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Your guide to celebrating Thanksgiving in Germany in 2020

Whether you're American or not, if you're seeking your turkey and pumpkin pie fix in Germany this year, here's how to get it - and more - amid social distancing requirements.

Published: 19 November 2020 15:30 CET
Updated: 24 November 2020 12:51 CET

Your guide to celebrating Thanksgiving in Germany in 2020

A typical Thanksgiving dinner in served in the US state of Alabama. Photo: Wikimedia Commons

Like many celebrations that have been indelibly altered by the coronavirus pandemic, Thanksgiving is no different.

But we’re here to help make those cranberry sauce-soaked, gravy-covered dreams come true, even in 2020.

Here's your complete guide, whether you're celebrating on 'Turkey Day' (November 26th) itself or in the days leading up to it.

Track down a turkey, or have one delivered

As you may have noticed, there aren’t exactly rows of frozen turkeys on offer in German supermarkets as in the US come November. But there are still options if you’re set on noshing on some slowly roasted North American fowl.

High-end department stores, like KaDeWe in Berlin, often provide the pricey opportunity to scoop up a frozen turkey, but you can also try calling up a local butcher to order one in advance. The department store Karstadt also offers turkeys, as does Rewe in their online store.

An alternative is to settle for a whole chicken or goose – much more common in grocery stores – or simply pick up part of a turkey, called Pute or Truthahn in German.

If you’d rather avoid the stress and hassle of the grocery store, these two delivery services may be helpful:

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Gourmet Pute

Delivering throughout Germany, Gourmet Pute also features a special Thanksgiving menu that includes all of the classics (mashed potatoes, roasted vegetables, and all other glorious add-ons). They offer Freilandpute (free-range turkeys) and sides for up to twelve people. They are not only available for Thanksgiving; check them out for other specialty meat and meal deliveries throughout the year!

093-to-cater24.de

This catering website also offers Turkeys (ranging from 8 to 16 kg) right in time for the holiday. Make sure to order soon, as the site requires a five day notice to ensure a timely arrival. They ship to Berlin and surrounding areas.

2. Find food substitutes

As with turkey, sometimes you can’t always find the right ingredients you need for American fare. Take cornbread, for example. The most important component is cornmeal, but this doesn’t really exist in German cuisine. The best substitute that this American has found is called Maisgrieß – and it always turns out delicious.

If you're a vegetarian or vegan, you can also pick up a turkey substitute made of Tempeh (complete with vegan gravy) at the Berlin supermarket Veganz or order online throughout Germany.

Thanks to globalisation there are ever more North American products on offer in German supermarkets, especially in Edeka, Aldi, and Lidl, many of which often have small ‘American’ sections.

Cranberries used to be tough to find in Germany supermarkets, although now many chains such as Rewe and Lidl are carrying the common Canadian berry en masse, both fresh and in the can.

If you can’t track them down though, a good substitute can also be Preiselbeeren, known as lingonberries or cowberries in English. They have a similar taste to cranberries and can be found already jarred as a jam or preserves in many German supermarkets.

Find the right equipment

Tracking down a proper pie dish can be another challenge since apparently this treat is not so common in Germany.

For future reference, if you love making pies, it’s probably a good idea to have an American bring a pie dish along on their next visit – or pick one up yourself when you’re in the US.

But when you can’t get your hands on one in time, try getting creative with a tart or torte pan, or Tortenbodenform.

Learn to convert into metric measurements

If you’re looking to use grandma’s traditional cornbread stuffing recipe, but realise you have no clue how to measure out the right proportions using the metric system, don’t worry.

There are plenty of online converters to do the hard work for you – like the one on Allrecipes.com.

And if you’re really in doubt, try using a similar recipe by a British website instead (which like the BBC tend to have grams and ounces).

Want to avoid the stress and agony of cooking a large meal? Delivery is the answer!

With the recent lockdown measures in place for the entirety of November, coupled with Merkel’s urgent appeal for all to dramatically and consistently reduce contact with others as much as possible, it is perhaps best to simply order in. Luckily there are a few special Berlin-based delivery options available.

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RosaCaleta Catering

The Jamaican-European RosaCaleta restaurant is offering a special Thanksgiving menu. Keeping with their Caribbean-European fusion style, their Thanksgiving menu offers “Jerk Turkey” and “Classic Jamaican Jerk Pork” alongside more traditional mainstays like Macaroni and Cheese, green beans, and cornbread stuffing. They also offer a complete three-course meal for €26 per person.

The restaurant is located in Berlin-Kreuzberg, and is open for take-away between 2pm and 8pm. Best to call and order early!

Hirsch und Hase

This Gastro pub has been closed during the November lockdown, but is reopening for a Thanksgiving special on November 26th.

