SURPRISED AT SOME PRICES! How grocery prices compare with UK? Blair and I explore a Bucharest store
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- Опубліковано 25 тра 2024
- I was surprised at some of the produce which I had never seen before. Some items were predictably cheper than in the UK, but some things were surprisingly more expensive here in Bucharest. Come with Blair and I as we explore a store.
Filmed April 2024 | Bucharest, Romania.
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There is a joke in here somewhere about a Scotsman failing to identify fruit and vegetables, but I wouldn’t stoop so low. 😂❤
Thank you for holding back. This is what happens when you rely on Lidl as your local shop!
@@PlanesTrainsEverythingLIDL in the Netherlands, Germany and Greece does carry those vegetables. It is a bit shocking, sorry
What about the local cakes :)
@@PlanesTrainsEverythingLidl is no worse than any other UK supermarket - they have those 'international' ranges too.
Carrefour and Mega Image are the most upscale options in Romania, and you've been to one of their small, downtown Bucharest shops (Carrefour Market/Express), in one of the most upscale parts of town. Prices are substantially higher than at their larger outlets or more downmarket (Kaufland, Profi, Auchan), or even more middle class locations in town. The lack of variety comes to the business model - these small supermarkets mostly work as convenience stores - they mostly sell alcohol, cigarettes, sweets, snacks, last-minute presents, and things to whip up a late-night dinner when the fridge is empty. Oh, and weird ethnic foods to cater to expats like those Heinz beans (yes, that's how those are regarded, no sane Romanian would put sugar on top of beans). Any bigger purchases are made at a big-box store (Romanians will call them "hypermarkets"), which are (Bucharest being weird and incredibly high-density) extremely close to downtown, taking maybe 20 minutes on the subway to get to instead of 1+ hours by car in much of Western Europe. Or at a farmers' market, which is still a very popular alternative. Cheese and dairy are incredibly popular, there's a large variety of yogurt and sour milk type drinks and quite a few cheeses. However, most cheese, especially in Southern Romania, is white brined cheese (branza) and not the more familiar dry-aged yellow variety of Central and Western Europe (that's called cascaval, and it's not very special or popular). Since most Romanian cheese needs to be stored in brine, it's either sold over the counter, or in sealed, non-transparent packages (a la Mozzarella or Feta). Oh, and Noroc is not terrible. Not good by any standards, but I've had way worse. It's cheap and easy drinkable - quite watery and quite weak on the hops - but still better than some of the US mass market beers. Neumarkt is quite nice - probably the best of the very cheap plastic bottle beers - it has a quite nice hoppy taste to it.
when I visit a new place I always enjoy exploring the shops and supermarkets - gives a different insight into local life
Me too, not so much for the cost, but just to see what they have. I also love foreign ironmongers - I almost bought mousetraps in Auckland, NZ! Then I said to myself, "Don't be stupid".
A visit to the local supermarket is always interesting👏
Carrefour is actually a French super-and hypermarket chain with almost 14,000 stores in over 30 countries. There is a huge store in Calais.
Agreed but where i live in a medium,size city no carrefour😟 2 leclerc's ,an Auchan soon to be 2 as they have bought the old casino super/hypermarket chain with Intermarché (2 of thèses )as Well as 2 aldi's and lidl's😂
As had been said carrefour is french but all over the world surprised you didn't know what the endives were true i never saw them in england when i lived there over 30 years ago ,here grown mainly in northern France and can be eaten cooked or raw ,
@@dazlebluefrogify you are lucky that you have only 2 Aldi and 2 Lidl. I live in a town with a population of 115000 and we have 3 each plus another five large supermarkets
@@dazlebluefrogify don't tell Scott that he is from England, he would probably be insulted as he is a proud Scott's man
Carrefour was the first shop to open at the metro centre gateshead
I like these Scott, very interesting to see, especially as when I travel on my own I use supermarkets more than restaurants!
Steve your fabulous particularly with the Mrs videos 😊
I love sniffing around the supermarkets on my travels and you can find things that you will always buy up. For me when in France is laundry 🧺 soap 🧼 which you can’t buy anymore commonly in the UK or Ireland 🇮🇪 . Remarkable that is as Sunlight Soap was Lever Bros very first product out of Birkenhead in the 1800’s which has turned into the global mega company Unilever of today 😊 Say in the UK supermarkets 2 litres of Ginger Beer soft drink is about 80p in the Rep of Ireland it’s almost impossible to buy at a reasonable price.
