A Trip to Shopright

12 November 2010

Generally speaking, we do most of our shopping around our house, in local dukas.  You can ALWAYS get fresh fruits and veggies for a much lower price… assuming they’re in season!  And things like flour, eggs, etc are better bought “fresh” than after sitting on a shelf for a month (and getting bugs).  Every so often, though, we head to our local “supermarket” to get some of the imported goods we want.

On a recent trip, Marie and I started looking at a few labels a little more carefully.  The first one that caught my attention was the words “Gross Brown Spirits Vinegar”. 

I couldn’t believe it.  I thought I’d seen it all in errors and bad judgment in business translations, (such as “bugers” written in big letters all over a burger stand in Dar…) but this one topped the list.  GROSS brown SPIRITS???  Anyone want some? 

GROSS, of course, is the brand name... and spirit is another way of saying alcohol here.  For instance, instead of buying "Rubbing Alcohol" here, you look for "Methylated Spirits" - and it's purple!!!  I have a picture of this somewhere but grabbed this one off a website announcing the absurdity of this name... http://moralfibre.co.za/pickt/tag/gross-brown-spirit/

Next, we headed to the hot sauce area.  Our housemate brought some great stuff from the States and we’ve found we can use a few drops in homemade guacamole and salsa, and even Sloppy Joe’s sauce, to make it taste closer to the real thing.  (Dad, are you proud of me?  I’m sure you never expected me to BUY hot sauce, especially in Tanzania!)  As we looked at the labels to see what was inside (trying to avoid the pilipili hoho – or the really really hot peppers), we noticed an interesting ingredient.  Take a look for yourself. :)

We laughed, had to take a picture, and went on our way down the can aisle.  (Note: Cameras should ALWAYS be on hand during random shopping trips or excursions – or day-to-day life – in Dar!  You never know when you might need to capture something amazing… like “edible” ingredients!)

We really were minding our own business, not trying to find anything ridiculous… when Marie noticed some lovely peas to our right.

Yes, that really does say "Mushy" chip shop - and processed peas on the bottom!  Uck!

This reminds me of the mushy canned peas that schools use in the States – which one of my friends there LOVES.  (Ugh, sorry Jess but I still can’t stomach them…)  I wonder if the cans in the States have this same label?  It seems fitting!

After all this, I decided to head back down the same aisle to take one more picture for your benefit.  (I could see a blog coming on…)  These crackers are very good – quite delicious actually – but the name definitely takes something away from the appetizing-ness.  Even though I’m assuming they should be even MORE appetizing since I know they will go down well!

Happy Food Shopping! :)