A Trip to the Grocery Store

A top priority when moving a family to a new location is figuring out where to buy food supplies.  Grocery shopping would not be listed among my favorite activities, but fortunately Ross enjoys it.  He had gone a long ways toward filling our pantry before we arrived, but even so, going for groceries has consumed a fair amount of my time thus far.  To make it slightly more enjoyable, I brought along my camera for a few of the trips.

Australia has two grocery store chains:  Woolworths (often abbreviated to Woolies) and Coles.  We were told by several people during our house hunting trip last February that many Aussies try to avoid the chain stores, preferring to support local businesses such as fruit and vegetable shops, butcher shops and bakeries.    We have begun to explore the latter type of shopping, but in the beginning it was easiest to get everything from Woolworths.

When we first arrived, it was necessary to bring along a one dollar or two dollar coin to unlock the trolleys.  For reasons unknown to me, all of the trolleys where we shop have been left unlocked for the past couple of weeks, making it more convenient to use them.

Woolworths has a similar set up to grocery chains back home.  Fresh produce comes first.  We have enjoyed the large sweet potatoes, and I was also excited to see that macadamia nuts are quite reasonable, at least compared to what we would pay in the United States.

Sausages are popular and come in many varieties, including beef, pork and chicken with various flavors and seasonings.  We have been trying out different kinds for supper as well as for breakfast.  The kids don't much appreciate those with green bits (cilantro I think) in them.

Eggs are not refrigerated, but kept on the regular shelves---especially interesting in light of the recent salmonella outbreak in the U.S.  The yolks are darker yellow than those sold in the grocery stores at home.

Crispbread is the term for crackers.  Biscuits are cookies.  Below are some of the varieties of long life milk sold in cartons.

The all-important coffee aisle:

We haven't tried out Milo yet, but it appears that it is fairly popular given the amount of space allocated to it on the shelves.

As far as I can tell (corrections welcome) tasty cheese is cheddar cheese.  All the cheese is white.  Sophie is missing yellow American cheese.  I have tried to convince her that the white tastes the same, but so far I have not been successful.

We have found that smoked, middle bacon is pretty close to American bacon.

Kids here drink cordial rather than Kool-aid.  It comes in a concentrated form as in the jugs below.
We have not yet been here long enough to start missing too many things (except for half and half) that are not commonly available down under.  When that day arrives, we are fortunate to have a Costco in Melbourne, plus an American grocery store.  Unfortunately I don't think there is a way to obtain the homemade jams that we frequently received from Ross's mom, my mom, and my grandmother.  Those will be especially appreciated when we return.

Comments

[Kent Keller]

I know for an American it is hard to understand that the Macadamia is NOT native to Hawaii but is actually an Australian native nut. It is the only Australian native food to be internationally exported and known in any quantity. Those of us in the house that can eat nuts very much enjoy them.
Love the pics.

[Christie]

@Kent: Thanks for the information about Macadamia nuts---I didn't know they weren't native to Hawaii, and I wonder why Australia doesn't get more credit for them.

[Deborah]

I love all the pictures, Christie. The wildlife, the food. It would be fun for me, trying out new foods. Unfortunately, most of my kids aren't so adventuresome in that area. Only Brianna. Sounds like you all are adjusting rather well. Miss seeing you.

[Karin Smith]

one of my favorite parts of living (short term albeit) in a foreign country is going to the grocery store. it is always a mini-adventure. you never know exactly how to weigh and pay for the produce (do they weigh it at the check out, or are you supposed to have it weighed and marked in the produce aisle?) and you can never be totally sure of what you will find in that can or sealed package until you get home and open it. fun, fun. i had to go to the grocery store every day in rome and i had to haul conrad there with me, but i always looked forward to going. do i sound obnoxious? :) my point is that i love the pictures. it is like taking a virtual mini-adventure with all of you.

[Shanda]

Neat! Christie, I know it still wouldn't be the same but one time a friend of mine gave me a small scoop of vanilla ice cream in my coffee and it was good. Maybe that would help with the lack of half and half.
Thanks for taking all the pictures. I enjoy all your posts.
I hope you have a wonderful Sunday with your family.