[tannhaeuser]

Food lovers in Germany don't buy at supermarkets, they go to proper bakeries, butchers, shops for vegetables (many of which are owned by Germans of Turkish descendant) and fish, or specialty shops (Asian, Oriental, bio, etc.), or to the "market" - a place where regional and quality food sellers come once or twice a week with trailers. Discounters are only visited for buying really cheap stuff (Aldi, Lidl, Netto), or for time-saving one-stop shopping (Rewe and others) or close-by shopping (Edeka). It's true, though, that German food doesn't quite live up to French and Italian food traditions - because nothing does.

[shakermakr]

Sorry but just compare to an Auchan in France, or a normal Waitrose in the UK. Edeka is the closest but e.g. my Rewe doesn’t do Cilantro but Edeka does. Rewe does fresh chilled soup, Edeka doesn’t.

And market food is ridiculously over priced. A zucchini flower costs 2 EUR. anything rare or slightly pimp costs a fortune in Germany. And normally isn’t fresh.

And yes, sausages and cheese are great and the best in Germany. But not every night. And I don’t want to “from scratch” cook everything.

Oh and if I forgot some tomatoes and realized on a Sunday? Tough. Nothing is open.

A friend of mine worked in retail and said of Germany...they tried to introduce “exotic” potato types rather than just “for mash”, “for fries”. No one would pay 1 EUR more for a nuttier tasting potato. That’s the German market. Gut und Günstig.

Sucks.