My nerdy heart is happy for grocery store day! My introduction to Jordanian grocery stores was when we visited a Carrefour and today I will visit Hanny Supermarket, Centro, and Cozmo. Hanny Supermarkets are smaller neighborhood groceries which cover all the basic needs. The meat counter is smaller but they have a reasonable selection of fresh and marinated meats. Two interesting observations from Hanny are: 1) the meat is darker in color than in the US, and 2) beef is marketed as either corn fed Prime American Angus or imported grass fed. 

Centro and Cozmo are both bigger stores with wider selections. I would describe Centro as somewhat similar to Whole Foods and Cozmo as similar to Kroger or Publix. Product quality is comparable and each store has some unique offerings like a fresh juice kiosk or a deli style counter for bulk spices. Centro is a camera-ready grocery store with everything beautifully arranged and presented. Produce is neatly organized and stacked and all the displays are full. Cozmo displays are not as intricately stacked and presented and their prices were slightly lower comparatively. Overall, I would happily shop at either.

In terms of what items are available, Centro and Cozmo are very similar. The bakery section is fairly large and includes eclairs, cakes, cookies, croissants, pita, olive breads, and other savory breads. There are a lot of familiar brands like the Publix Greenwise brand of frosted flakes cereal, Cheerios, Cocoa Puffs, and Cinnamon Toast Crunch in the cereal aisle. The candy aisle has Snickers, Kinder, M&M’s, Twix, and Skittles. The chocolate bars taste the same as in the US but the Skittles taste different (personally, not a fan). I was more surprised by the egg, meat, and cheese sections. 

More square footage is dedicated to eggs than in my local grocery store.  The selection includes white and brown chicken eggs, duck eggs, and quail eggs. I was surprised to find a beef foot in the meat area. The hair was removed and the foot was sliced at about 2 inch intervals exposing the bones. I think this would be used in soups but am unsure. There is organ meat including lamb kidneys, spleen, heart, and testicles. I did a double take of the lamb testicles because at least one package had a lamb kidney sticker. The beef and chicken options are more familiar but with more seasoned and marinated options.

The cheese counter is massive and halloumi is very popular. There are a variety of cheeses, some more exotic and others more familiar to me. The seafood counter includes familiar staples like red fish, tuna, and shrimp as well as more … unique options like octopus. Ironically, octopus is something I found in multiple seafood counters and was not expecting to see it at all.

There are many imported items in the fruit and vegetable section including baby pineapple, rambutan, star fruit, and cacao. I am intrigued that they are all labeled as imported. I am accustomed to seeing “product of” labeling on products in the US but these items are called out as imported in both “product of” labels on the item as well as on the price cards attached to the shelf.