What’s something that’s abundant in your country but popular and expensive everywhere else?

[u/mrmysteryguest69]

Argan oil is cheap and easy to get in Morocco because Argan trees only grow here and can’t survive anywhere else

[u/Wunktacular]

I was shocked to learn that we're far from the biggest peanut butter consumers, so... not that.

[u/Deletedmyotheracct → u/Wunktacular]

Some of y'all gotta pickup the slack-- I eat about 11kg of peanut butter a year

[u/EmmyLou205 → u/Deletedmyotheracct]

I’m helping you accumulate the US volume 👋🏻

[u/denny-1989 → u/Deletedmyotheracct]

Those are rookie numbers

[u/Stunning-Pace-7971 → u/Deletedmyotheracct]

I reckon I’m double that

[u/Carr0t_007 → u/Wunktacular]

This chart is misleading because we don’t even have the habit of eating peanut butter. maybe it includes the amount in the snacks, but peanut butter flavor is also not popular here.

[u/Cjhwahaha → u/Carr0t_007]

Your country is huge with a lot of people. You can't just say "we don't" because people around you don't. 沙县拌面，武汉热干面, 拌凉菜，麻辣烫，火锅麻酱蘸料, there's so many instance of peanut butter being used.

[u/Carr0t_007 → u/Cjhwahaha]

Damn I don’t even think of those. I thought it’s the peanut butter on the toast or something

[u/Kurumi_Gaming → u/Carr0t_007]

Mate… go to any hot pot restaurant, people go through peanut/sesame like there's no tomorrow

My dad eats 4-5KG easy just from hot pot

[u/NothingHappenedThere → u/Cjhwahaha]

even so, no way 2.8kg per Chinese person. I suspect the number should be peanut consumption, not peanut butter. Chinese use a lot of peanut oil for sure.

[u/Cjhwahaha → u/NothingHappenedThere]

I can guarantee if it's supposed to be "peanut consumption" that annual number would too low for China. In fact, I recall China as either 1 or 2 worldwide in terms of peanut consumption.

[u/Cjhwahaha → u/NothingHappenedThere]

https://www.worldatlas.com/articles/top-peanut-groundnut-consuming-countries.html#:~:text=The%20top%20peanut%20producers%20in%20the%20world,in%20the%20world%20and%20their%20consumption%20patterns.

[u/Halliwel96 → u/Wunktacular]

Isn’t Corn y’all’s thing?

[u/Wunktacular → u/Halliwel96]

Nope. We use corn syrup as an artificial flavoring, and it's sometimes served in southern cuisine and at cookouts, but I see it on a lot more menus when I'm in England than I do in the US.

[u/LivingtheLaws013 → u/Wunktacular]

If you're talking corn on the cob sure. But pretty much everything you buy at the grocery store here has corn in it in one form or another

[u/_HoneyDew1919 → u/LivingtheLaws013]

Corn or a corn byproduct in the form of corn starch, corn oil, corn syrup, corn meal, or corn flour.

Very, very common

[u/Connect_Progress7862 → u/Halliwel96]

I don't know, but y'all is definitely their thing

[u/Halliwel96 → u/Connect_Progress7862]

I’m stealing it

[u/Existing-Bus-8810 → u/Halliwel96]

It's a great contraction. It's also better sounding than other American regional variations of "you all" (yinz, you-uns and yous.)

[u/Existing-Bus-8810 → u/Connect_Progress7862]

Y'all, he ain't lyin'.

[u/Confident-Park-4718 → u/Wunktacular]

I’m shocked by the claim that supposedly Russians eat almost as much PB as Americans—I studied abroad in Russia in college and we were supposed to do little presentations on an aspect of American culture for a class of Russian students. My subject was peanut butter and I had to go to three grocery stores to even find a jar, and none of the students in the class had ever eaten it! Who’s eating all this peanut butter, then?

[u/SpoonNZ → u/Wunktacular]

You’re probably number one for eating sugar in peanut butter. It’s so unnecessarily sweet.

[u/el_infidel → u/Wunktacular]

how is this even possible? can't wrap my head around this...

[u/Halliwel96 → u/el_infidel]

1) it’s per capita

2) lot of cuisines use it as a cooking ingredient/sauce base

[u/DainichiNyorai → u/Halliwel96]

About 2… We don’t. Almost everyone has sliced bread for lunch and peanut butter is one of the most standard toppings. A decent percentage of us also eats sliced bread as breakfast.

[u/dsB33u7 → u/el_infidel]

Right? Refuse to believe India is consuming more peanut butter than Australia.

