Things you won't see in the US Grocery Store

Hello from Oz!

In this episode of Aggies in Oz, I thought I would take you to one of the local produce markets that I like to go to. This is Crinis Produce, (pronounced like Guiness but Krenis). They have great prices and lots of variety and sometimes...they have things that I have no idea what they are.

Here is a shot of the inside, it is not a huge place but has lots of stuff. This aisle has pretty normal stuff on it.

Here is the tasty cheese...Aussie's version of cheddar cheese. They have a small dairy section.
This bin baffled me and some of my friends. I did not know what these were and the store was busy so I didn't want to ask. One of my friends said "For $24 a box, you should have just bought them and we would figure out something to do with it!" Do you know what these are? (answer below)
This box contains olives...raw olives. Evidently the Italians and Greeks in the area buy raw olives and then they brine them themselves...who woulda thunk it?

Below we have parsnips...not something you see very often in the grocery stores in Texas. And the green things are called chokes. These fruit are used as fillers because they basically take on the flavor of whatever they are cooked with. For instance, I was told that the McDonalds used to use these in their apple pies because they took on the flavor of the apples.

These are pretty normal...cucumbers...except they are calling them Ques...Aussie Ques to be exact. Do you remember I told you Aussies shorten a lot of their words? This is a good example except that I would think they would call them Cuq's instead of Que's...but what do I know?
Another normal thing...mushrooms...but here it is shortened to Mushies! And, $5 a kilo is a great deal considering a kilo is 2.2 pounds and mushrooms weigh nothing.
Cherry juice? I cannot remember ever seeing cherry juice. Do you?
Chicken Salt...chicken salt? Chicken salt is a popular seasoning here...I am not real sure what it is but people put it on their French fries (or chips as they call them here).
And these little furry things are lychees. For those who are Penguins of Madagascar fans, you will remember that King Julian loves lychees and he once ate some bad ones and they made him sick and Maurice crazy...but I digress. These things are just weird looking.
And here we have drinking coconut....yep, drinking coconut...in a coconut.
And here we have papays and paw paws. I have never had a paw paw however there is an ointment made from paw paws that is really good for burns and such...but that about concludes my knowledge of paw paws.
Now, if you are paying attention to prices, you will notice that they are high. Remember that these are by the kilo, not the pound, so 2.2 pounds equals one kilo. However, the fresh produce is actually some of the best priced food you can find here. Anything processed and such costs a lot more money so we buy fresh produce all the time. I can say that I have never eaten as much fresh produce than we have since we moved here and that is a good thing! It is just as expensive to eat healthy here as it is to eat junk food, so we generally eat healthier. In fact, my husband has lost probably lost at least 30 pounds since we moved here which is another good thing. I think I have lost some too but I haven't weighed myself.

I am sure there will be more posts about the food here. It is a learning experience but we are enjoying the adventure!

**Waving** See you later!

Heather