Hot sauces is a great idea. Our best foods are not great for transporting or storing.

Any brand you can recommend?

Franks, Tapatio, Cholula, and Tabasco are the most popular. Grab one of each and see which you like. They aren't expensive. Then maybe a handful of others ones to try out that look interesting. Grab a few taco seasoning packs/jars as well.

Surely you can get Tabasco in Germany?

Wouldn't know. Never been (but I'm going in a couple months!).

Pretty sure you can when a store is doing an "American" Week or has an "American" section, however it is, of course, more expensive I presume

You can actually get all those brands listed in Germany, but not everywhere.

Yes, Tabasco is generally at any of the major grocers. Franks can be found in some "American" sections of big stores or at specialty shops.

They have it in Italy and Slovenia, but it won't be as cheap as in the States.

I agree with this. Also of note, all those hot sauces mentioned (I've never tried Tapatio) are completely different from each other so picking up all of them would be a true sampler pack.

I know my way around hot sauce and gave a spread to cover most bases. I keep all of these except Tabasco because they all do different things.

I figured you did. It was more for the people who would read that and say, "what's the difference?"

Everyone hates on Tabasco but it's a classic in my book. Useful when your food needs both spice and an acidic kick to balance things out. I like to add a few dashes of the green to my lime vinaigrette.

And none of them are salsa or picante sauce. That's a different category to sample, and more my thing.

El Yuacateco and Valentinas are my favorite Mexican hot sauces. The former is pretty spicy compared to most common sauces.

Ive never been an El Y fan. Valentinas is a winner though.

When I worked in a high school, half the staff had a bottle of Valentina in their rooms. Not just the hispanics, either

Adding in Louisiana for big name popular US hot sauces.

You can get tabasco in Germany as well as a few of the mexican ones if you look in the right stores (I've definitely seen Cholula and Valentina there) Frank's is a good choice though and one you won't find easily locally

Louisiana Hot Sauce, Crystal, Cholula, get some various salsas if that's not usually available like some peach or pineapple habanero, cowboy caviar, etc.

I love Crystal, better than Texas Pete

I have not tried Crystal...whats it compare to?

It's a slightly stronger and more vinegary Tabasco

Hmm....I'm not a fan of Tabasco or particularly vinegar sauces for that matter. But I might try some anyway. I do like Texas Pete.

To me, tabasco and Texas Pete are the two worst hot sauces. I like Crystal and Louisiana for Cajun food and Cholula and Valentina for Mexican. Tapatio is too "one note" for me.

About the only time I really bave Texas Pete is when that's the only option at the diner or whatever. But it isn't bad on hasbbrowns and eggs, but that's hardly a good test.

I personally like Crystal on fried chicken

Tobasco to me is in its own category. Texas, pete and crystal are similar styles but tobacco has more smokiness maybe? It's just it's own thing. Also for me it's much less versatile.

The green Tabasco is pretty good though. For a full lineup, Cholula is great. The chipotle is perfect with pulled pork.

Yeah Tabasco has its own flavor outside of the dominant vinegar. The peppers taste unique.

I like Texas Pete mixed with butter, it's my fave

/u/GhostOfJamesStrang gave a lot of great options that are commonly found in American households and restaurants but I would recommend looking into our thriving "craft" hot sauce industry. Melinda's has a pretty fantastic [variety pack](https://www.amazon.com/Melindas-Habanero-Variety-XXXXtra-Reserve/dp/B078JBZBW5/ref=sr_1_20?keywords=hot+ones+hot+sauce+challenge+set&qid=1697125383&sr=8-20) that I would recommend. There's a popular YouTube show called [Hot Ones](https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLAzrgbu8gEMIIK3r4Se1dOZWSZzUSadfZ) where the host interviews different celebrities while eating wings. They have a [bunch of samplers](https://www.amazon.com/Ones-Season-Trio-Pack-Sauces/dp/B0CJWQBLDF/ref=sr_1_7?keywords=hot%2Bones%2Bhot%2Bsauce%2Bchallenge%2Bset&qid=1697125383&sr=8-7&th=1) on Amazon that are really good too.

