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American foodstuff substitutes
May 31, 2007 · Filed Under Tips for Expats
Finding product replacements for your favorite foods and snacks is always tough for new expats (and occasionally some of us more experienced expats as well)! Here’s my attempt to help out and I have to admit, I learned quite a bit in my research for this post. As new ideas/suggestions come up, I will update this article. “*” in front of a subject means it is part of the latest additions.
- All-Bran Cereal = Kellogg’s DayVita Sticks (70% Weizenkleie/Bran), there’s also Kellogg’s DayVita Flakes (17% Weizenkleie/Bran).
- Bagels - According to the BagelBrothers.de website, they deliver bagels throughout Germany. I’m no bagel-afficianado, but I’ve heard from several people that Bagel Brothers are the real deal. They’ve also got restaurants in Bonn, Bremen, Frankfurt, Hamburg, Halle, Hannover, Leipzig, München and Oldenburg. You can get fresh home or business deliver in some of those cities.
- Baking Soda = Natron or Haushaltsnatron, available in the baking aisle in small packets or boxes. Unfortunately, the Kaiser Natron box (pictured to the right) is not filled with baking soda, it is filled with the little packets. Major packaging waste in my opinion.
- Brown sugar - can be found in large Asian shops, Latin American shops, Reformhäuser, Kaufhof (thanks Mausi) or make your own by mixing 1 cup of white sugar with 1-2 T molasses (I’m going to have to try this, because the recipes say that once you make your own, you’ll never go back to using store bought).
- *Cheddar cheese - Gouda will generally substitute well for cheddar. If you need aged Cheddar, use alt Gouda, for mild Cheddar, use jung Gouda. Gouda comes shredded too, just check the cheese section in the dairy aisle.
- Cheerios - try Weetabix Looters. Honey Loops are the closest thing I’ve found to Honey Nut Cheerios.
- Cheez-Its - it’s not quite the same, but I find Käsestangen (cheese twists in the snack aisle) satisfy my Cheez-It cravings.
- Chocolate bars - why on Earth would you miss American chocolate??? Switch to German, or even better, Swiss or Belgian chocolate already!& Caotina">
& Caotina" /> - Chocolate drink mix (warm/cold) - try Caotina surfin. A little pricier than other brands, but this is super yummy added to warm milk. It doesn’t have that overly sweet or artificially chocolate taste that some of the other brands do.
- Clams = Venusmuscheln. Ed says, “You can get clams in glass jars. They’re very salty (not necessarily a bad thing) and very expensive: about 5 Euros for a tiny jar that’ll make one recipe of spaghetti and clam sauce. Seeing as how better clams (packed with more juice, which is necessary for the flavor of the sauce) are 79 cents in the States from Durkee or Snow’s, I ask for them as an import.” He adds to look for them, in Italian delis. I’ll add that you might also be able to get frozen clams in a large Asian market, but I’ve never looked for them.
- Cornmeal = Maisgrieß = Polenta (but Ed says neither Maisgrieß or Polenta are the right consistency for making cornbread, for that you gotta import your cornmeal - but check in the Asian market first, it’s often there).
- Cornstarch = Speisestärke (brands: Mondamin or Maizena).
- Cranberry Juice Cocktail = Cranberry Classic or Preiselbeerengetränk (Vailian says 100% cranberry juice is available in the Reformhäuser - but it’s expensive).
- *Cream, heavy - American heavy cream contains at least 36% milk fat, while Schlagsahne extra contains at least 35% fat. You can also try Teesahne (at least 35% fat) or Crème double (40-45% fat) if you need something really heavy.
- *Cream, whipping - In the US, whipping cream contains 30-36% fat. You would most likely want to substitute this with Schlagsahne, which contains 30-33% milk fat.