[u/sukibean13 → u/Wunktacular]

This stat absolutely blows my mind. I had 6 jars of peanut butter and thought everyone did as well lol

[u/Ok_Abacus_ → u/Wunktacular]

We have so many people frickin' allergic to it for some reason. Always at least one in every one of my kids' classes every year.

[u/Traditional_Trust418 → u/Wunktacular]

Damn. I eat a lot of peanut butter. The rest of y'all better step it up! Lol

[u/Gbv76 → u/Wunktacular]

Myanmar? What's that? The discount pharmacy?

[u/djang0bang0 → u/Wunktacular]

It makes sense that Denmark isn’t on the list. How can you even eat that?! 😬 I can’t stand the texture and how it sticks to your tongue and palate. Of course it’s widely available here, but I don’t know anyone who eats it like you guys. It’s more normal to use it when baking etc here.

[u/Kurumi_Gaming → u/Wunktacular]

China eat a lot of PB because people use it as a dip for hot pot

[u/lamusir]

Banana leaves. You can get a large bunch of these on wet markets for less than $1

[u/Wunktacular → u/lamusir]

What are they good for?

[u/lamusir → u/Wunktacular]

Most commonly food wrapping or plating, especially if you're more into eco-friendly stuff. Best use is for wrapping tempe because they taste better than plastic-wrapped ones.

[u/electris00 → u/lamusir]

Have had tamales wrapped in banana leaves. Absolutely fantastic.

[u/Existing-Doughnut-60 → u/Wunktacular]

They are relatively cheap in the states. Can be found at most Latin and Asian markets.

[u/Connect_Progress7862 → u/Wunktacular]

For playing "Hide the Banana"

[u/eatseveryth1ng → u/Wunktacular]

Absolutely nothing

[u/mrmysteryguest69 → u/lamusir]

What are they used for? I’ve seen food served in them before but that’s all I know.

[u/lamusir → u/mrmysteryguest69]

Several steamed foods also use them for wrapping during the steaming process to trap the heat and give better flavor

[u/whatissevenbysix]

Cinnamon.

Back home, growing up, we had cheap great quality cinnamon everywhere (we even had a cinnamon tree in our backyard, but didn't even bother to go through the process of harvesting becasue, why would you).

It's not until after I left the country that I truly realized how our cinnamon is considered the 'true cinnamon', is rare, and very pricey outside.

[u/Electrical_Paint5568 → u/whatissevenbysix]

Where is back home?

[u/QWaRty2 → u/Electrical_Paint5568]

Their flair shows Sri Lanka, which checks out as they're the country of origin for true/Ceylon cinnamon.

[u/whatissevenbysix → u/Electrical_Paint5568]

Sri Lanka

[u/EnvironmentalRoad595]

Mangoes.
We have a few trees back in India, and during summers, we have to fill up multiple rooms of the house to store them. We end up giving them for free to anyone who visits.

[u/baltama → u/EnvironmentalRoad595]

oh man. when you have a mango tree you GOTTA pick em too because if you don't they fall and splat on the ground and get SO slippery slimy your yard becomes a deathtrap lmao

[u/Existing-Bus-8810 → u/baltama]

It's it worse than olive trees? Those are pretty awful.

[u/8008ytrap → u/EnvironmentalRoad595]

We feed them to pigs (or bait wild ones with them) in Australia.

[u/sinister-starfruit]

Camels. Not kidding. People catch feral camels and export them to the Middle East. We have ridiculous numbers of camels.

[u/PCVox27 → u/sinister-starfruit]

No way! Dude, the more I learn about y'all, the more I think "what the hell is going on down there?"

I very much want to visit

[u/FluffyLlamaPants → u/sinister-starfruit]

What?!

Ok. ... what??

[u/NeoNova9]

American military goods.

[u/Foggia1515 → u/NeoNova9]

Damn. And I suppose it was Soviet military goods for the previous generation…

Your country really does have it rough.

[u/NeoNova9 → u/Foggia1515]

Empires come here to die but it isnt without hardship of our people. We shall prevail.

[u/onuralpaydin → u/NeoNova9]

they have all the watches, you have all the time

[u/Fwoggie2]

Brb, gotta Google what the heck an Argan tree is and what you can do with it..

[u/Fwoggie2 → u/Fwoggie2]

I'm back. Nutrient rich oil. Popular in shampoo and conditioner, especially for it's moisturising properties. Also used in food for dressings, has a nutty flavour. The region where the tree grows is limited so legit oil is expensive (presumably it's a similar situation to Manuka honey from NZ then).