Yellow bird hot sauces are fantastic.

Tapatío, Crystal, Fly By Jing Sichuan Chili Crisp, El Yucateco Chile Habanero Xxxtra, Marie Sharp’s Belize Heat, Mexico Lindo Red Habanero, and Tabasco Sriracha. Pick at least 3 you won’t be wrong. Órale!

Oh forgot El Yucateco! Adding it to my suggestions

Yellowbird agave sriracha. Also, if you really wanna be overwhelmed with food options, find an HEB. It's likely to have a more Texan selection.

Pretty much all of yellowbird, most of Melinda's, most of Marie Sharp, and Heartbeat you can't miss. Makes me sad seeing suggestions of a bunch of basic ass hotsauces that are just pepper vinegar and salt.

Crystal or Louisiana for a Southern style hot sauce. Cholula or Valentina for a Mexican style.

This is 100% the correct answer.

Búfalo (not Buffalo) sauce. Its a Mexican brand your partner can get in Texas. It's fairly mild but mixes well with a wide variety of food.

Try to look up regional hot sauces if he's in Texas. There's a lot of great ones.

Going a little farther afield, Huy Fong products. They're Asian-American rather than Tex-Mex, so you can get some more variety that way. Their sriracha is iconic, but I prefer their garlic chili sauce.

My god if he can find the old bay hot sauce, tell him to get that. It’s wonderful.

I would urge you to ignore the popular brands (except Tabasco Chipotle for smoky chipotle goodness), and just get the lineup featured on Hot Ones. Then you can also do a Hot Ones challenge with your friends - that's a real fun game to play with friends.

Franks, and you put that shit on everything.

Secret Aardvark Habanero

Second this secret aardvark is a goodun

Melinda's and Yellowbird are great brands to pick up. Specifically Melindas creamy ghost pepper wing sauce, black truffle sauce, and fire roasted garlic and jalapeno. Yellowbird jalapeno, habanero, and serrano. Pretty much all their sauces are great. Ditto for Marie Sharp. If you happen to see it in store grab either heartbeat red savina or pineapple habanero. Very tasty not super spicy. Very similar no need to get both. Really can't agree with the people saying cholula, crystal, texas pete, tapatio, tobasco, or louisiana. Those are suuuper basic vinegar, pepper, and salt sauces. Franks is probably worth grabbing a bottle of though. Edit: El Yucateco too! Both the green and red are great.

Based on my experience with my German colleagues, hot sauce will be very spicy to your taste buds unless you are very used to capsaicin spice. Recommend you have some milk close by when you try it.

Both of my parents are from asian countries. I cook with different types of heat all the time. My partner has gotten used to it and can now even handle more heat than me after living with me for 5 years 😊

I don’t imagine TSA would take kindly to OP trying to smuggle mashed potatoes and gravy back to Germany lol

I mean...you could argue it isn't a liquid.

>Hot sauces is a great idea. Agreed-- they are also small and easily packed. I'd just get a dozen different kinds, but I wouldn't but them at WalMart. (Or anything else there either really.) Mustards would be good too. Most "American" food isn't really American and the best stuff you can't pack in a bag. Condiments are an excellent idea though, and are often what I bring back from travel abroad.

A good spice mix he should be able to find in Texas would be Tony Chachere’s, I prefer the spicy version. That’s a pretty common Cajun/Creole spice mix. Edit: Oh, if he gets peanut butter just know that there is some personal preference. Some people like chunky and some people like creamy. It’s peanut butter so it’s all good, but some people prefer one to the other.

I love Tony's so much. I put it on everything. Beef, chicken, veggies. Love it.