- Cream of Tartar = Weinstein-Backpulver (in small packets in the baking aisle Mausi says this is not pure cream of tartar though). If you want this only for making meringue, it’s not necessary. Meringue = Baiser in German and all you need to do is look on google.de for “Baiser rezept,” to see that the Germans don’t use cream of tartar in making meringue (here’s one recipe).
- Crisco – try Palmin Soft, near the butter.
- Dark corn syrup – substitute Zuckersirup (e.g., Grafschafter Heller Sirup), Zuckerrübensirup (e.g., Graftschafter Goldsaft), honey or molasses, or make your own by combining 3/4 cup light corn syrup and 1/4 molasses.
- French onion dip - try Mirée Frischkäse mit französischen Kräutern. That’s my favorite, but you might also prefer a different brand.
- Graham crackers – try Leibnitz Vollkornkekse or Landkeks (in the cookie aisle) - I find them great for making cheesecake crust. Eurotrippen suggests Lotus Original Karamelgebäck as an alternative. The Lotus are sweeter and have more of a crunchy cookie consistency. You can also make your own graham crackers with this recipe I found. Michael uses the Leibniz Landkeks for making Smores (“Perfect size and tasted very good. I highly recommend them for that. We go to Strauss for the marshmallows, though Edeka sometimes carries them. And we only buy Belgian dark chocolate (preferably over 80%, our daughter loves it too).”)
- Hamburger/Tuna Helper - I like to take the Knorr Spaghetteria pastas and add meat to make them into more of a meal. There are recipe suggestions on the bags, but I find ground beef and the Spaghetteria Funghi go great together and I add peas and tuna to the Spaghetteria Spinaci. I’ve tried with the regular and Activ Knorr products and with the Maggi ones as well, but the Spaghetteria fit my taste best.
- Honey-roasted peanuts - try Ültje Cashew-Erdnuss-Mix Honig & Salz in the snack aisle (In our Real, it’s next to the Studentenfutter). They have a honey peanut mix as well, but I find that the salt is necessary.
- Light corn syrup – try substituting Zuckersirup (e.g., Grafschafter Heller Sirup, near honey) or honey, or make your own by combining 1-1/4 cups sugar with 1/3 cup water and boiling in a saucepan until sugar is dissolved.
- Maple syrup = Ahornsirup (near honey or in Bio-aisle)
- Mayonnaise - if you don’t like the sugary German mayo, try Maille Dijon Mayonnaise. Ed calls it “a more than acceptable substitute, with the extra slight tang of mustard being a nice addition.”
- Molasses = Melasse (available in Reformhäuser) or try using Zuckerrübensirup (e.g., Graftschafter Goldsaft, near honey) or dark honey
- *Monterey Jack Cheese - Monterey Jack can be substituted with Fontina or Bel Päse (Italian cheeses). If you can’t find either of these, Gruyère, Emmantaler or Edamer will do.
- Peanut butter - miss American peanut butter? Try adding a squeeze of honey to the German peanut butter.
- Saltines - try Wasa Crack & Taste Salted (can be either in the chips aisle or with the regular Wasa crackers). There is also a brand, Sky Flakes, available in nice reusable tins in Asian shops (thanks for checking the ingredients Martina!).
- *Sour cream - In the US, sour cream contains at least 18% milk fat. In Germany, Saure Sahne contains 10-15% milk fat, Crème légère contains 15%, Saure Sahne extra contains 18%, Schmand contains 20-29% and Crème fraîche contains 30-40%. So, you will most likely be happiest with the Saure Sahne extra or Schmand.
- Sweetened condensed milk – Nestlé Milchmädchen (in supermarket near the evaporated milk) or make your own by heating 1-1/4 cup sugar with 1 cup Kondensmilch (evaporated milk) together in a saucepan until sugar is fully dissolved (yep, it’s really that much sugar). Michael says you can also find it in the Russian/Turkish section in Real.
- Vanilla extract – can be bought in gourmet and American shops (expensive) and in some Latin American shops (cheap), or make your own like I do (it’s easy!).
