Saturday, July 26, 2008

Robbed by the Cob

Yesterday I was wandering through the market in Bonn, looking for something to make for dinner. I was in the mood for something summery, but tired of eggplant and zucchini. I didn't want to make yet another salad. I wanted something that could be cooked. What I wanted, I realized, was corn on the cob.

A little while later, in the health food store, I found about 10 ears!

Now, I understand that corn on the cob is not the most popular food in Germany. I suspect that many Germans think of it as pig — not people — food. But, I was amused that, below the corn's label, were instruction to cook it by boiling or grilling.

I don't know if all this talk in the media about farmers growing corn for bio-diesel is true, but I was shocked by the price-per-cob. Just to make sure I wasn't totally remembering everything in the U.S. as being less expensive, I logged on to Fresh Direct, an online grocery store in the New York area, the check the price in the states.

Fresh Direct is selling ears of corn for $0.59. Guess how much I paid in Germany.

1.49 Euros per ear! With the exchange rate, that's $2.34 per ear!!! Per ear!!!

I bought two ears anyway. But at home, over dinner I told Kevin to enjoy. At these prices this is the only time we'll be eating it this summer.

4 comments:

C N Heidelberg said...

We just paid a Euro per ear to get some! :( To think we used to get paper bags full of it free when I was growing up....

Snooker said...

We paid a Euro per ear here in Berlin too. But I was fine with that. Boiled them up and had a lovely time.

I'm with the Heidelbergerin, we used to walk out to the garden and harvest as much as we could carry every few days. Ah... the times of good, fresh sweet corn.

Erin said...

I never got bags for free, but there was a pick-it-yourself field near where I grew up. It was something like a dime and ear, and you left your money in a box on the side of the road.

coco said...

try here (http://www.qype.com/place/86392-Uemit-Markt-Bonn) for 26 cents per ear and in original green leaves:)) they are local corns and were delicious!!! you can take line 62 and get out at rosental haltestelle. it is right in front of you. I am sure you will find many more lebensmittel that you would like to try. I am also shopping for meat there, feels better than buying it in plastic boxes.