Steve have you ever looked into the Viking cruise from northern Denmark to Iceland via faoreo islands, you can get on the car ferry for a week long cruise but it’s not exactly a normal cruise. Takes exactly a week Saturday Morning to Saturday Morning and you get 2 days in the islands, and a overnight in Eastern Iceland 🇮🇸 plus your extra close to Shetland 😊 It’s an unique experience that not many people have doing decent videos of recently, as they significantly improved the ferry 3 years ago, it would be an really interesting video.
As a connoisseur of fine cheeses, you will have been devastated by the recent tragic explosion in a french cheese factory. There was nothing left but 'de Brie '
🤣🤣🤣
It’s difficult to compare prices between the U.K. and other countries and you cant just convert the prices to GBP to know if they are cheaper as it all depends on other factors like what the living wage is, how much tax is added etc
Percentage of disposable income is a good guide...but it's quite easy to see that Britain is a rip off for many things
Hi Scott, just wanted to say how much we enjoy your films. It's lovely to vicariously experience places through your films. Love the very dry Sahara like wit! All the best. David
It’s called courgettes in British English not Zucchini’s. It’s the Americans who call the latter that.
So there is no English name for this vegetable. Interesting.
@@desertfox486 The plant has three names in English, all of them meaning 'small marrow': zucchini (an Italian loanword), usually used in the plural form even when only one zucchina is meant, courgette (a French loanword), and baby marrow (South African English). Zucchini and courgette are doublets, both descending from the Latin cucurbita, 'gourd'.
Scott was using the Australian name for that vegetable as he lived there for a while.
6:02 Certainly in the USA, after the eggs are laid by the chickens, they go through a cleaning process.
The eggs are washed in warm water and a detergents and after washing, they are rinsed and cleaned with a sanitizer to remove any remaining bacteria. The eggs are then dried to remove moisture from the surface.
The result are eggs that are clean on the outside, and look spotless.
However, washing and sanitizing the outside of the egg removes the egg’s cuticle.
The cuticle is a natural layer that protects the egg from harmful bacteria getting inside. If the egg had been fertilized, this is how the egg naturally protects the embryo while it is developing.
Cleaning the eggs removes the cuticle, so the eggs must be kept at refrigeration temperature, otherwise, the bacteria could easily enter the egg and multiply to dangerous levels. By keeping it out of the danger zone, salmonella can’t multiply rapidly.
Thank you for these videos ☺️
Thank you Scott. I an returning to Romania after 33 years of being adopted abroad. Your recent videos have coincided great with my summer trip
I don't know if you are aware, but Carrefour is a french chain of supermarket. Cheers
Carrefour is a French chain of supermarkets
and they used to have some in the UK too.
Possibly not in Scotland.
I wouldn't pronounce the e in the middle
it is the French word for a crossroads.
You should try some celeriac - the nobbly turnip
it is great in salads as well as cooked.
I had a student who used to bring thin slices of celeriac
to snack on.
It is celery root.
I don't think you pronounce the E in Carrefour ? ... French supermarket chain in Bucharest is going to be expensive ....
No, you don't. You pronunce it "karfur". Foreign supermarkets are usually cheaper than local ones in the Middle and Eastern Europe. They have tax preferences because they employ local people and by local produce. In Poland , the Polish shops are more expensive than the chain foreign ones. The quality is lower but the foreign ones are cheaper.
Great Video Scott
In the US we call Royal Crown Cola RC. As a matter of fact I'm drinking a Cherry RC while watching this video.
Hi there. I am from Bucharest.
That vegetable is celery (telina). Pretty useful that you can find in most stores an already packed celery+onion+carrot mix, which is a base ingredient for many foods which are soup and/or rice based. Regarding vegetables, everybody just buys them Saturday+Sunday morning from the local piata (farmer's market).
You went to a small to small store, that's why you didn't see many cheeses/dairy products. I always find it funny when foreigners are amazed at our mustard and dairy products hahaha.
Alcohol comes in all varieties. Kozel is a Czech beer, which is decent. Our local brands are Ursus and Timisoreana. But wine is the way to go here. You cand find all the price ranges you want for wine :).
It's celeriac in English. Celery is the long green thing.