- Wheat germ = Weizenkeime, found in Reformhäuser
- Wraps/Tortillas - There are a couple of options here. First, avoid the flour tortillas in the supermakets (Fuego is one brand), they are bland and tasteless. A tastier supermarket option is the Indian Fladen aus Weisenvollkornmehl. It is usually in the bread aisle, not by the flour tortillas. They’re much tastier. LaTortilla.de also ships fresh flour and corn tortillas, and they are delicious. Or make your own, Ed says it’s easy, and here’s a flour tortilla recipe I found, and one for corn tortillas.
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And then there are those products that there are just no substitutes for. Below are some websites. If I’ve ordered (and been happy) once, it gets one *, twice means ** and three or more times gets ***.
- Food from Home* - has a pretty large selection of American and British items. They also have a mobile van that makes stops in various cities in NRW, Luxembourg and the Netherlands (see schedule). You can browse the items on the van, or make an order and pick it up, to save on shipping.
- Hello Food*- Site selling items from the US and Canada.
- World of Sweets*** has some American chocolates and candies.
- USA Kulinarisch has a huge list of sites for ordering American products, including some USA-based shops that deliver to Germany.
- Tacoweb.de has a great list of sites for ordering Mexican products
- *LaTortilla.de in Munich has great Mexican products. I’ve never ordered from there, but I know people who have and I can attest that their tortillas and sauces are tasty.
- My-Asia-Shop.de has a large selection of Asian products and light and dark brown sugar, corn meal, all kinds of dried beans, etc. It also appears that they ship fresh produce as well – but probably not a good idea in summer.
What do you think? Have I missed anything? Do you have any hot tips or substitution suggestions to pass along?
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52 Responses to “American foodstuff substitutes”
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Christina,
great list! I’ve never seen the Wasa Crack & Taste (where do they come up with these names?) but there’s a big Asian shop in Darmstadt that carries saltine crackers, and they aren’t even expensive.
Have you really seen Weinstein in a supermarket? I was always under the impression you had to buy it at the Apotheke.
Crackers are one thing I really miss. Triscuits. Wheat thins. Cinnamon sugar graham crackers. Cheez-its.
@Martina: In the supermarket the Weinstein is called something like Backpulver-Weinstein and comes in a little envelope like regular Backpulver. It’s not always there, mainly in the big stores like Real and Globus.
I used to get the crackers from the Asian stores too before the Wasa ones came out. A friend told me that the Asian store ones are cooked in lard, so I switched (I didn’t look to confirm the ingredients however).
I find my Cheez-its cravings are satisfied by Käsestangen. I don’t know of anything like Triscuits or Wheat Thins though.
Cheers!
Girl your rockin my world!!! AWE-SOME list! I’m gonna run to the store right now to look for all this great stuff! Thanks for all the great tips!!!
Christina,
I’ll have to keep my eyes peeled for the Weinstein, and will *definitely* have to look at the ingredients on the Asian store saltines!!!!
And I hate to admit it, but I also miss all those sugary cereals from the U.S. I know Müsli is so much more healthy, but I’m a big cereal nut.
@jessica: Thanks! I’m glad I could help!
@martina: It’s funny about the cereal. Americans like the sugary stuff (I always get a box of Reeses cereal to eat while I’m back home), while Germans like chocolate pieces in their cereal. I still have to give Rainer funny looks when he pulls out the Schoko-müsli in the morning. (Yeah, Reeses has chocolate puffs, but not actual chocolate chunks!)
My (German) husband doesn’t even eat cereal. Once in a blue moon he’ll have some müsli *with orange juice*, as in he pours orange juice on the müsli instead of milk. Yuck! (I have to admit I haven’t tried it, so I guess I can’t really judge, but just the idea…)
cool…never new you could make vanilla extract. thats a nifty idea…too bad it takes so long…but i might give it a try. thanks!