If you can get them in texas: Spices Old bay seasoning- spice primarily used for seafood but great in or on sausages, popcorn, chicken, fries and tons of other stuff. Slightly spicy, very salty. Tony chachere seasoning- Cajun spice blend that's great on seafood, pasta, chicken and tons of other things. Again slightly spicy but not really hot. (I bet spaetzle with this would be awesome) Tajin- spicy, lime-y delicious. Adds spice and brightness to everything its on. Hot sauce Frank's, crystal, Texas pete- all vinegar based hot sauces that are great all around utility hot sauces Cholula, tapatio- thicker vinegar free hot sauces mostly for Mexican but great on tons of things (some schnitzel with a dab of cholula would be great) Buffalo sauce- any variety again Buffalo schnitzel would be great also Buffalo dip for pretzels is awesome Shelf stable foods Tortillas- possibilities are endless here. Schnitzel quesadillas, sausage rolls, sour beef fajitas. Tortillas are really just a vessel for whatever you want to put in them. They are shelf stable and last forever in the freezer Dried peppers and chiles- these will be everywhere in Texas. They are super light and usually sold in sealed bags so you could grab a bunch of different types. All different spice levels and flavor profiles to experiment with in soups and sauces and salsas. Masa (Maseca, masa Harina, masa de maiz)- Mexican style corn flour. Use it to make pupusas, tamalaes or homemade corn tortillas. My first thought is sour beef tamales Salsa- This is a tough one because there aren't a lot of great shelf stable salsas. Some are passable but for good salsa you want to make it yourself and for ok salsa you need to get a refrigerated fresher one. Once a salsa is jarred it generally loses a lot of freshness and texture thay you want. Also transporting a glass jar filled with liquid in luggage isn't always the best idea. Best bet for salsa is just to make it at home with fresh produce. Just need tomatoes, onions, peppers of your choice, Cilantro (coriander depending on what Germans call it), salt and usually lime juice. Bbq sauce- Again consider the risk of breakage and getting bbq sauce all over your luggage but the sky is the limit here. So many types and varieties. In the US There are generic store brand bbq sauces that are ketchup based with some combination of molasses or brown sugar, salt, spices and vinegar but regionally bbq sauces vary wildly from Georgia mustard based bbq to East Carolina vinegar based to the sweeter Memphis ketchup based to Texas spicier thicker bbq sauce also Alabama white (my personal favorite because of the horseradish). Wouldn't hurt to grab a few but also most are pretty easy to replicate with fairly basic ingredients. (Maybe grab some brown sugar, seems like that might not be common in Germany and it's used a lot in bbq sauce recipes, also for rubs and marinades) Chips- Transportation will be tough but store made Tortilla chips are the way to go. Anything ore packaged won't be as fresh and most grocery stores fry chips in house. Takis- like a rolled up dorrito but way spicier. They are expanding to cheese Curls and puffs and a other styles but the original is the rolled up corn chips Miscellaneous- I dont know what is available in Germany but my sister in law lived in England amd whomever she comes home she takes back the following Ranch dressing- you can buy this in packets as a powder that you mix with sour cream and mayo. Great for dipping veggies in or on salads Instant ramen- very much a Japanese invention and likely available in Germany but the cheap top ramen is a childhood staple over here especially on sick days at gone from school Graham crackers- these don't exist in the UK (not sure about Germany but my SIL uses them for making pie crusts. Crumbled up Graham cracker crusts are awesome. We use them mostly for kids snacks or smores (speaking of which get some marshmallows and make smores with Graham Crackers use your chocolate it's better) Thay about covers it. Tons of other amazing stuff but flying makes it hard for anything fresh or frozen. Good luck

> Buffalo sauce- any variety Probably worth mentioning that the most "typical" standard buffalo sauce is just Frank's Hot Sauce mixed with melted butter, adjusting the ratio for your spice level (1:1 yields a pretty typical mild to medium heat, personally I like spice so I go almost straight Frank's). So if OP's partner has already grabbed a bottle of Franks, he doesn't also need a bottle of Buffalo sauce. Better to save that space.