They are offering all of the classics, as well as vegetarian options like lentil stuffing. For dessert they are offering homemade pumpkin pies. Individual portions are available for €16, or you can order family style.

Dishes are available “oven ready” from 2 pm onward on Thanksgiving day, or pick up your order already hot and ready to eat between 6 and 7 pm.

Fraulein Kimchi & Humble Pie

This Korean-American-German food truck and catering service is offering a traditional Southern-US inspired meal. They are teaming up with the folks from Humble Pie (a delightful red food truck specialising in southern comfort food) to offer a delectable full Turkey Day meal.

They offer a menu for €39, and for those looking to keep off the Quarantine 15, a ‘lite’ option for €29. To make it extra-special and authentic, they are offering both pumpkin and pecan pies.

They will be delivering on Wednesday and Friday of Thanksgiving week, and are open for in-house pie pick-up at their shared kitchen in Weißensee. Check out their website for timely details!

Fortuna’s Table

Fortuna's Table, a catering and private dining service housed in Neukölln, is offering a special Thanksgiving meal. They are offering all of the classics, like creamy mashed potatoes, buttered corn, and even ginger-rum cranberry sauce. There are vegetarian options, as well as the chance to purchase an entire three-course menu, or a la carte.

Fortuna’s Table will deliver anywhere in a 10 kilometre radius from their kitchen on Weserstraße for €10. Don’t fret if you live a bit farther away, they will still deliver for just a bit more cash. To ease the preparation stress even more, turkeys come already carved, and the sides packed into separate containers that can go straight in the oven for heating.

Fortuna’s Table has been going strong in Berlin for the past fifteen years, and is run by a Michigander with experience in the New York City food scene – it’s bound to be a delicious lockdown holiday experience!

HardRock Cafe Cologne

For those living in Cologne, you’re in luck! The HardRock Cafe is offering a traditional Thanksgiving meal that folks can pick up curb side between noon and 9 pm.

HardRock Cafe Berlin

Hard Rock Cafe Berlin is also offering a traditional Thanksgiving meal – order via Lieferando, or email berlin_social@hardrock.com.

Member comments

Anonymous - 20 November 2020 at 12:19 CET

Has anyone seen Libby’s pumpkin pie filling?
Anonymous - 20 November 2020 at 12:22 CET

Has anyone seen Libby’s pumpkin pie filling?

Become a Member to leave a comment.

Essential guide for travelling with allergies in Sweden

EU allergy laws

“Sweden is covered by EU laws on the 14 most common dangerous food allergens,” Liselott Florén, head of communications at Sweden’s Asthma and Allergy Association, told The Local. “When you eat out in restaurants, cafés, hotels, or similar places, they are legally obliged to be able to explain what the food contains.”

When buying prepackaged food, you’ll usually see any ingredients containing one of these allergens highlighted in bold or capital letters. Here’s a list of the 14 most common food allergens with their Swedish translations.

Cereals containing gluten – spannmål, som innehåller gluten
Crustaceans – kräftdjur
Eggs – ägg
Fish – fisk
Peanuts – jordnötter
Soy beans – sojabönor
Milk – mjölk
Nuts/tree nuts – nötter
Celery – selleri
Mustard – senap
Sesame – sesam/sesamfrön
Sulphur dioxide and sulphites – svaveldioxid och sulfit
Lupin – lupin
Molluscs – blötdjur

Depending on your allergy, it can be a good idea to learn the Swedish words for common food items that may contain your allergen, like ost, grädde or vasslepulver (cheese, cream or whey powder) for milk allergies, although these will often be followed by the name of the allergen in question, too. For example, you might see whey powder listed on an ingredients list as vasslepulver (av MJÖLK) [whey powder (from MILK)].

Common cereals you should look out for on Swedish ingredient lists are vete (wheat), råg (rye), havre (oats) and korn (barley), and tree nuts include hasselnöt (hazelnut), valnöt (walnut), cashewnöt (cashew nut), pekannöt (pecan nut), paranöt (brazil nut), pistage (pistachio) and makadamianöt (macadamia nut).

Be aware that this is not an exhaustive list, so double check any ingredient highlighted in bold on an ingredient list before eating to make sure it’s not something you’re allergic to.

Note that many Swedish words are compounds, so these words might crop up as part of other words too, for example matvete (wheat berries, often served as an alternative to rice) or havredryck/mjölk (oat drink/milk). These are usually highlighted in ingredient lists with the allergen in bold, for example matvete or havredryck.

Some more important phrases are kan innehålla (may contain), kan innehålla spår av (may contain traces of) and fri från (free from). People with egg or milk allergies should also be aware of the Swedish words used to mark vegan food – vegansk or växtbaserad (plant based). Don’t confuse this with vego, which can also mean vegetarian.

