Shopping for Thanksgiving supplies in Berlin

I am having trouble finding Thanksgiving dinner supplies like these in Berlin:

A big Turkey - over 8 Kg
Canned Pumplin Puree
Pecans
Corn Syrup (brown)
Brown Sugar (non-granulated - sticky type for baking)

Our local supermarkets in Mitte do not carry these items - perhaps there is a supermarket near the US Consulate complex that caters to Americans and sells such items?

Thanks!
Chris

You can get pecans at Plus, but I have never been able to find American-style brown sugar in Berlin, unfortunately. I bet KaDeWe would be your best bet for the other items. Let us know if you find them!

You can find cane sugar syrup where they sell coctail mixes in larger grocery stores. Just add a bit of cornmeal and Über Rübe molasses to get the flavor if you can't find the real thing. Pumpkin is best from a real pumpkin and how to do it has already been posted on this site before.
US brown sugar is impossible to find outside of PXs. My best advice is to make friends with someone who has access and get them to get the stuff for you. Good luck.

Give the Asian markets in Berlin a shot. Thats where its easiest to find in Munich - brown sugar is used in thai dishes so try a thai store if you have too many different types of asian store options.

FYI: The munich folk have nattered quite a bit about various forms of brown sugar - brauner zucker here can be dry or damp. For the damp variety, the Wangkanai brand from the Asian supermarkets have passed the chocolate chip cookie test. BTW: that thread notes that WaDaWe in Berlin carries chocolate chips which are usually damn hard to come by outside of a US military base. That must be a good store!

and

Then you haven't looked around. The asian shops tip is correct. A friend of ours who used to cook at the black girls coalition, from kentucky, and now runs a small B&B and art gallery in Friedrichshain, was also looking for it (BS). I kept an eye out, and found it a few weeks ago, at an asian shop.

Go to Eberswalderstr. (the huge intersection at the UBahn station), turn west, and go a few stores. On the south side, there is an Asian shop which carries PG Tips, and both a dark and light packable brown sugar. I think KaDeWe is way upscale and too expensive. This stuff is fine and just as good as anything at Sainsbury's (UK Grocer).

I also think if you add molasses to ordinary (berlin/german) brown sugar, or shit sugar (white sugar), you'll end up with U.S. 'brown sugar'. As most of the brown sugar in the U.S. (anyway) is cheap white sugar with molasses added back in.

-s2s2

Hello, on Friday I bought Libby's pumpkin pie mix at KaDeWe, 5 or 6 euros per can. It was not just canned pumpkin which would have been my preference, but it already had everything mixed in (meaning you don't have to worry about spices & brown sugar). However, I had already bought brown sugar in a little health food store on Winnstr south of Danzigerstr. in PLZberg. I've been told most health food stores have American-style brown sugar ... this was the 1st I'd gone to and it had it. It was expensive, 5 euros, but it was a large amount (2 lbs?).

Does anyone know of a place where they serve thanksgiving dinner? Maybe an American hotel?

Thanks

I am not a fan of this place but hte Hard Rock Cafe are advertising a Traditional Thanksgiving Dinner.

http://www.hardrock.com/locations/cafes3/e...=93&MIBEnumID=3

have a look under forum heading 'Event's and Meetups' called 'Thanksgiving dinner'. there is a place recomended.

Thanks everyone for suggestions! KaDeWe has pecans, dark corn syrup and Libby’s pumpkin pie mix (this morning they had only one can of the pumpkin mix left, though). Unfortunately, no sticky brown sugar.

I've been amazed at the price of pecans. 100g for 3.29 Euros is absolutely nuts. Had I known, i would have brought some with me from Texas and frozen them. Apparently, last year, there was some sort of European pecan blight, hence the $$$. Anybody find pecans for less than what I've found? I need about 4 cups, and don't want to wind up in the poorhouse for a pecan pie.

Try Ulrich in Mitte they have a variety of brown sugar

Use Walnuts.

