Hallo! What American novelties would Germans enjoy?
Ich besuche meine Familie nächste Woche, und ich will kleine Geschenke mitbringen.
I know American chocolate is inferior, but I assume it's still a novelty. Some kind of candies probably, too. What else? Many years ago they loved to get boxed breakfast cereal and paper napkins, which seems quaint now.
It's been years since I've seen them, and I'm sure everyone there can buy whatever they want on the Internet, but it will still be fun to bring something.
If Scholz brings a Kebap when visiting Erdogan you can bring Bratwurst & Sauerkraut.
No seriously, I think most Germans would like to try other country's versions of our food. But not sure if you're even allowed to import food (or what kind of food exactly) on a flight.
Some Pepperidge farms cookies don't seem to have an equivalent in Germany. And I think real Spam is better than the generic Frühstücksfleisch, but that's probably just a Geschmackssache.
Do they like spicy things? If so, maybe bring some really spicy snack. I've been disappointed by everything from the snack aisle that says "hot" on it and I don't handle spice well at all. I suspect the US has much hotter snacks??
My limited research (finding a dedicated fan community on Reddit and reading the posts on there lol) leads me to believe I may not find the "real deal"... But I'll give it a shot anyway, thanks!
(Research because Rewe has something called Feuerdrachen and those suck :/)
Don't bring chocolate. I have heard from many people, that the American is so vastly inferior to European chocolate, that some described it as tasting like shit.
There's another additive used by Hershey and other manufactorers in the US: butyric acid. It ads a sour taste and unfortunately it reminds people of vomit.
It’s definitely waxier in consistency, especially Hershey’s, the best known American chocolate. Not sure of the truth, but the story goes: Hershey’s sent chocolate to the military members overseas in WW2. In the summer it would melt so they changed the formula to make it more stable, which made it waxy. When troops came home they wanted what they were used to, so that became the norm. Then they switched to corn syrup, which also made it worse. There are good American chocolates, but they aren’t coming from Hershey’s or Mars.
Peanutbutter-based stuff (esp. sweets) make for a good pick. Reese's is available in Germany but hard to come by and expensive.
And I agree with what several already said: Hot Sauce.
I know I’m a hero to my German pals when I come back with a brick of Grape Soda because, for some reason, it’s forbidden to sell here. Pop Tarts are also popular.