Great list Christina! Hopefully I can whittle down my list o’ contraband that people bring us when they come to visit. Although, I will keep ordering baking powder/soda from home. Those little envelopes make me nuts.
Do you think you can use the Vollkornkekse to make cheesecake crust?
Very good list, christina! You have spent a lot of time thinking about food!
I get my saltines in the Asian shops, they are called Sky Flakes and come from the Philippines in a terrific reuseable tin, the BEST place for storing those pesky potato chip leftovers. I miss clam chowder though. (Once Aldi had some packet Clam Chowder which was utterly Disgusting).
I used to miss the cereals, but now find them cloying and overpackaged (Still miss All-bran).
Was overjoyed on my last trip to Spain to discover that they had Cheetos —crunchy variety— at a truck stop. Sadly, I left the supply I bought inthe bus. I doubt that the bus driver knew what a rare and wonderful commodity he was relegating to the rubbish.
I can’t agree more about American chocolate— when you have tried the swiss or belgian variety, you will never go back.
You can get pure cranberry juice at the health food places, but it is obscenely expensive. (It is usually found next to the Sauerkraut Juice, uggh)
I found sweetened condensed milk at the grocery store chain Extra. I always find it amazing when people find things at Kaufland, but when I go to OUR Kaufland it’s not there and no one’s ever heard of it. I guess it depends on where you live. My husband said that German food tastes have really expanded in the past 10 years. That’s good. That’s very good. Keep it going.
@martina: Orange juice on müsli? That just doesn’t sound appetizing. I agree - Yuck!
@Anon: I might give it a try as well.
@Sarah: You can get the baking soda in boxes at Real. The Kaiser Natron box is about the same size as the small Arm & Hammer boxes. Also, whenever I make cheesecake I use the Vollkornkekse for the crust and I think they work perfectly.
@vailian: Yeah, a Filipino-Canadian friend told me the Sky Flakes crackers are cooked in lard, you might want to check what the ingredients label says. Oh good clam chowder soup is yummy, but I’ve never had good clam chowder out of a can, even in the States. Try the Kellogg’s VitaSticks, according to the Kellog’s website, they’re the same thing as All-Bran. And that sucks about the Cheetos.
@Debbie: There’s sweetened condensed milk at the Real here too (and at most Asian markets as well). Our Kaufland carries Doritos, otherwise I’d always shop at Real. There really is a lot more American stuff at the supermarkets now than when I came over 5 years ago. I can only hope the next 5 years will show similar progress ;-)
FYI - The post has been updated to reflect some of the discussions in the comments - and I added a new section on Hamburger/Tuna Helper.
I thought I just posted, but maybe not. Brain lapse.
Anyway - good job! Thanks for putting this all together.
Two things
1) Brown sugar at Kaufhof, not Kaufland
2)The Weinsteinbackpulver I’ve seen in supermarkets/health food stores is not pure cream of tartar but is mixed with baking soda and a filler like cornstarch so I don’t think it would work in recipes calling for just cream of tartar.
By the way, does anybody know what cream of tartar actually *does*? I’ve actually just left it out when a recipe called for it, and I couldn’t really detect a difference to when I still had/used it.
For instance, American recipes for meringues include cream of tartar, while German recipes don’t, but don’t really have anything that replaces it.
So what is the purpose of cream of tartar? Any Lebensmittelchemiker reading this :-)
@christina: Oops! Post is updated with your corrections!
@martina: I’m not exactly sure what it’s supposed to do either, but I’ve left it out without bad results as well. I know baking powder can be substituted with baking soda and a pinch of cream of tartar.
Hi Christina,
Great list ! This wil; surely help many an expat.
I usually ended up in one of several US stores that sell products in Paris. This is when I really need or want something, because the products are quite expensive.
That’s a nice tip, also on how to make a brown sugar substtution!
What is called cane sugar here is not of the same consistancy.
Being from Hawaii, I grew up with the yummy C & H sugar.