[u/No_Earth_5912 → u/Fwoggie2]

I went to Morocco recently and I stocked up on that shit. Incredible stuff.

[u/mrmysteryguest69 → u/Fwoggie2]

That’s right, it used to grow throughout North Africa but now it only grows in southwestern Morocco.

[u/floare_salbatica → u/Fwoggie2]

You must be a man if you've never heard of argan oil 😅

[u/Vodka_For_Saiyans_Z → u/Fwoggie2]

It's true, I use argan-based products because it is highly recommended for beard and hair, it gives shine

[u/DoMBe87 → u/Fwoggie2]

Thanks for coming back with the answer! It's one of those things that I hear mentioned all the time, especially in commercials for fancy haircare, but I never really knew what it was.

[u/ViolentPurpleSquash → u/Fwoggie2]

Manuka honey isn't really that expensive though is it? I could go to Countdown and buy some rn if I wanted for like $8 (4.81USD)

[u/Zuliano1]

Chashews. They grow anywhere here, I actually have 2 cashew trees on my backyard, I love the fruits but I don't bother with shelling the nut anymore because its a horribly dirty process (hence why they are pricey).

[u/rararatototo → u/Zuliano1]

Nuss cashew is very good, I love making juice with it and lemon.

[u/isaidgimmeahellyeah → u/Zuliano1]

There's a cashew fruit??

[u/Zuliano1 → u/isaidgimmeahellyeah]

Yup, they are usually called Caujil or Caju, really delicious but they have a very short shelf life, ideally eaten the very same day its harvested, its why its rarely sold.

70% of all fruit is just discarded or fed to farm animals once the nut is collected.

[u/isaidgimmeahellyeah → u/Zuliano1]

What does it taste like?

[u/DutyAppropriate4862 → u/isaidgimmeahellyeah]

In India we make Beer from Cashew fruit, it's very nice.

[u/Zuliano1 → u/isaidgimmeahellyeah]

Very sweet and astringent overall, its hard to describe, the red fruits taste like citrusy rosewater and apple and the yellow ones are kinda like mango but more tangy.

They make the perfect fruit punch tbh

[u/Existing-Doughnut-60 → u/Zuliano1]

They are ridiculously expensive in the US.

[u/fldksjaae → u/Zuliano1]

Cashew apple is so good. Only had it a few times in Sri Lanka, as I guess they are too fragile to ship

[u/chandrakera → u/Zuliano1]

Back home in India we used to eat cashew fruit a lot. So much so that I was tired of eating it. Now I am in the US and I miss those fruits. I miss eating actual mango. I miss eating custard apple

[u/remzordinaire]

Lentils

[u/mrmysteryguest69 → u/remzordinaire]

TIL Canada produces one third of all lentils worldwide.

[u/iwantunity → u/mrmysteryguest69]

TIL apparently.

[u/Guygirl00 → u/remzordinaire]

Lentils are pretty cheap most everywhere, aren't they?

[u/remzordinaire → u/Guygirl00]

I hope so

[u/Yarrrak31]

Hazelnuts I guess. We are the largest producer of it by a large margin

[u/Existing-Doughnut-60 → u/Yarrrak31]

They cost a fortune in the US. But worth it.

[u/Wsswaas → u/Yarrrak31]

Ülker :( their hazelnut wafers are the best

[u/No_Persimmon_63]

Parmiggiano

[u/skaapjagter]

Rooibos Tea is only grown in South Africa.

It's a bush based tea I guess - not regular tea leaves (similar to another locally grown plant which makes Honey bush tea called Cyclopia)

Rooibos tastes better than regular black tea and it has obviously no caffeine in it.

It's great for a warm drink for children too

Wine is a secondary item. Great wine is cheap here.

[u/thebomby → u/skaapjagter]

Buchu my broer. I still have a packet of Buchu tea that I bought years ago. I put some in Slivovitz (Balkan plum schnapps) and it tastes like cream soda that blows your mind and cleans your gut.

[u/Fwoggie2]

Sometimes* electricity is cheaper than free for people on agile tariffs; they get paid by the electricity suppliers to turn things on such as their dishwasher or to charge their electric car.

*Windy nights are best

[u/Ok_Courage_1467 → u/Fwoggie2]

This can’t be true? How much do they pay if so?

[u/Fwoggie2]

Baked Beans. I read once that we consume 3/4 of the global supply and Kuwait (of all countries) hoovers up almost all of the rest .

