I’ve lived in Denmark now for nearly four years, and I’ve changed a lot within this time. I’ve become more fashionable, more cosmopolitan-minded, more ...Danish — if I’m allowed to say that.
But one thing hasn’t changed about me. And that is my inability to cooperate with or understand Danish supermarket culture. As someone who was raised predominantly in the United States, I’ve always been used to grocery stores with a selection of food choices so huge that it’s almost perverted. That and a high level of service. In an American grocery store, one can find a kind of product with a thousand different brandings and types. For example, let’s take the flakes varieties: whole grain frosted flakes, or fat-free frosted flakes. Do I want my cream cheese with low, medium, or full fat? Seedless watermelons or watermelons with seeds? That being said, when I walk into a Danish grocery store I want to burst into tears because I’m so bored with the selection. The variety of cereals consists of Cherrios, Honey-nut Cherrios, and Wheaties. Coco-puffs if I’m lucky. There’re few fruits and vegetables, most rotten. I’m telling you, everything is so boring and plain and demanding of hard kitchen labour that you just wish some American food companies could establish factories here and import some ready made dinners.
I know I should be ashamed of saying this, but I do miss American convenience. In Denmark, making a homemade meal requires at least 30 dollars spent at the grocery store and 2 hours in the kitchen. For instance, at my local grocery store, nothing is allowed to be under 4 dollars. That’s right, it’s called organic and healthy food, free of anything synthetic or “fast”-related. But I do miss synthetic food.
Oh yes, the whole Danish, “do-it-yourself” attitude prevails! Expect to stress while bagging all of your food, as no one will do it for you.
The only way to really understand what I mean is to imagine that if you’ve come from America and you’re used to certain things with service and product selection and then you move here — it truly is different in Denmark. And I’ve lived elsewhere in Europe (Iceland, England, Spain) and I still find the grocery stores much better and with more selection in those countries.
However, how could anyone take me serious when I say, “I miss synthetic food”? That is purely attempting to be sarcastic, and I see that it is wrong and disgusting that American food is pumped up with so much crap. I really appreciate that in Denmark the food is free of everything artificial and it shows on Danes — most of them look healthy and fit here. But once in a while I miss the vastness of an American grocery store!
I want to add that I am Danish, was born in Denmark, lived here for 5 years as a child and then moved to America where I lived most of my life. I moved back here a few years ago and I love the country. I speak Danish. I’m not an immigrant in
Denmark who is unsatisfied with the way of life here and who should move back to
the States. I’m a student and of course it takes 2 hours to make a meal on my own.