1. If it is agricultural products, I always try to dig out all my common sense hidden in my memory to recognise what it is and this method works quite well relying on my relatively abundant "market experience" back in China. The problem is usually I don't buy it if I don't recognise it, but recently I decide to try something new even though I have no idea what it is and how I am going to do with it. It takes me quite a long time to google it after I bring it home.
2.If it is food with package, I always make a guess what is in it according to the picture and the words on the package.The words on the package are seldom in English but some Finnish or Sweden are quite like English so I can always find some "clue" between it, for example fett is fat, jogurtti is yogurt. However, picture sometimes cannot help especially when you looking for some ingredients, they look all the same no matter you show the picture of them or even themselves. Smelling it can help but normally you cannot do this before you buy it.
3.Recently, I've found another quite useful strategy to solve my problem---google the Finnish for your "targets" before you go to supermarket, and ask people when you are in the supermarket.The problem is you cannot always find a staff to ask in the supermarket.
Strategies are just strategies, which means they cannot always work.However, Finnish people never let you down whenever you need help.
About two month ago, I was trying to find some pork in the supermarket. How can you distinguish pork from beef and other kinds of red meat without reading the instructions on the package???!!!(back then I didn't know we can buy meat in the fresh counter) I wondered in f the refrigeration block for a while but still didn't have any idea in my mind so I decided to ask a lady approaching me.Unfortunately, she couldn't speak English but what surprised me was she didn't give up because of the language barrier--- after I kept repeating "pig pig pig", she seemed to understand my question and she made a sound like "moo moo moo"to show me which is beef and made another sound to show me which is pork. My problem was perfectly solved.I felt more touched than happy because her lovely acts to help a stranger.
Such things are not rare. About two weeks ago, I was trying to find some fish in front of the fresh counter. I was curious about one kind of "white fish" so I ask the girl behind the counter what it was. She felt sorry didn't know the English name of it but she made her effort to explained to me the fish was special for Christmas dishes and wrote down the Finnish name "turska" for me so I could google it after I came home. When I left the counter, she even said "wish you can make good soup" to me.However, the best part of the story hasn't come yet. When I went to the supermarket again this week, she was there wearing her warm smile as usual and suddenly, she asked me "How was you soup with turska?" "I was really good, thank you so much!" "I am really glad to hear that." Again, a strong stream of warmth was flowing in my heart.
I feel so honored to meet such great people in Finland.
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