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The American’s Guide To Celebrating Thanksgiving In Berlin

As an American in Berlin, or even an expat abroad, one of the holidays we often miss out on is Thanksgiving. When I lived in Kenya, I went five years without celebrating Thanksgiving. I was working in an international school and was the only American there. When I met my husband, he reintroduced me to this wonderful holiday. We celebrated with other Americans in Nairobi and invited our Kenyan friends to a big party on Thanksgiving weekend.

Now, in Berlin, I am finding it a struggle to celebrate Thanksgiving again. This is a unique American holiday! We decided the first year that we moved to Germany that we would keep celebrating, though. Because Germans don’t celebrate Thanksgiving, this means that we can’t celebrate on Thursday because it is a normal working day. It is, however, pretty easy to move Thanksgiving to the weekend. We usually celebrate the Saturday after Thanksgiving, or the fourth/last Saturday of November.

Our first year, we didn’t have very many American friends, but we invited those we knew alongside our German friends. The Germans were delighted to take part in a holiday they had only heard about from films! The second year, our group of friends grew, and we could barely fit everyone around the table. This year, we will probably have the same problem, which really isn’t a problem in our opinion!

So why am I writing about celebrating Thanksgiving in Berlin? Mostly because we have found it a bit more difficult than celebrating in Kenya for a few reasons. The main reason is mostly just finding traditional foods like turkey and canned pumpkin.

Our solution to canned pumpkin in Berlin: hokkaido pumpkins!

Below, I have listed many of the foods that we have used in our celebration. Some might take a little digging for you to find, others might be hiding in an unusual spot in the supermarket, and some you might have to make from scratch. If you are living in Berlin, hopefully this post will help you out if you also want to celebrate Thanksgiving!

Typical Thanksgiving Foods

Turkey

You can get a whole turkey from a few different places, but you will have to look carefully. A turkey is a “Truthahn” in German. Be careful not to accidentally buy a goose (Gans) by mistake! Turkeys here are also not as big as they are in America, so if you are expecting a lot of people you might want to even think about making two turkeys.

You can find turkeys at some Edeka’s or Real’s. We have had the most success finding them frozen at Karstadt. If you are willing to splurge, KaDeWe will have nearly anything you need at any time. If you are just looking for turkey breasts, they can sometimes be found at Karstadt or Lidl.

Our little “Pute” at 7kgs

Of course, with Germans being very specific about their meat, it is good to also know the following! “Pute” is the female turkey, between 7-9 kilos, “Truthahn” is the male, between 13-15 kilos. There is also a “Baby Pute” offered at Christmas time that is between 2-6 kilos.

Local butchers can also special order turkeys, but make sure you go in early enough to order them. Most of the Americans in Berlin seem to be on top of ordering turkeys from butchers and you will find they may not have any available if you wait too long.

Cranberries

Some Americans preferred canned cranberries, but I have never seen them here. You can often find fresh cranberries in the grocery stores, but you will have more luck in the bio supermarkets or the bigger regular supermarkets. They are seasonal, so when you see them make sure you buy them before they run out!

Fresh cranberries in the grocery store can be found in the berry and fruit section

Pre-Made Pie Crust

I will do anything to get out of making a pie crust. The first year we were in Berlin I made pie crust from scratch, but then I discovered there is a way to make a pie without going through the pain of rolling out the pie crust!

As far as I am aware, pre-made pie crust doesn’t exist in the same way, shape and form most Americans are used to. You can, however, find “Torteboden,” which is a pre-made pastry roll. This is quite easy to convert to a pie pan if you have one. Just unroll it, fit it in your pan, and cut off the edges that don’t fit. You can find these in the refrigerated section of most regular supermarkets, but you will have more luck in the larger stores.

Molasses

Also know as “Melasse” or “Rübensirup.” You can find this in the bio supermarkets, and sometimes in the regular supermarkets. It won’t come in a giant jug, however!

Brown Sugar

“Muscovado Zucker” can sometimes be found in the Asian supermarkets. It isn’t quite the same as American brown sugar, so we suggest making your own, once you find the molasses.

Marshmallows

Some of the smaller supermarkets have an “American” section. You will usually find bags of marshmallows here. If all else fails, make a visit to KaDeWe and you should find what you need there. If you are feeling adventurous, you can also make your own marshmallows!

Vanilla

This is eluded me for a while! After Andreas brought home a couple of large bottles of vanilla from a recent work trip to Madagascar, I discovered you can find vanilla in Rewe and a few other supermarkets. It is usually located near the spices and comes in several different forms as you can see in the photo. The only downside is that it is a bit more expensive than in the United States.

Examples of the kinds of vanilla you can find in the grocery store

Baking Soda

This comes in tiny packets and you can find it in any store. It is called “Natron,” and you can usually find it around the baking ingredients section. You can also find traditional “Arm & Hammer” baking soda in regular grocery stores. It comes in a small box and is a bit more expensive.

Baking Powder

This also comes in tiny packets like Natron, and is called “Backpulver.” It isn’t quite the same as American baking powder, and is much less potent. You might need to do a little experimenting with it until you figure out the right consistency.

Cornmeal

Most supermarkets have small bags of polenta. These are usually found by the nuts and dried fruits. It isn’t quite the same as regular cornmeal, but it can work. If you can’t find it in a regular supermarket, look in the Asian, Spanish, or bio supermarkets. You can also find “Maismehl” by the grains in regular grocery stores.

Do It Yourself Foods

Pumpkin

Canned pumpkin is not easy to find in Berlin. It is possible to find it in the supermarkets, but it gets snatched up pretty quickly. The easiest and healthiest way to eat pumpkin and make your pumpkin pie is to roast and purée hokkaido pumpkins, which can be found in any supermarket at this time of year. They are smaller and sometimes a bit more red than pumpkins most Americans are used to. If you want a nice, big Halloween-type pumpkin, you will end up paying more – usually around €20 per pumpkin. I have seen the bigger ones at Edeka around Halloween but they aren’t usually around for very long.

Stuffing

In America you can purchase your stuffing pre-made. In Berlin, make your own! Buy a big loaf of white bread, break it up into bite-size chunks and spread it out on your counter for a few days. When it’s nice and dry and stale it’s ready to be made into stuffing!

Andreas making stuffing on Thanksgiving Day

Thanksgiving foods you can find anywhere

All of the following Thanksgiving foods can be found in just about any supermarket around Berlin. Many people still struggle with finding these items as I see this topic come up a lot in expat forums. I can assure you, these foods are more easy to find than the above!

• Sweet potatoes
• Green beans
• Dried onions
• Maple syrup
• Ham (look in the meat/butchery section)
• Pecans

Its easy to find pecans in the supermarkets!

Dried onions at Rewe

Summing It All Up

It is not impossible to celebrate Thanksgiving in Berlin! You just might need to be a bit more resourceful if you want your typical comfort foods. I haven’t provided any recipes for our regular Thanksgiving foods because I find that most people prefer the comforts of home and their usual recipes. If you don’t know where to start with recipes, I suggest browsing around Pinterest to get inspired.

Is there anything missing from this post that you want me to investigate or write about? How do you celebrate Thanksgiving abroad? And if you have nowhere to celebrate this Thanksgiving, let me know and I’m sure we can always squeeze one more person around our table!