Well, wine and Cuika (pardon the spelling, I'm Czech) :D
@@looseycanon Your Romanian is better than my Czech :). Yes, how could I forget "Țuică". Another thing I find funny is when foreigners just do shots of țuică, instead of drinking it in small sips like it is supposed to be drunk. Na zdravi!
@@jonathanfinan722 ah I see, thanks for the clarification.
Fascinating content, Scott
Nice range of spirits, and not one had a security tag on. Another reason why everything is so expensive in the UK 😢😢
These are great videos ❤
Brilliant Scott. I regularly travel to Belgrade, so it’s interesting for me to compare Romanian/UK/Serbian prices. Thank you.
I was in that very store recently. I found it somehow depressing...
And for the record, Kozel is not a local beer in Bucharest
you are correct, Kozel is from the Czech Republic
What was so depresing exactly?
@@loredanadincu7930 It's hard to describe exactly, but the layout of the store, the selection, the lighting, the atmosphere, an uninviting fruit and veg section, an uninteresting bread selection and more. I live in the Czech Republic and we don't have the best supermarkets. But this store I found just plain sad.
@@laussrensen4541 yeah sure
Scott, you are right. Some prices seem high. We enjoyed visiting grocery stores when we visited London and Edinburg just 2 months ago. Lidls in London and Edinburgh have very good prices on many items compared to my local prices in North America. Enjoy your video on grocery "shopping"
It is Scamafoure
Now compare salaries
Average Romanian salary according to Google is 1600 Euros
@@RushfanUK That would be gross. After tax it is 900-1000 Euro/month.
@@ifrimvlad This supermarket is very much in an upscale neighbourhood in downtown Bucharest (Dorobanti/ASE). Bucharest incomes are substantially above the average Romanian salaries, and incomes in that part of town above those in Bucharest as a whole. I doubt anybody frequenting that store on a daily basis makes average (let alone median) pay. And prices show it... they are at least 20-30% above, and for some stuff probably as much as double what they are in the hypermarket at Grozavesti, a few subway stops down the line.
I love your channel...really inspiring. Think I will jump on a Ryanair flight to somewhere random one day. Thanks again Scott.
Nice video! You did actually go to the most expensive main Grocery chain, so the prices are usually a bit lower. Especially in Lidl, which is the cheapest one.
Reason for the old bottles of Cola might be due to the fact there is a factory producing it all not that far away from Bucharest, apx. 60 km to the north in Ploiesti. Got to tell you, the prices gone crazy in the last few years in RO & the inflation rate is also high. I don't really fancy going grocery shop to Carrefour, cause I find most of their food to be of a lower quality compared to LIDL which has a fresher alternative & Mega Image.
1.50 is vegetable not fruit .
Refreshing soup or stews easy on stomach.Very delicious .
Kaufland and Auchan are cheapest supermarkets.
Location also counts because tax circle zones .
Local quality substitute for lot of imports are 2,3 times cheaper.
I wouldn’t be surprised if at my grocery store in the states the price is double for the wings…but that’s only 2 and we usually do 4-5
What did interest me is that this is the exact supermarket i visited a couple of months ago to get some supplies. Many items are cheaper than UK but the average Romanian wage is about half, maybe one third, of UK.
Kozel isn't local, it's Czech ;)
You beat me to it ;-)
Kozel is my favourite czech lager
@@michaelowen7609 I prefer Primator (especially the stout and double bock), however Kozel is way easier to get outside the Czech Republic.
That's fantastic, you've clearly not tried too many if that's your favourite 😂@@michaelowen7609
Scraping the barrel with this upload
Fantastic video Scott, nice to get a wee price comparison, how much we are getting ripped off here in Scotland when VAT and tax. I found that scotch whisky is cheaper in Poland than in Scotland. Jeezo!
Those weren't bell peepers they were yellow wax peppers, sweeter, my dad once strapped a sack full to the roof rack of our Orange VW Beetle in the 1970's and somehow got it through all the customs points from Hungary to London.
I’d wouldn’t put Sainsburys at the high end it’s has to go along with Tescos, high end supermarkets in the U.K. would be M&S, Waitrose or Ocardo
Dude, I spent $11 for a brick of coffee this morning USA California. It was the store brand.
I would say where I live in the uk, Sainsbury’s falls into the middle category and Morrisons falls into the top
Had Kozel in Budapest, it was my go to during my visit.