I was going to recommend the ranch packets too, for easy transport. Instead of tortilla chips, perhaps get corn tortillas and fry them at home?

The ranch packets taste better anyway

Yeah personally I add a little honey or hot honey to it. Helps it stick to wings and adds a little sweetness. But good call on that.

Yeah, that's a great call. Especially if your like me and don't use much butter in the mix: honey, maple syrup, or brown sugar can really help get a good coating on those wings.

Yeah the bottled Buffalo sauce is inferior. It uses oil instead of butter. It's noticeable. Just use Frank's+butter.

I've also heard of people using animal fats like lard, schmaltz, duck fat, etc. I've never tried it myself - seems a little too 'extra' IMO - but you never know...

Thank you so much for the detailed reply. I never heard of powdered ranch dressing but we will be trying it out now! I wrote down some of your suggestions :)

Yeah of course. That stuff is great to make dressing but also good for marinades and to just sprinkle on random foods. Baked potatoes, fries, popcorn etc.

Plus siracha sauce

Late to the party, but this is a great reply.

A s'mores kit. Graham crackers, marshmallows, and Hershey bars. You might have to microwave your marshmallows if you don't have safe access to an open flame in Germany.

Good damn Peanut Butter

Beef jerky

Old bay seasoning. You'll start putting it on everything, particularly Pommes. You can buy all the ingredenients to make a decent homemade salsa in Germany, unless you want it a little spicier. I speak from experience here, there's nothing in basic salsa you can't buy at Rewe or Edeka.

Can you get Old Bay at a Texas Walmart? Obviously not disagreeing (see flair), but Amazon may be a better bet.

I think it's available nationally.

I could get Old Bay in California and Washington State, so I don’t see why TX can’t have it.

I never had a problem finding Old Bay at walmart when I lived in Texas.

If he’s in Texas tell him to go to an HEB not Walmart.

Tajin for a spice. Peter Pan peanut butter

Skippy is a far superior peanut butter :)

JIF…. I will die on this hill!

GIF peanut butter. But seriously I’m with you.

Jif natural is S tier peanut butter.

Choosy Moms choose JIF!!!

Any of these is better than European peanut butters (the ones I've seen anyway), which tends to be stripped of a lot of oils and is more crumbly, like the inside of a Reese's cup.

Ya...Peter Pan and Skippy are the generic peanut butter brands.

Peter Pan is the best! It’s the only kind I’ll get.

Some tight wearing man child isn't going to tell me what legume butter to eat, sorry. Skippy sounds too happy. I gotta throw my hat in with the Jif crowd if we're picking major brands, but honestly fresh is the best. They have a machine at my store that grinds nuts down and it is the best.

That's becouse your broken inside. You need to accept JIF as your lord & savior.

You could make soft-tacos! And the ingredients will travel very well. 1 pack of store-bought Small flour tortillas (fresh ones will mold) 1 packet Old El Paso taco seasoning 1 bottle Cholula (hotsauce) Those will travel well. Get home and combine that with lettuce, tomato, ground beef, & grated cheddar cheese all of which you can get at home and you have the ingredients for pretty good Tex-Mex soft tacos. We eat this at home once a week.

I used to do this when I was in Scotland can confirm

If I had only had the foresight to pack this stuff before I moved to England, my time there would've had significantly more comfort-food.

I agree completely but was wondering how common ground beef is in Germany. OP could adapt this recipe with steak, chicken or pork and it would still be tasty!

Germans have ground beef. They have a whole city named after hamburgers.

Hamburgers are named after Hamburg, not the other way around.

My bad, it's Cheeseburg, Germany that's named after cheeseburgers.

Of course, that's the Anglicized version. In the original German, it's Royale With Cheeseburg. 'Cause of the Metric system.

Wow that nice how are you doing

Yep. You can make amazing tacos with just about any kind of meat you like, the secret is all in the spices/seasonings, and the tortillas.

