A woman who moved to the UK from the United States has shared her experience shopping at a Tesco supermarket, including one British cupboard staple that baffles her
An American woman who recently visited a Tesco supermarket has turned to social media to highlight for fellow Americans the big contrasts she noticed compared to stores back home. A lot of Americans share their experience of being in the UK now, and Paige Wester was one of the latest as she posted her shopping experience in a TikTok video where she claimed there are some things in UK supermarkets that would leave American shoppers gobsmacked.
The first item she spotted is one that she can’t get her head around. Showing boxes full of HP Sauce Paige said: “Okay first things first, I need someone to tell me what brown sauce is and why doesn’t it have a name? It’s so bad that it’s just named after the colour.” She explained that this condiment is a staple in British households.
The American expat then pointed out what she considered the best invention to come out of England: shopping trolley wheels that rotate in all directions.
She added that America “definitely needs to take notes” because she thinks stores in the US really need these.
Paige continued browsing the aisles of the store and remarked: “British people absolutely love their peas but why on earth are there so many types of peas?
“On what occasion could you possibly need this many different types of peas? And the fact that you go and mush them and say it’s edible is a disgrace.”
Mushy peas is a well known British side dish that is commonly served alongside fish and chips.
Next Paige explored an aisle full of squash and cordial and asked “why British people won’t drink water” without realising that these beverages are diluted with water.
She then moved onto the bakery items and revealed: “This is something that actually repulses me but why don’t pastries have any covering?
The American spotted fresh croissants and other varieties of bread and claimed they are “in direct contact with everyone’s germs” and shared that she believes this is “so unsanitary” but acknowledged that she is no one to judge.
After this Paige shared her confusion at British people eating prawn mayonnaise sandwiches and prawn cocktail crisps.
As she paid for her shopping, the expat confessed: “I know this is the lazy American in me, I’m well aware of that, but I miss people packing my groceries up for me.”
She even admitted that she leaves the store “sweating” because packing her own groceries stresses her out.
In the caption of her TikTok post she wrote: “I’m begging someone to tell me what brown sauce is…”
Several Brits took to the comments section to enlighten her. One said: “Brown sauce is a mix of tomatoes, vinegar, molasses, black pepper, dates and tamarind.
“It’s tangy, a little sweet and a little peppery, great with bacon!” Another added: “Brown sauce is similar to A1 steak sauce in America. I went down a rabbit hole to see if America had brown sauce.”