Do you remember C & H , Chrsitina ?
Have a nice weekend.
Definitely not a Lebensmittelchemiker(in) but I just looked up cream of tartar:
-stabilizes and increases volume of beaten eggs whites (apparently the same amount of white vinegar can be subsituted)
-used in candymaking and frosting to give a creamy consistency
-used as a levener when combined with baking soda (=Weinsteinbackpulver) and can be subsituted for baking powder (which is baking soda + a different kind of acid containing phosphates)
So it doesn’t seem to be really necessary to have on hand. I actually only have one old cookie recipe that calls for cream of tartar and baking soda. I’ve tried using baking powder, but the cookies didn’t come out the same.
*I* sure remember C + H cane sugar, at least from the commercials. :-)
@barbara: The expat stores here are usually outrageously overpriced. I try to avoid them as much as possible. I don’t remember C & H sugar, sorry! Have a great weekend as well!
@christina: Thanks so much for looking that up. I don’t think I ever stocked cream of tartar in my kitchen, even in the US. Strange that your cookie recipe didn’t come out the same though, I’d always heard that you could substitute baking powder (or vice versa). Guess they aren’t quite the same thing!
Note to me: Christina is a handy person to have around.
Do you know how long I’ve wondered what I was gonna do without cream of tartar? (read that: how long I’ve gone without meringue and thus without lemon meringue pie)
Thanks for this info!
@lisa: Oh man! What’d you have to bring up lemon meringue pie for??? Mmmmm… pie. *drool*
I agree, Christina (Mausi) is a super-handy person to have around!
Whoa, great tip on the graham cracker Leibnitz — thanks!
I think I hear a cheesecake coming our way this weekend…
Cliff
http://www.regensblog.com
Some notes from Berlin.
* Polenta is a coarser grind than normal cornmeal. You can’t make cornbread out of it. Maisgriess (sp?), which you can find in Turkish stores (sometimes called Maismehl) is too fine. You gotta import your cornmeal.
* Bagel Brothers only works if you’ve got one in town. We don’t. There aren’t that many around. Be thankful you’ve got one. I pick ‘em up in Leipzig or Lübeck if I’m visiting, otherwise make do with Bagel Station.
* Flour tortillas are so easy to make (white flour, salt, baking powder, lard/shortening/bacon grease) that it’s stupid to buy them.
What I get from my mules is canned clams (to make linguini with clam sauce), cornmeal, and Grape Nuts, which is the cereal I miss most. I used to get them in Amsterdam, but the small box started costing €7, which is just stupid.
What I missed most for a long time was Hellman’s mayonnaise, which was available for a very short time and then discontinued. I’ve found Maille Dijon Mayonnaise, which is available in good supermarkets, to be a more than acceptable substitute, with the extra slight tang of mustard being a nice addition. German mayonnaise has waaaay too much sugar in it, as do prepared mayonnaise-based salads. No wonder the Germans love Miracle Whip (pron. mir-a-CELL vip) so much. Yuck.
@Cliff: The Leibnitz don’t taste *exactly* like graham crackers, but I find they work perfectly for cheesecake crust. Hope you agree - enjoy your cheesecake!
@ed: Wow! Thanks for the tips. I’ll update the post with your suggestions. Although I love cornbread, I haven’t made it since I’ve been here, so I didn’t realize the polenta wouldn’t work. I have a veggie chili recipe that calls for cornmeal and the polenta works perfectly in that.
I have the opposite problem, kind of. I have an old German receipe book and some of the ingredients can’t be found here in Toronto. Kind of annoying actually…love your post. ciao
I tried the Leibnitz and didn’t think they tasted enough like graham crackers to satisfy my craving. Then I found Lotus brand ‘original karamelgebäck’. They’re beyond good. So good that I don’t even think about graham crackers anymore and feel certain if I ever move away from deutschland they’d be one of the things(foodwise)I’d miss most. You can pick them up pretty much everywhere in the cookie section.