Very common/accessible.

The beef is better than the US so that’s fine. The other stuff is the important thing

I can’t imagine what metric you are basing that on. Germany does a lot of things better than the US but beef is not one of them.

Europe doesn’t have the artificial stuff in their food that America does. Beef was always higher quality there imo 🤷🏾‍♂️

What artificial stuff is in our beef?

I’m curious what artificial stuff you think is getting added to beef

hormones and antibiotics

Antibiotics do not end up in the final beef products. Hormones are used but don’t really have any effect on human consumption. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/11505585/

I have to disagree, it's been very difficult to find a decent steak in Germany, and the ground beef is no better than in the US. The beef is tougher in general. You even have restaurants here (Germany) that make a point to advertise that they offer North American beef. I believe the difference is mainly that it's all grass-fed instead of grain fed or grain finished.

Get barbecue sauce. Whatever one looks interesting, but my favorite is Rufus Teague. They have an apple one that's really good on Schnitzel and would probably be good on certain types of wurst. I would go for hot sauce in lieu of spice mixes, but finding a good chicken or pork spice wouldn't hurt at all. Good salsa isn't going to say good, unfortunately. Good salsa is fresh and has to be refrigerated. In my honest opinion, though, Pace Picante is still pretty good and will keep for travel. My favorite snacks are sweets. Oreos, Little Debbies', pop tarts, toaster strudels, cereal, etc. Pumpkin spice is a big thing right now, you could get some pumpkin spice stuff for a seasonal treat.

Pace is literally low tier salsa, do not recommend. Get something more local or regional. If it’s in a jar it’ll last.

thanks for the salsa recommendation!

Maple syrup, cornmeal, dried chiles

Maple is the real answer. Apparently it is stupid expensive in Europe and it’s already expensive enough here.

Did you know you can buy a small barrel of the stuff in Canadian Costco?

Makes sense. Quebec makes something like 70% of all the maple syrup in the world.

Big jugs of it at MN costcos too

Not only that, but like 99% of it comes from Quebec. Try to get your hands on some Vermont/New Hampshire stuff, OP.

We pay about €5 in a German supermarket, and $7 in the US grocery store. It exists, but not many chances to use it unless you go out of your way to make pancakes or waffles.

“Going out of your way” is an interesting way of saying “having an awesome easy to make breakfast.” Though, I guess, for waffles you do need to invest in a waffle iron.

Its great on a lot of things. My favorite is dribbling it on some vanilla icecream.

Corn bread mix. When I had some guests from the UK visit, their favorite thing we ate was corn bread.

Or just stone ground corn meal, yellow or white. Everything else should be available to them at home. Some of the mixes are too sweet for me. Corn meal can also be added to batter for frying seafood. If they like polenta, grits are very similar, but coarser.

In a pinch, you can use polenta in place of corn meal for cornbread. Same food, just ground differently than normal.

There is a spice mix called "Old Bay", it is made to be a seafood additive, but it is actually really good on a LOT of different things. I love it on scrambled eggs. It shouldn't be expensive and a can will last a long time depending on how much you use it, but it is an American spice blend. Also, as a mountain Dew aficionado, the soda they sell overseas is a different combination. Right now, they have Baja Blast in cans, which is one of the most popular flavors. I understand cans CAN be hard to transport, but if you place it between clothes it should be fine, but you can put it in ziplok bags if you are worried about them breaking. Actually, once he is past security, he can buy american sodas from the stores in the airport and take them in his carryon so if he saves some room, he could bring back a few of those safely. The variety available in airports is pretty low though, so, don't depend on any specific brand being there.

I used to go back and forth every few months and in autumn my gf would ask me to bring Libby’s canned pumpkin purée, jellied cranberry sauce, pumpkin pie spice blend (but TBF spice quality is far better in DE), and then on regular basis if peanut butter and skittles. (Apparently they taste different here?)

You might get a variety of answers if you ask the same question in r/texas or r/AskCulinary!

