An American in the UK shared some of the things she just doesn’t understand about UK supermarkets like why there’s a sauce named after a colour, plus other stuff
An American in the UK has admitted she’s ‘lazy’ for missing one thing about America, pointing out other stuff she finds quirky about British supermarkets. There’s no denying that, culturally, America and Britain are very different, and there are certain standards and expectations the US may have that the UK just cannot deliver on – especially when it comes to a food shop.
Paige Wester posted a video on TikTok, “begging” people to tell her what “brown sauce” is, asking: “Is it so bad that it’s just named after a colour?” But of course, it’s technically called HP Sauce, and sometimes, Brits will refer to ketchup as “red sauce”.
She said: “This is definitely a staple in most British households, and do you know what? To each their own.”
The American also joked the “best invention” to come out of the UK are shopping trolleys with “360 degree wheels” so they can spin around without locking.
“We definitely do need to take notes, because we really do need these,” she said.
Paige asked “why on Earth are there so many different types of peas?” wondering which “occasion” would require this many types of green veg.
“Plus, the fact you go and mush them and say it’s edible is a disgrace,” she pointed out.
Paige then asked someone to tell her “why British people won’t drink water, they have to have juice,” which, arguably is not correct. Just, sometimes, Brits like a little bit of cordial in their water with a meal.
She said it “repulses” her that people drink cordial, however, in her own words on an earlier point – to each their own.
“Why don’t pastries have any covering?” she asked, saying they’re “in direct contact with everyone’s germs”.
Paige reckons this is “so unsanitary,” but for many Brits, it’s just the norm. Plus, there are often variations of the bakery items that can be bought in packaging.
Another thing she doesn’t understand is “prawn mayo sandwiches and prawn cocktail crisps,” and why people enjoy them.
Finally, she admitted: “I know this is just the lazy American in me, I’m well aware of that, but I miss people packing my groceries up for me. I leave the grocery store actually sweating because it stresses me out so much.”
In the comments, someone wrote: “It stresses you out having to pack your own bag? Lawd.”
A Brit defended Paige, writing: “They go so quickly in Aldi, and their tables are so small next to the tills – so as the staff member is throwing your food at you, you have approximately two seconds before there’s no more room on the table and things start falling onto the ground.”
Someone explained: “That’s because the design of Aldi and Lidl were intended to keep queues down. So you’re meant to put everything quickly back into your trolly after scanning. And after you pay you move to the benches along the end to spend time packing.”
Another said squash is basically water, sharing: “That’s not juice, that’s squash, you mix it with water and the drink is still mainly water because you use so little and it’s extremely low calorie.”
