Gifts from the US for my German Friends

Hi everyone,

I need some gifts ideas for my friends in Germany. I'm from New York, and would love to bring something from my home State/Country to share with my German friends. Preferably, I'm looking to bring something that you cannot find over there OR is difficult to find/expensive over there, but common here. I've heard that peanut butter is popular but rather expensive in Germany, so i may bring a nice big jar. I was also thinking about bringing some American candy...but i don't know which US brands are available there. Any advice would be greatly appreciated!:)

Thanks!

PS. I am also visiting London, and would like to bring some unique gifts to my friends there too...but I think they have almost everything we have here as well. But, let me know if anyone thinks of anything! I'll repost to the London forum as well.

Reeses Peanut butter cups - can't get that in Germany

a six pack of Brooklyn lager - to prove that the US actually starts to brew decent beer

my nephews loved the cowboy hats I brought back home - but guess probably hard to get in NY (easy in Denver:) )

Hershey`s chocolate, if there is still the brand with blue letters in silver paper. That is the chocolate GIs brouhgt to Germany after the war, and is therefor remembered in a very good way by many Germans

That's a difficult question, as many American items can be found in any big supermarket. Don't bring peanutbutter, any Penny store carries it. If your friends live close to a big city, chances are high that there's a supermarket with an American shelf near-by.
Why don't you bring some food you like yourself and invite them to an American dinner which you have prepared? Like for example pumpkin pie ? Or bake an American cake , bring either the recipe or a cake mix. If your friends live in a village, bring some more of the ingredients, if not, go shopping here in a big supermarket. Karstadt has a good grocery hall, especially the on in Frankfurt.

A baseball glove.

Peanut butter... a matter of taste (not my cup of tea), don't know how local brands qualitywise compare to those from the US.

Personally, I would enjoy everything that originates from around your place/state. I've learned that NYS is well known for fruits & even wine (a little known fact over here, where all supermarket-shelves are stuffed with Californian wines), so anything from a local brand of jam (if it's in a nice jar), other fruit-products, cider or a bottle of wine would be well recieved (by me ;-) ).

A friend of mine always returns from the US with several of those Aspirin-jars (500? 1000? tablets), as they're (said to be) more expensive over here.

Maybe a set of steak sauces except Heinz. Hickory Honey Jalapeno Brown Sugar Yeeha :)

As global markets have expanded, there are very very few American products that are not available everywhere in Europe. And those that are difficult to find are merely because there is no local interest in the product, not because it is too expensive. What American product could be too expensive for a German, anyway?

to #7 we are not millionaieres

but yor are right we get everything at markets if we have the money

why dont you ask your friends ?
they might have a wish

Why not tins of Clam Chowder ? I love this dish and bring some back whenever I travel to the U.S. I doubt whether they have them in non U.S. supermarkets.

I question peanut butter also. But I will say that my German foreign exchange students did like the Reeses Peanut butter cups. They liked them alot.

My boyfriend and I are usually ask for

Reeses Peanut butter cups
M&M's with almonds
Hazelnut Belgian Instant Coffee by Kraft
Maccaroni & Cheese - I especially like the ones from Annie's

when friends come over from the U.S. or somebody is going there.

To say that you can get everything you could get in America anywhere in Europe is completely false. There are American products in the international section of many supermarkets, but they tend to be high priced, stereotyped and not particularly high quality (Heins or generic barbecue sauce, off label macaroni and cheese, spray cheese (!?!), peanut butter with tons of sugar and preservatives). There might not be a market for many American products in Germany, but that's largely the result of ignorance, different tastes (I'd mostly put peanut butter in this category), or the expense of shipping things from one developed country to another. I've had great success bringing food items back with me from the US for gifts. Nearly anything from Trader Joes is usually good, jars of salsa, real New York bagels, sharp New York state or Vermont cheddar, tortillas, the previous suggestion of a can of clam chowder was a really good one, pumpkin pie filling (make the crust from scratch), rice cakes, anything with cranberries (e.g. tea), hummus and pita bread (I'd kill for some and can't find it here), cans of spicy pinto beans (Germans are crazy about making chili con carne, but never have the right ingredients), soy milk, beef jerky. I'm sure there's plenty I'm not thinking of since I haven't been in the US in a long time.

Thanks for everyone's suggestions! Now I am armed with some really excellent ideas!Also makes me feel like I have taken for granted things like reeses peanut butter cups and mac n' cheese since it's so readily available over here.

I am definitely going to go to trader joe's tomorrow and stock up on annie's mac n' cheese (i love that too), reeses peanut butter cups, some clam chowder and other delicious things. I can't wait to see my friends and share the goodies with them. Thank you all so much!

*12 dont kill go to an asian or turkish store they have pita bread

from the posts i learned not to take some things for granted. in a big city where i live you can buy all the food mentioned