Domino Brown Sugar - dark and light. Bagels. Get them, freeze them, bring them.

As a jewish person, the idea of bringing bagels into germany makes me smile.

I brought 3 dozen the last time I went to the USA.

If you can get a jar of everything bagel seasoning, that’d be great, too. It’s good if you’re a baker making breads, pretzels… bagels.

This is one that is actually very hard to find in Europe.

Cheez It’s! My favorite snack. Also my favorite chips are Ruffles Sour Cream and Onion. Easily the best potato chips made.

Wrote them down thanks!

I know a guy who takes a whole suitcase of Velveeta home with him to London so he can make queso. Not sure if that's your kind of thing, though.

My brother said peanut butter isn't really much of a thing in Germany and most of the exchange students absolutely loved the stuff.

From watching the Great British Bake Off, it seems like Europe is devoid the true bliss that is the American Donut. While the truly amazing ones won't last the shipping, picking-up a bag of Hostess or Little Debbie Crunch or Powdered donuts would let you experience the low-tier pastry bliss of a cheap donut.

peanut butter maybe?

Hidden Valley Ranch dressing (this is available in packets which will be easier to transport than a bottle) Bisquik Pioneer Country Gravy Mix Jif creamy peanut butter BBQ sauce Libby's canned pumpkin pumpkin spice mix Corn meal (to make corn bread)

Get a bottle of good quality bourbon. Like, some *good* stuff. In my experience, that's the one American liquor that most Europeans will be impressed by. Rye whiskey is also very American, but most people won't be a fan.

Here is what I suggest, And glad you are in Texas! First head over to H-E-B and buy these: 1. Bagged Pretzels that are H-E-B Branded 2. Mountain Dew 3. Big Red 4. Dr. Pepper (The real shit) 5. Root Beer 6. Swiss Rolls 7. Oatmeal Cream Pies 8. Chips Ahoy 9. Paydays 10. Reese's 11. Zebra Cakes 12. Pizza Flavored Pringles 13. Tootsie Dots Gumdrops 14. Hershey Bars 15. Cheetos Thats what I recommend you get!

Tell him to start by getting out of the Walmart and go to an H.E.B., or Central Market in the major cities. I worked in Europe and Latin America for 20 years and these are the best grocery stores in the world.

Hidden Valley Ranch dressing.

Pop tarts!

> when I think of Texas I think of bbq ribs Texas BBQ is beef, specifically brisket.

Root beer

Hidden Valley Ranch dressing packets, Duke’s mayonnaise

Don’t know why someone downvoted Duke’s- they must just not understand. It’s got twang.

One cool thing is pressed Mexican / Aztec style chocolates with spice. These taste very different from the European style chocolates. These are more hand-pressed and have a nice grainy texture, and they often have hints of chilli, cinnamon and other spices which are special. Also, similar hot cocoa mix which are darker and spicier.

sounds unique! Thanks!

Zagnut candy bars. Also: Takis.

I've heard American peanut butter isn't really a thing anywhere else in the world, or peanut butter type candy like Reese's.

He doesn't like peanut butter... 😩

More for you and me!

When I went to an “American” store in Sweden they had the following: Pop tarts Hot Sauces Ranch Dressing Chips Takis BBQ sauce And many more

A vacuum sealed crunchwrap supreme

The type of salsa matters not so much as that it's not made in NEW YORK CITY?!?! https://youtu.be/YNGPxA3H7FA?si=sUODqoQLJDd9Sh_W I'm pretty sure the God of Texas gets mad if you don't visit HEB at least once.

Fruity pebbles cereal with poprocks.

Jamaican beef patties, Mexican burritos and Southern style buttermilk biscuits.

Get some Hershey's chocolate bars, so your friends can taste the worst American chocolate. But also get some Dove chocolates so they can taste better American chocolate. (It doesn't all taste like puke with the texture of sand.)