Be aware of common Swedish foods which may contain allergens. Some foods described as a salad (sallad) often contain mayonnaise, and eggs, fish and shellfish are all popular ingredients. Those with fish or crustacean allergies should watch out for prawns (räkor), crayfish (kräftor) and herring (sill), especially around Swedish holidays.

Sauces and gravys often contain cream, butter or milk, so make sure to check these, and there are a number of traditional Swedish cakes which contain almond (mandel) such as the mazarin and mandelmussla.

Always have a dialogue with staff in restaurants

Knowing the EU allergens can be useful for reading menus and ingredient lists in the supermarket, but Florén from the Asthma and Allergy Association warns people with allergies not to rely on written information alone when ordering in restaurants.

“In our experience, Swedes are better when it comes to oral information than written information,” she said. This is partly due to the fact that menus often change with the seasons, and may not always have the most up-to-date information.

“Swedish restaurants have come a long way when it comes to sustainability, creating new dishes based on the available ingredients. That’s why it’s always better to have a dialogue with the serving staff, or even better, the kitchen staff.”

In most restaurants, you’ll see the words ‘Allergi? Prata med personalen!’ (Allergy? Talk to staff!) displayed somewhere, and staff should be happy to help you.

Decide whether to make or buy an allergy card

Swedes are famously good at English, but for people with allergies it’s important that you’re completely confident that the person you’re talking to has understood what you’re trying to tell them.

It can be a good idea to write up some sort of message or card with information of your allergies included in Swedish which you can show to staff (you can also buy one of these online with information in multiple languages), but Florén said you should be wary of relying too much on this, and always discuss your allergies with staff directly.

“You can do that, but it’s really important that you don’t end up thinking ‘I’ve shown a card, I assume you can understand this information’, without some sort of dialogue,” she said.

It can also be a good idea to let the restaurant know about your allergies in advance, if possible, whether that’s by phone or online.

If you do choose to create a card or written message to show to staff, here are some useful phrases in Swedish which you can include:

Jag har en allvarlig/livshotande matallergi. – I have a serious/life-threatening food allergy.

Jag är allergisk mot… – I am allergic to…

Det är inte en [gluten/laktos]intolerans. – It is not a [gluten/lactose] intolerance.

You may also want to list some common foods that often include your allergen. For someone with a milk allergy, for example, you could write the following:

Det betyder att jag inte kan äta mjölk eller mjölkprodukter, som smör, grädde, gräddfil eller ost, till exempel.

(That means that I cannot eat milk or dairy products, like butter, cream, sour cream or cheese, for example.)

If you have an allergy to tree nuts, you may want to explain which nuts are included.

Jag är allergisk mot nötter, det vill säga hasselnöt, valnöt, cashewnöt, pekannöt, paranöt, pistage och makadamianöt.

(I am allergic to nuts, that means hazelnut, walnut, cashew nut, pecan nut, Brazil nut, pistachio and macadamia nut.)

You may also want to explain what you can eat. Things like pine nuts (pinjenötter), peanuts (jordnötter) and coconuts (kokos) are not tree nuts, for example, and those with milk allergies may need to explain that they can eat things like eggs (ägg) or mayonnaise (majonnäs), or traces of (spår av) certain foods.

Jag tål… – I can eat…

What to do if you have a reaction

You always have the right to acute healthcare in Sweden, no matter where you come from. This includes treatment for serious allergic reactions. The emergency number in Sweden is 112.

Depending on where you come from, the price of this healthcare varies.

Residents of Nordic and EU/EEA countries pay the same as someone living in Sweden if they need acute healthcare in other countries.

A Swede visiting the emergency room would pay around 400 kronor (35 euros), depending on the region, and around 130 kronor (12 euros) per day spent in hospital. You’d also need to pay extra for any medicine used in treatment, although this usually heavily discounted, and cannot exceed 2,850 kronor (250 euros) in a twelve month period.

Nordic residents will need to show ID and give their home address, while EU residents must show their European Health Insurance Card (EHIC). It’s a good idea to always carry this with you while you’re in Sweden.

As a general rule, non-EU residents will need to pay the full price of any treatment themselves (which is why it’s a good idea to get travel insurance before your trip). The cost of a visit to the emergency room for this group is anywhere from around 3,800 to 6,000 kronor (330-520 euros). That doesn’t include any extra costs, such as medicine or an overnight hospital stay.

There are some exceptions for residents of certain countries, for example residents of Australia, Algeria, Israel, Turkey and the state of Québec in Canada can access certain healthcare at the same cost as Swedish residents.

UK residents can no longer get an EHIC card, unless they have rights under the Withdrawal Agreement, but they can show a GHIC (Global Health Insurance Card) instead to access healthcare at the same costs as Swedish residents.

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