Wouldn't that contradict the concept of "Pecan Pie"? Just sayin'...

Anyhow, prices for nuts in general are definitely "nuts" around here. Sadly. Good luck with the pie!

I went looking today for:

Cranberries
Marshmallows
Brown Sugar
Crisco (or any equivalent)
Pie Pan

I didn't find anything. I'll search KaDeWe, etc. tomorrow. But does anyone know where I can get a pie pan, or where there is a baking supplies store? (My German boyfriend was trying to get me to buy variously a bundt cake pan, a heart shaped cake pan and a loaf pan. I realized he has absolutely no idea what pie is.)

Also, I love to bake but most American recipes give amounts for Baking Soda and Baking Powder in varying proportions. Here, they just sell these little packets of Backpulver with both substances mixed together. Does anyone know where I can get Baking Soda and non-Aluminum Baking Powder?

Thank you!

As for the pie pan, I would definitely try KaDeWe or Karstadt, any of those huge department stores. As for the baking soda, I'm not sure it is available here, unless imported from the US. You should be able to find Marshmellows at KaDeWe, in their "American" grocery corner. At least I wouldn't be surprised if they had it!

Just to have it all in one place for future Berlin bakers:

Baking Soda/Natron:

Pecans:
As someone mentioned, Pecans are really expensive in Germany. Very hard for Texans where they grow just about everywhere. A substitute you might want to consider is hazlenuts. I think they're loads cheaper and easier to come by. I'd like to try this random guy's chocolate hazlenut torte which he notes is just an elaborate pecan pie recipe. I dont know what he means by elaborate though since its fairly simple.

Cheers
jml

I found Arm & Hammer Baking Soda (as well as brown sugar) at the Asian supermarket near Wittenbergplatz. They had corn starch too, although I later also found Maisstaerke in normal German supermarkets.

For Crisco, you can substitute Pflanzenfett. Look for it at large German supermarkets, hidden among the various types of margerine, probably near the dairy section. It seems to be slightly softer than Crisco, which might affect the proportions in your recipes.

I've successfully substituted hazelnuts for pecans in many recipes. It changes the flavor, of course, but it's still good (and much cheaper here). There's no substitute for pecan pie, though! If you really want it, just pay the high price now and remember to bring some back on your next trip to the US (or ask a friend to bring some).

Update, in case anyone is still interested in Thanksgiving/holiday goodies.

From KDW:
1 pie pan (22 Euros!)
Crisco (6 Euros!- My grandmother would die if she knew.)
Marshmallows
and BAKING SODA!

Kaufhof:
Fresh Ocean Spray Cranberries

They also have both dark and light Corn Syrup at KDW, but it goes fro 7 Euros a bottle, which combined with the price of pecans would make the pecan pie a most expensive proposition.

Well, congrats on finding that stuff (despite the horrendous prices)! I had a feeling KaDeWe would have these things...

Does anyone know of a good butcher where I can get a preferably fresh (not frozen) turkey?

You can order the following here:

Cranberry sauce
Bush´s baked beans
Stove Top Stuffing
Canned Pumpkin
Marshmallows
Brown Sugar

http://www.american-style.de/shop/shop.htm

Found muscovao sugar at the Bio Markt on Mehringdamm in Kreuzberg. I much prefer this one over regular brown sugar anyway. The flavor does differ a little bit though.

Muscovado (Wikipedia)

Rogacki on Wilmersdorferstr. has fresh turkeys. Around 14,50 € / kilo. They are taking orders for delivery next week. Excellent seafood, too!

Rogacki is fabulous. We also go to Frischeparadies (great fresh turkeys). Baked beans, brown sugar at a Asian market, and marshmallows are the devil's mucosa but if you insist on eating them, try Karstadt.

The small Kaisers at Kantstrasse/Lietzensee has plenty of marshmallows, as does the larger Kaisers at Theodor Heuss Platz.