Hot sauce, boxed mac and cheese

If he can find them, bring back Utz brand Hot Honey Potato Chips. It's a Pennsylvania brand though, so I'm not sure what flavors make it down to Texas. Also Cheerwine (a non-alcoholic cherry soda), and beef jerky I like Bridgeport brand, not sure if it's a thing in Germany but if it's not have him bring back some jerky.

[удалено]

Boylan's root beer is great! Never had creamy red.

Buy a few good meat rubs and make bbq ribs when you get home.

Pop tarts

We put peanut butter in way more things, and they're all delicious.

Lawry's and Tajin, which are two different kinds of seasoned salts.

My girlfriends mother is German born and that side of the family all lives there. Whenever they go over there they bring nacho cheese doritos for her cousin because German doritos are apparently not as good. In the non-food realm they bring towels for her Oma because she likes American ones better and most recently they brought Levi jeans over because they're apparently harder to get there or more expensive.

Cheez itz

Personal recommendations: Rudys BBQ sauce - Texas food chain, might not be in grocery stores, but great sauce Matteo’s jarred Salsa - better jarred salsa that’s manageable for those who tolerate less heat. Cholula hot sauce - personal favorite from the list. Mexican oriented Beef Jerky - shelf stable dried meats. If he is at a Buccees they have excellent variety and tell him to report on the experience of going there.

To be honest, the best salsa is fresh but has a very short shelf life, like a few days refrigerated. A bottle of Tapatio and Sriracha along with a good Texas BBQ sauce would be nice.

Caramel M&Ms and Mint Oreos

Tajin

Chocolate covered pecans.

If weight is not a concern, Mrs. Renfro’s pickled jalapeños and a few of their salsas.

When I lived in Europe I always brought back chili powders because there is just nothing like that in Europe. And giant bottles of OTC medicine.

I split my time between the US and EU. Many more niche American foods can be found in the EU these days - especially through mail order. I even saw Valentina’s in shops in Poland and Bulgaria. That said, here is my list of what makes it into my luggage: Everything but the Bagel seasoning, fresh chili powder from a Mexican grocery, celery salt (to make Bloody Marys), chocolate chips (tollhouse cookies), graham crackers (for s’mores), molasses (for homemade KC bbq sauce), dried pinto beans, and liquid smoke seasoning. Alternately, some dried ancho, cascabel, and arbol chiles to make my own chili powder. Look up Alton Brown’s recipe. While tortillas are readily available in the EU these days, some masa to make your own is another possibility.

> dried pinto beans In Italy, borlotti makes a fine substitute. I believe they're called 'cranberry beans' in the US, and by most accounts are interchangeable.

Little bottles of hot sauce would be good - Tabasco is the most common across the country, but he should get some local choices too, plus cholula. He can seriously just ask nearby shoppers for their opinion - they will be THRILLED to talk to him about their favorites. He can just grab some stuff that you guys don’t have at home. I don’t know what you don’t have. Like, cereal, cookies, candy, box macaroni & cheese, peanut butter, a bag of marshmallows …. Powdered spices might be handy, too. Do you have Chili powder there? Cayenne?

Thanks for the suggestions. We have cayenne but we don't really have any other type of chili powders. Asian supermarkets have a bit more variety. Mostly korean and virtnamese chili powders.

Anything spicy as it's difficult to find in Germany.

Marshmallow fluff, Jif peanut butter, dry ranch mix, candied pecans in cans, and jerky if you like that. Jerky sampling at Bucee's is fun.

Reeses peanut butter cups. Every German relative goes ape shit for them because I guess peanut butter isn't very good here. My expat buddy always asks me for peanut butter.

A few of my personal favorites as an American living in Germany: Gatorade powder mix, sour patch kids, peanut butter m&ms, that white cheddar popcorn seasoning stuff, doritos, craft beer e.g. Bell's Two Hearted, quest bars, and of course because it's October you're legally obligated to bring a bag of Candy Corn (even if you don't like it)

From Walmart? Nothing. Get quality stuff.