Celeriac - you will find them in Morrisons as well!
The only way you can compare is lidi UK and lidi Romania. Lidi is the only supermarket that is in nearly every European country.
05:31 I think the English word for that vegetable is «Chicory» (in Dutch we call it «Witlof» and it is quite good roasted with cheese and ham in the oven) ☺️
interesting to see how well stocked the store was....
Very video am bit shocked about the prices though it would be a lot cheaper just came back from traina in Albania where the prices where half the price from Bucharest xx
Scott love the concept on these grocery videos but I think it needs a local to help explain what they eat and what is grown regionally. It needs a home grown touch. I'm sure somebody would do it for free.
Context of local wages would help. For example if you were doing a video about Swiss supermarkets you'd say it's expensive for tourists, because it is , but for locals it's ok...France is cheaper though
I am stunned at the obvious difference in price between Glasgow and South Eastern England for food! I wish I could have your prices in my local supermarkets! Go on tell me how much is a scotch pie (without baked beans), squeer sausage, battered mars bars, Tennents Heavy, Irn Bru and Tunnocks Tea Cakes. That's enough to bring all of England up north from Doon Sooth.
Hi, I really enjoy travels. I believe you commented that the eggs were refrigerated, apparently a surprise for you? Eggs in the US are always sold refrigerated, as far as I know.
Very interesting, from US some price there are higher some are lower
I worked with a woman from Romania, and she said their cheese was better than the Irish cheese. I beg to differ.
Virgin brand cola uses the same recipe as Royal Crown (RC) coa found in the US
Great video mate. Beer is so cheap there.
How interesting. It would have even more intriguing if you had included comparisons on all of the brands we have in the UK
A request, try to avoid handling all the fresh food if you're not going to buy it?
In most of Southern Europe and the Middle East it's considered absolutely fine to feel vegetables and fruit before buying them. In fact, in Romania, it is outright expected, and you will frequently be handed a pear, a nectarine or a tomato, to feel it for ripeness, with no expectation to purchase it. Further, you are expected to thoroughly wash the produce before using them - some supermarkets will have a sink somewhere in the produce section specifically for that.
@@frunzaverde1 interesting!
Bloody hell, I paid 85p for a pineapple at the Co-Op this week.
Wasn't that Celeriac at the start?
no, chicory. Just 2 variants of the same vegetable :)
@@jwenting it was what we in the UK call celeriac.
So you found Coca Cola and after a while you found Pepsi, but the big question is did they have IrnBru. 😅
I really like these compare vids scott but Per kg price is no use. We need to compare say a £2 watermelon in uk with a 50p watermelon in romania.
I just want % diff. You could easily do this on the fly by having 10-20 common uk prices on your phone. Loaf of bread £1.50 v 90p etc
What would one do with a 500 pound monthly salaray here
Looks like celeriac
It seems you actually checked out two supermarkets? A Carrefour and a Mega (Delhaize)
you say CARRY FOR (Carrifore), I have always said CAR FORE... have I been doing it wrong all my life?
Hi Scott another fine film ma man. I saw the Coca Cola cans on the shelf @ 9:11 they looked a bit bigger than normal any idea how much ml they are?
That's an unusual, even in Romania, 1,25 L (42.27 fl. oz) bottle
I was surprised at some prices too! Aside from foul booze, the days of great bargains on groceries in central Europe seem to be largely a thing of the past.
Buchareat has 50k $ GDP per capita, ofc it s expensive
In 4:28 it is not local, its czech beer :)
Now you should do a Scottish supermarket Safari and actually cook something with those vegetables you saw in Romenia. A fried Mars bar does not count!!
Yes, unfortunately food prices here in Romania are either about on par with "richer" western europe or sometimes higher. That supermarket might not be the cheapest but the differences are small. We actually adore cheese and have a lot of it but smaller stores don't have much variety and most people will go for the 2-3 types that are most popular(of the romanian ones), mainly "telemea"(which is similar to feta but a bit drier), that's why there will be rows of it in most markets. Interesting u didn't recognize the big celery root, I didn't realise it's not a common food ingredient outside of this region, it gives a lot of flavor.
It's possibly the most expensive supermarket in the whole of Romania, bar some fancy specialty stores. He went to the Carrefour on Calea Dorobanti, behind ASE, across the street from the British Council. That place is expensive.
