Not really... I can find almost everything in the grocery stores (except chocolate chips, catalina salad dressing, thin salty bacon, and dry mustard), but there certainly is a difference in how some of the products are packaged, stored and prepared. There's a difference in variety, and what products have a lot of competition- which leads to a difference in price. I think this is the main contributor to food, meal and menu differences between the Netherlands and Canada.
Get ready for lots of pictures from the grocery store I visit most. Please excuse the pictures... I didn't want to be noticed as I was documenting my shopping trip, so I didn't pay enough attention to the quality.
The produce is mostly the same- except it comes in smaller quantities here.
Breads: you can buy fresh breads at the local bakery, at the bakery section in the supermarket, or you can buy partially-prepared bread products like these. Ciabatta buns, french baguette, rolls, pitas-- whatever you'd like, in a sealed, airtight bag. Store it at home, then put it in the oven for 4-15 minutes (depending on what it is), then you have fresh bread!
Canned vegetables: green, red, brown or white beans, carrots, corn, peas, peas & carrot mixture, beets... I'm sure these are all in stores in Canada too, but based on the size of this store, I was surprised to see such a large variety of canned veggies.
The baking section: this is the entire baking section (except sugar and cinnamon are found elsewhere). Icing sugar is used to sprinkle on top of fruit bread, oliebollen or other breads, so it is sold in shakers, not bags. I bought 3 different kinds of what I thought was "brown sugar" before I got the right one. Flour only comes in bags of 1000g (that's 1 kg... no bigger). Vanilla only comes in bottles of 38 mL, and I have only found 3 other artificial flavours between the 3 big supermarkets in town (almond, rum and lemon). They're all made by the same brand so no competition for price. I couldn't find rolled oats in this supermarket, but I found them at two others-- in 500g bags, no bigger.
I'm not sure what came first, a very small variety of baking supplies or a very small amount of people who bake. In any case, I think it's a special thing to have homemade baking here.
Alcohol: the wine and beer section is bigger than the fruit juice section. And they sell beer with 0% alcohol.
Cereals: this corner is the entire cereal section. Complete with Corn Flakes, Special K, Bran Flakes and Muesli (or Cruesli). No Rice Krispies! Look just beyond the cereal though...
Chocolate toppings: chocolate spreads and sprinkles, made to top off your breakfast toast, or add some flavour to your lunch-time sandwich. Milk chocolate, dark chocolate, white chocolate, shavings, sprinkles, spread, or combinations... there are even pink ones (I think they're fruit-flavoured.... more healthy?) Notice the number of different brands, and the fact that this is not the whole section (top shelf is cut off).
Deli meats and cheeses: yep this whole aisle's fridge is just meats and cheeses. Smoked sausage and Gouda cheese are staples here.
The "International" section: Well, I think it's more like the Mexican section, with some Thai. The bottom shelf has the only tortilla chips in the store, and up higher there is one can of mild salsa and one can of hot salsa. No brand competition, so this is much more expensive than salsa in Canada.
Canned meats: on the left of this shelf is canned meatballs, and on the right is canned hotdogs (knacks). Dump the can and the liquid contents into a pot, turn on the stove, heat up, and ta da! I think these are eaten (with mayonnaise and ketchup and other sauces) like we eat chips and salsa or chips and dip.
Oil and vinegar: this is mostly for the oil... apparently there are lots of different kinds of oil, that are for different kinds of deep-frying?
Seasonings: you're making meatballs? Use meatball seasoning. Making chicken? Use chicken seasoning? Fish seasoning, beef seasoning, pork seasoning.... the specific seasonings come in much bigger packages than individual spices.
Sauces and dips: mostly mayonnaise and ketchup. But ketchup and mayonnaise are used much more as dips than as ingredients. I think all those big white bottles are different kinds of mayonnaise, that are used for different things, or with different flavours. There is also a lot of garlic dip and garlic sauce here. Sometimes, you even dip cheese into a dip! Cheese becomes the base, and the dip adds flavour. I still can't get my head around that one.
Ketchup and mayonnaise even come in tubes.
Butter and substitutes: I can successfully distinguish between real butter with salt, unsalted, and margarine (halvarine), but there are a lot of other butter substitutes that I can't figure out (well, I haven't put much effort into it yet.) I know that one of these products looks like butter, but you use it to make gravy. You put about 1/4c of this "chroma" into a fry pan, once it's melted, add the meat, then as it mixes with the juices, it makes some kind of gravy-like sauce. I'm still not sure what I think of it. But I think some of these products could be treasures... could be. Although, I'm a little nervous of a butter product in a squeeze bottle.
Potatoes: I totally forgot about the well-loved potato! There is always a large selection of potatoes in any grocery store. Of course, you can get your 5 kg bag of potatoes (I get mine for $1.50 Euros), you can get smaller amounts, OR you can get fully washed and peeled potatoes, in almost any size, packaged like pre-washed lettuce. The frozen potatoes (mostly french fries) take up more space than all of these frozen veggies combined.
Welcome to my world of adventures in the kitchen!
