Where to find your favorite American foods in Paris!
For Americans, the winter holiday season kicks off pretty early. Just after Halloween, we bring down our spooky cobwebs and toss out our carved pumpkins and start hanging up our cozy holiday décor. Right after Halloween, we start getting ready to celebrate Thanksgiving, which jump-starts the entire ‘I no longer fit into my October jeans’ season. Thanksgiving, while not really celebrated in France, is still a holiday tradition that I enjoy keeping, even across the ocean. But it’s not all that easy.
This last weekend, I was preparing a ‘Friendsgiving’ meal when I realized I was out of dark brown sugar. I needed it for the salted caramel sauce that I was trying to make. In the states, this would be absolutely no problem, I’d just hop into my car and pop to the nearest grocery store and pick up a bag, but here in France, it involved a whole lot of pre-planning. Then I started thinking about all the other hard-to-come-by foods that we occasionally need for American recipes, and I thought I would write an article detailing where I’ve found the rarest of American fare hiding or the best French dupes I’ve been able to come up with.
Brown Sugar (both light and dark) – I have been able to find this at Naturalia and several other Bio and organic stores, BUT my favorite place to get it? Marks and Spencer. It’s way cheaper than the Bio stores. I also get Baking Soda and Peanut butter at M&S because it’s so much cheaper than at the other stores.
Sour Cream – I haven’t been able to find actual sour cream here in Paris but for my money, 4 or 7% matière grasse crème fraiche works in a pinch. I’ve used it in soups, currys, on nachos and tacos and I’ve been totally happy.
Black beans – Black beans are tricky to find in Paris. Occasionally you walk into your neighborhood Franprix or Carrefour and there are some cans, either near the Mexican food items or in the aisle with the canned vegetables (I’ve found them in both places) and then 3 days later you go back and they are gone as if they had never been there in the first place. My trick to always finding black beans in Paris? Go to a Portuguese grocery store. They sell them by the BIG can. Heaven.
Buttermilk – I have never been able to find real buttermilk here but Kefir milk is a pretty good dupe. It’s got a similar consistency and can be substituted 1-1 in your baked goods and in your buttermilk fried chicken recipes. I’ve tried both and it has worked a treat.
Lastly, there are a few places that specialize in American products:
The Real McCoy : Located in the 7th arrondissement, The Real McCoy has all sorts of American items. Here you can find cookies, candies, chips, cereal, sauces and sodas and more! They usually have holiday themed items when the time calls, like canned pumpkin.
My American Market.com : if you’ve got some time before your event or can wait a few days for your order to be delivered, the My American Market online épicerie has a wide selection of American foods.
Where do you go to get your American food fix? Where should I try next?