@@frunzaverde1 I know it but to be fair, regular Carrefour or Kaufland aren't THAT much cheaper, prices in most markets are close to and for some stuff even a bit over what you can find in mid supermarkets in italy, spain, germany, even UK outside of central London and this considering our salaries are nowhere near on par.
you're comparing uk mozzas to quite a swanky supermarket for Romania. Is there a profi supermarket nearby?
What part of the UK calls it Mozzas? I've heard of Morries and my gran still calls it Safeway
that would be interesting. having a quick search there isn't many good vlogs of profi :(
@@kennymcornmick yea it’s interesting to see in the Romanian carrefour but I think a profi video will do well too it’s not a big multinational outfit like carrefour. I’ve always thought of carrefour as like one of the uk ones you mention as more posh/pricey
@@foodyak this might just be me and my friends tbh lol but it’s originally from a time when we were using one near the centre of Leeds w Yorkshire, though I’m not from there. They had a separate walk in section for alcohol that was more carefully watched than the main aisles because of all the pilfering. Safeway stores also became Sainsburys elsewhere they split them between a few buyers
You need to take into account that the average wage in Romania is half the U.K. average wage , so therefore, for the locals, you can double the price shown to make it comparable to us, so it’s not that cheap really…
That's half the story. Romania has extremely high income inequality, in most metrics higher than the UK, which also reflects itself in the overall distribution of prices. He went to an upscale supermarket in a very upscale area (Dorobanti) in downtown Bucharest - in fact the area is used as a kind of metonym for "posh" in Romanian. Both prices and selections are not typical in any way for the prices most supermarkets will charge, even in Bucharest.
@@frunzaverde1interesting...so it was almost not representative of a typical supermarket
@@keithparker1346 Yup, I would say not representative at all. They do have a really nice wine selection though - I reckon half their shelf space is filled with wine bottles.
I guess your Morrison has a very limited choice on vegetables or don't cook that often. Those pastas were a more premium choice.
Morrisons is relatively expensive compared to Tesco and Asda.
What? Which moon do you live on?
Many of these prices are dirt cheap.
5:00 *Tax on Scottish alcohol
I always find these market videos interesting. It’s neat seeing what people eat and how much it all costs
Enjoyed the video though it's " Carfor" not Carryfor" surely?
It’s usually pronounced carrafoor…
@@rosemarymee I just tried it on a translation app and it was pronounced Carfor...
@@vonsausage6312 Which translation app?
Tax on alcohol in the UK is eye watering!
Not working for me.
Greater Paris cheaper. I mean Carrefour Market.
The grocery stores here in the states are really expensive
these days as well, i enjoy your travels and the places that
you visit take care and thank you.🇬🇧🎇🎆🇬🇧
Lidi and Aldi are in the USA
@@andrewjones4773 it doesn't matter, the cost of food in general is significantly higher than Europe. If you settle for the cheap stuff in the US you end up eating heavily processed/GMO crap that would take you straight to cancer.
courgette not ,"zucinniii"
Check Travelling with Russell.The Australian Russia expert.
Bucharest has 50k $ gdp per capita, it s not rly that cheap
Didn't they sell real food - meat and fish?
Kozel beer is not local
That coke... Romanians, you guys have sugar tax?
few months ago added
Do you have to pick up and touch or smell everything only to put it back for someone else to buy, disgusting!
Sorry. but I watch you channel for the great content you supply to us arm chairs viewers.sadly to many of you tubers take us shopping.please please.no more shopping.
Not another supermarket! Why travel just to show supermarkets again?
He’s really scraping the bottom of the barrel
Very boring ... sorry. But these comparison videos (not just yours, I hasten to add) don't take into account local wages and other living costs. There's bound to be differences between the UK and European countries. So I can't see the point of price comparisons. IMO it would be more interesting to see proper meals featured (not coffee and buns or beer and pizza all the time).
does BLAIR realize how "cute" he is???????????
you are lucky to have your son travel with you.....
n
Not your best mate ,stick to travel vlogs
I find these videos boring Scott. I prefer your travel videos.
Not all about you.
agree
He’s really clutching at straws with this one, completely run out content
I found it interesting. And not all content has to have the same format.
Why would anyone be interested in this? If you live in the U.K. and fly to Bucharest for your weekly shop, the air fare will cancel any savings you make.