Grocery Shopping in Strasbourg around Christmas Time by: Suzele
Fall and winter seasonal items are like what you would find in the US, different types of pumpkin type vegetables, lots of root vegetables, and OF COURSE all sorts of Christmas baking supplies...
Around Christmas time the shops tend to carry more exotic foods that aren't normally available.
Oysters, Foie Gras in many different forms, lots of shellfish, and other specialty items that you don't eat everyday.
The bakeries, pastry shops and butchers are also really busy with special orders. Most people order special desserts and sometimes hors d'oeuvres for Christmas and New Years.
The Christmas markets is mostly about snack foods, particularly Christmas snack foods, and knick knacks.
Grocery stores in France (and particularly in the middle of big cities) are smaller, but they've got everything you need.
They won't have everything you would find in an American grocery store and there will be a lot of things there that don't exist in the US.
Even if you're pretty good at French, you'll probably occasionally need a little pocket dictionary to figure out what something is (depending on what you want to cook)...
Let me know if you have more specific questions... : )
