I live in the Netherlands. Here's what the 'American' section of the grocery store is actually like.

• I went to the foreign-foods section of my Dutch grocery store to see "American" food for sale.
• I was surprised to find bottled milkshakes flavored like American candy bars and strawberry Fluff.

When I moved from the US to the Netherlands five years ago, the grocery store was an adjustment.

Some ingredients I used to buy, like chocolate chips, aren't available here. But it's possible to find some American ingredients and snacks in the foreign-food aisle of a Dutch grocery store.

Here are a few of the foods in my local grocery store's "American" section:

Candy bars might come as a bottled shake

One of the first things I noticed was bottled shakes flavored with Twix, M&M's, and Mars bars.

I've never seen these in the US before, and it looks like they may have debuted in 2015. The packaging says that they're "suitable for vegetarians" and contain "no added sugars," which makes them suspicious to me.

The pancake mix is labeled 'All-American'

Pancakes are a common food in the Netherlands, but they're more similar to French crepes rather than fluffy American pancakes.

Multiple colleagues have asked me if the "tall" or "puffy" pancakes they see on American TV shows are a real part of our cuisine, so I found it funny to see this "All-American" mix on sale.

Boxed mac and cheese made the cut

Many Europeans also think of macaroni and cheese as an "American" dish.

I've never seen the brand, Mississippi Belle, at an American grocery store, but it was still nice to have a reminder of home.

I was happy to see individually-wrapped packages of microwave popcorn

These differed from the boxed sets I was used to in the US, but I still bought a few bags — the flavor was just like what I remembered from the US.

Surprisingly, there was Crisco vegetable shortening

Some Dutch people view baking as an American pastime. Though there are traditional Dutch baked goods, many American ingredients are only available by ordering from an international store.

I've never come across chocolate chips in the Netherlands, so seeing vegetable shortening was a big surprise.

You can also buy ShopRite's generic baking soda

For any other baking needs, ShopRite-brand baking soda was stocked in this aisle.

I was surprised to see baking soda in the American section, especially since it's a common Dutch ingredient and I had seen Arm & Hammer's products in this same store three aisles over.

The 'newest' American food was strawberry-flavored marshmallow Fluff

Another surprising product was the large jars of strawberry-marshmallow Fluff, which I've never come across at an American grocery store.

When I looked it up, it seems Fluff only began selling this product in 2020.

Spicy cheese curls are also available

Another discovery was the Herr's cheese puffs on the bottom shelf.

These were the only baked snacks in the American section, and two of the flavors were spicy: jalapeño cheese and Carolina reaper.

You can buy some unique Hershey's products

The store was stocked up on two types of Hershey's cookies 'n' creme candy bars and even bags of Reese's dipped pretzels.

The bars cost 1.53 euros, which is equivalent to about $1.72 USD.

Overall, the American-food aisle surprised me

Although most of these foods are available in some form in the US, I can't say that any of them are brands I know well or even foods that feel typically "American" for me.

That said, it's still nice to have some taste of home here in the Netherlands — even if I'll have to wait on chocolate chips.

Continue reading the series: I live in the UK. Here's what the 'American' section of the grocery store is actually like.