best bagger…actually you are the bagger. No one packs your groceries for you. When they hit that conveyor belt past the scanner, you’re on your own. It was the same in Denmark. John and I had a system to get through the process with as much dignity as possible. The Scandinavian cashier doesn’t stop for nothing or nobody. Once she’s rung you in, and collected payment (either a pound of flesh or first-born son), she’s onto the next customer. There are 2 sections to the post scanner belt, and you just want to hope that the person behind you has a very small order, so she can be out-of-the-way for person #3. It gives you a little breathing room for the packing. It’s not so bad when there are two of you to handle the order, but going it alone makes for some fast hands.

All grocery stores are b.y.o.b or bring your own bag. Nice sturdy plastic bags are available for purchase at 1 kroner a piece. Unlike, Denmark, there is no wine or hard liquor section in the grocery store, but you can buy beer for $35 a dozen before 8pm on weekdays, and 3pm on Saturdays. They keep it in the section with the pop and the home-brew equipment.

I’m sure I’ll have more to add as I get more excursions to the grocery under my belt, but so far it’s been a positive experience…..very relieving since fast food options are not so fast, and way too expensive for what you get. We’ll be eating home a lot more here, because even though food is expensive in the grocery store, eating out is way over the top!