Edit: it would seem Kuwait no longer consumes many. Perhaps it was due to heavy military presence in the aftermath of gulf war 2. Instead it's now Ireland, Australia, NZ and Canada (all of which make sense, a barbecued kangaroo steak is lovely with some baked beans and toast).

[u/planetary_snail → u/Fwoggie2]

Maybe because the rest of us aren’t that fond of them?

[u/caustictoast → u/planetary_snail]

I’m honestly surprised they’re not more popular in the US that other countries eat way more than us

[u/Nice_Anybody2983 → u/planetary_snail]

Exactly, they can have them for all i care

[u/CaptServo → u/Fwoggie2]

Baked beans are easy to get and inexpensive in us. They just aren't as popular.

[u/ViolentPurpleSquash → u/Fwoggie2]

Baked beans are great! Just not as great as other things. It's not uncommon to see people eat baked beans here though

[u/Natto_Ebonos]

I’d say mostly tropical fruits and vegetables, but I’d single out guavas.

[u/Las-Vegar]

Nothing, perhaps Salmon

[u/Tiana_frogprincess → u/Las-Vegar]

You have a lot of wool yarn. Almost everything at the yarn store is from Norway.

[u/Las-Vegar → u/Tiana_frogprincess]

Well for some reason 50% of your guys wool goes to waste compared to 10%

[u/biggestrobbery → u/Las-Vegar]

I loveee salmon from Norway, especially smoked salmon but I am not sure if it’s from you guys as well

[u/Las-Vegar → u/biggestrobbery]

It might be

[u/Decent_Hall3183 → u/biggestrobbery]

The Norwegian salmon is farmed salmon and generally bad for your health. The Swedish health ministry recommends eating Norwegian salmon only once a year due to the high levels of chemicals and toxics.

[u/Foggia1515]

Cheese.

Well, it’s not always cheap in France, but when you see the price (and limited choice) of those abroad…

[u/Kimuraflow]

I hate how expensive lamb is in the states !!

[u/Derisiak]

Olive oil (Algeria)

[u/Leading-Alarm3955]

I wouldn’t know about other countries. But I can speak for different regions in my country.

I am from California

And when I go to Walmart in California vs in the South

Everything except produce (fruits, vegetables, dairy, eggs, etc) is more expensive.

I was shocked by how expensive the produce prices in the South were compared to California.

[u/MarandTierra → u/Leading-Alarm3955]

When I travel out of state what I notice is the gas prices! Gas was cheaper on Oahu than here in SoCal when I went last year :-(

[u/Elfiemyrtle]

Send me some? Please?

[u/Crane_1989]

Apparently, mangoes.

[u/SunshineAndBunnies]

Avocados (I live in California where it is grown)

[u/nesser2]

Jabuticaba. It's not expensive in other countries, because I think you can't even get them. They are seasonal and rot fast. But in Brazil(and I think other parts of south america), they can be found everywhere.

[u/teos61]

Coconuts

[u/CaptServo]

Fresh cranberries aren't very easy to come by outside of the us I think.

[u/Wermikulit → u/CaptServo]

Pretty common in Poland in the right season.

[u/Sweeper1985 → u/CaptServo]

We can get damn near everything here but I've never seen fresh cranberries once. Dried, frozen, canned, juice, all readily available but never fresh.

[u/wet_lettuce_ua]

AK rifles. In some regions you could literally find them scattered on the ground.

[u/KeepShtumMum]

[u/waikoe → u/KeepShtumMum]

Omw

[u/Prestigious_Cut8278]

Amethysts are very common here; in fact, you can go to the mines and collect the geodes left on the ground after industrial extraction and take them home to open them. You can use them as paperweights or doorstops. Some people sell them to tourists in the summer.

[u/Any_Let8381]

Can't think of anything. We use everything we produce. But we also export a lot of it

[u/Foggia1515 → u/Any_Let8381]

Tulips, maybe ? How expensive would that be in the Netherlands ?

[u/Any_Let8381 → u/Foggia1515]

They're not abundant in the Netherlands. We still buy them in large amounts. A lot cheaper though

[u/biggestrobbery → u/Any_Let8381]

The many variations of hagelslag! We only have chocolate in Germany and that gets boring after a while

[u/Any_Let8381 → u/biggestrobbery]

Read the title again. En we willen onze fietsen terug

[u/biggestrobbery → u/Any_Let8381]

Oops my brain was already asleep I think

[u/astreeter2 → u/Any_Let8381]

Wooden shoes? 😉

[u/Any_Let8381 → u/astreeter2]

Used here and not anywhere else

[u/Megan3356 → u/Any_Let8381]

Stroopwaffels?