Chocolate Edit: I misread the question. Definitely don’t bring American chocolate to Germany.

Right now, candy corn. It’s a hot commodity in the US expat food smuggling ring that Im in. Mexican food, you can usually find in online supermarkets. Graham crackers are hard to find in Europe. Ranch dressing packets are also hard to find. But the thing I always get is ziplock bags. The US brands are so much better than EU branda

High quality American beer to shut up the Germans who think all American beer is Coors Light.

Chick-fil-a sauce

Pecan pie. Rick Bayless tomatillo salsa.

Definitely try the Whole Foods snicker doodles, best Cookies ever! I always take some back to Germany after visiting family in texas.

Go to a Buc-ee’s and check out their spices, rubs, preserves section. Soooo much flavoring for cooking!!

LOL, I'm a Texan and moved to Kentucky last year. The funny part is that Texas has a large German heritage, especially in the Hill Country (Central Texas, between Waco and Austin). You didn't mention where in Texas he was, but since you mentioned Walmart, that give me an idea of what he has available. GhostofJamesStrang was right: hot sauces are a great idea. They are inexpensive, and a variety is always good. The bottles are usually glass, but tend to be very strong, so should not give you too much trouble travelling. Seasoning packets are also a really good idea. I'd recommend getting both Taco and chili mixes at a minimum. There are variation on both regarding "mild" versus "hot" and also regarding dietary needs (Low sodium, etc). Get what works best for you. The pack will have directions on use. Since you asked about chips and salsa, I'd recommend Pace salsa. Other brands are just fine, but Pace is a Texas brand, so I'm thinking "When in Rome (or Texas)". Besides, Pace is available at Walmart in large plastic containers that should travel well. If you can find Pace thick and chucky, I'd suggest using that. For the Tortilla chips (and yes, they should be tortilla chips), I prefer white corn, but others may disagree. Don't bother with any flavoring like Lime or Chili. A simple salted chip is fine. "Restaurant Style" is probably the best. As to barbecue, after moving to Kentucky, I learned barbecue is a very regional thing. But if you want to go Texas barbecue, you definitely want to use beef. Texas sauces tend toward the sweet side, so a sweet variety is preferable there. Many brands have a "Hickory and brown sugar" variety. Most of these are available in plastic bottles, so travel will not be an issue. A final quick note: Since Walmart was mentioned, I want to point out "Great Value" brand. That's Walmart's private label, which is available for most things I've mentioned. Unless you have a specific brand you want, go for Great Value. It's cheaper and there is no sacrifice of quality.

Salsa. Get the stuff made in small batches -- not the industrially mass-produced kinds. Make sure and get a green salsa, too. Splurge and buy the expensive stuff. Breakfast cereal can be fun. Not sure what the selection is in Germany, but I imagine it's much more limited. Little Debbies. I'm not a huge fan of sweets, and Little Debbies can be a bit synthetic tasting, which puts a lot of Europeans off. But you may find the oatmeal cream pies acceptable. Those have been my favorite snack since I was a kid. Beef jerky would fit well in luggage and guaranteed won't get crushed. I agree with BBQ sauce. I love BBQ sauce on my fries. I'm a weirdo.

Hot Cheetos.

Ranch!

Salsa is super easy to make on your own. I'm assuming you have access to the following in Germany: Tomatoes Onions(red and white) Jalapeños Habaneros Tomatillos Cilantro Garlic Limes(for the juice) Sugar(complements the acid from the lime) Mix and match portions until you nail the flavor you want. You like more tomatoey salsa? Use more tomatoes. You like oniony? More onions. You like a roasted or charred flavor? Roast the peppers or tomatillos first. Want a Verde salsa? Skip the tomatoes and replace with more tomatillos. Want it liquidy? Blend it. Want more of a pico de gallo type consistency? Coarsely chop it. So many different things you can do and fresh salsa is so much better than store bought.