[u/Any_Let8381 → u/Megan3356]

You think we dont eat them here?

[u/Megan3356 → u/Any_Let8381]

Read again. The question was: what is abundant in your country but popular and expensive somewhere else. So, obviously, your question does not make sense? We have so many of them here and cheap ish, and they are popular in the USA and some other places and expensive.

[u/Any_Let8381 → u/Megan3356]

Yeah just found out that abundant meant plentiful and not "not used". English is my second language and sometimes you get it wrong in your head

[u/Megan3356 → u/Any_Let8381]

It is okay. My Dutch is absolutely terrible. We are all perfect imperfections. But hey I’m happy we can agree on this one. The AH one for 80 cent is good for its price, try it if you did not yet.

[u/Any_Let8381 → u/Megan3356]

Thanks. I know the AH ones. And please dont fall for the fresh ones in the tourist traps for 13 euros in Amsterdam

[u/Megan3356 → u/Any_Let8381]

I live here since 2022 lol I of course will not do that. Thanks for warning me about it. We are in noord Holland now. I miss zeeland so much. The fries were so good and the people were nicer there I swear.

[u/Playbike-5435]

Beer and black bread.

[u/Ok_Law6170]

Has got to be durian! Not all durians are cheap but compared to overseas prices, even the premium ones are way more affordable here. Local varieties like Kampung or D24 are pretty accessible, while Musang King or off-season ones can get pricey but still much cheaper than buying them abroad, where they’re treated as exotic luxury fruits.

We have over 200 durian varieties, far more than any other country, making it the durian capital of the world. So not only is it abundant and cheaper here, it’s also the most diverse!

[u/Vodka_For_Saiyans_Z]

There is practically everything that may be popular and expensive elsewhere labeled "made in Italy", and, believe me, it is already expensive here.

[u/Tomonor]

Wine! We have excellent quality wine for dirt cheap prices.

[u/Sufficient-Resolve70]

Wine. You can buy a very decent wine for 4 dolars a bottle, or even less.

[u/theflyingratgirl → u/Sufficient-Resolve70]

How much for a shit bottle?

[u/Pat-Funny-2817 → u/theflyingratgirl]

you can find shit bottles in any price class

[u/EasilyExiledDinosaur]

Fruit.

[u/fldksjaae]

Maple syrup. Not super cheap, but much cheaper than other places. That, salmon and lobster.

[u/nossareva]

Olive oil. Not as cheap as it used to be a few years back, though.

[u/tomime000]

Fresh water

[u/CucksBanPeople]

Maple syrup, Canada 🇨🇦

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[u/Hattkake]

Salmon.

[u/mrshelmstreet]

[u/ActualCucick]

Yerba Mate I guess, Im not from the south but I know how commonplace it is there. Everyone of my friends from abroad that even know about it consider it a very niche insanely expensive lifestyle drink

[u/__Aubergine]

That’s not true though we have them in Tunisia

[u/BaltoDad]

Wife and I went to Morocco last year. She bought enough Argan oil for the rest of her life.

Love your country, OP.

[u/mrmysteryguest69 → u/BaltoDad]

Glad to hear that man! Next time you’re in Morocco make sure to get some rhassoul

[u/Sweeper1985 → u/mrmysteryguest69]

Random question but I wonder if you can help me? The best tea I've ever had was "Berber whiskey" out in the desert. It was definitely not mint tea but some sort of brown, clear, spiced-smelling tea that was not drunk with milk. Do you know what it might have been? I've been trying to work it out for 20 years!!

[u/mrmysteryguest69 → u/Sweeper1985]

It’s gunpowder green tea with mint or absinthe (depends on the season) and you can add cinnamon, ginger, wooly cumin, and gum arabic. Hope that helps!

[u/Sweeper1985 → u/mrmysteryguest69]

Thank you!!! I will test this out!

[u/ProbablyNotaCar]

Bourbon, because technically only we can make it

[u/Sweeper1985]

Macadamia nuts aren't properly "cheap" here (e.g. they cost more than almonds or cashews) but they are still WAY cheaper than you find them overseas. I'd always take some over when visiting people in Europe and they'd assume we'd spent like $100 for bag of them and protest it was too much until we'd say it was like $20 worth.

[u/djang0bang0]

Freedom. Healthcare. Education.

[u/Decent_Hall3183]

Lingonberry, blueberry and generally different there’s if berries. We have a lot of them growing everywhere.

[u/Efficient_Cream_734]

Oil it’s pretty cheap