@rositta: Yeah, I’m sure if I ever move back to the States, I’ll have the same problem and complain endlessly (at least at first) about not having German stuff!
@eurotrippen: I’ll have to try the Lotus karamelgebäck! I’ll update the post to show your suggestion as well. Thanks!
@eurotrippen: I should have looked them up before commenting! I’ve had these and they do taste a lot like graham crackers, except that they are cookies. Thanks for reminding me about them anyway. I think for snacking, they might be the better replacement, but I’m not sure how well they’d work for a cheesecake crust. You’d have to cut back on the sugar in the crust recipe. Have you tried them out for making crust?
Heh, I’ve never made a crust in my life, or a cheesecake for that matter. I just know that with a big glass of skim milk they’re yummy in a ‘world’s best graham cracker’ kinda way.
Cheesecake-crust hypothesis confirmed! Yum! Leibnitz is the way we’ll be doing this from now own. Our cheesecake turned out great. You can see the results on flickr.
Thanks again!
@eurotrippen: I’d have to agree with your assessment there. I did find them really yummy!
@cliff: That picture looks super. I’m glad it worked for ya!
Wow! 30 comments! A very helpful post! I wish we had this a year ago—it took me forever to find baking soda. Thanks!
We now have an addition for Graham crackers. We wanted them for S’Mores, not baking. The Lotus are too small and sweet (I’m used to having those with espresso at cafes, especially in Belgium), and we could not find the Leibniz you suggested, but we found another Leibniz: Landkeks! Perfect size and tasted very good. I highly recommend them for that. We go to Strauss for the marshmallows, though Edeka sometimes carries them. And we only buy Belgian dark chocolate (preferably over 80%, our daughter loves it too).
Also, we find sweetened-condensed milk in the Russian/Turkish section of Real.
We really miss bagels after having good places in DC and NYC to get them, though we did have some good ones in Amsterdam, we haven’t had some around D-dorf yet.
@Michael: Ah! Make that 33 comments now! Thanks for the tips, I’ll update the post to include them. I saw the Leibniz Landkeks and was wondering if they might also be graham cracker-y, so now I know!
A follow-up comment: I bought a package of saltines at the Asian store last weekend, and they (at least these specific ones) *are not* made with lard.
They contain vegetable shortening and coconut oil.
The brand is: Sky Flakes
@martina: That’s good to know. I kept forgetting to look at the box when I was at the Asian shop. Thanks! I’ll be updating several posts later, so I’ll take care of that in a day or so.
Oh this is funny — I’m on the opposite end of the spectrum. Here in the US and CRAVING Schoko-müsli. I used to go to Germany in the summer, but the fellow I used to go with has left and now I have no Schoko-musli-importability!
mmmm.
And Curry sauce for fries. Wish I could get that in restaurants here.
@lintqueen: Welcome! Maybe you could add mini chocolate chips to Quaker granola? Probably still wouldn’t be as good as what you get here, but maybe it would at least help with the craving.
Not a bad idea, Christina…wonder if they’d make the milk all chocolatey-good?
@lintqueen: Hmmm… I’m not sure how they’d do milk-wise. You may need to do a little experimenting. I haven’t looked at what’s available in years, but if there are chocolate shavings that might work even better.
I think most Germans make their mayonnaise themselves. It’s not difficult, and is dozens of times better than what you can buy in the stores. No need to import the stuff at great costs, just make it yourself.
You should try it and then post the results.
@anon: Homemade mayonnaise is far superior to store-bought. If you’ve got a blender, blender stick or food processor it’s pretty easy to make too. I hardly ever use mayo though. Here’s a Homemade Mayonnaise Recipe.
I’ve heard you can make mayonnaise with those little mixers used to make frothy milk for cappucinos. Can anybody confirm this? I don’t have a blender or food processor, but those milk thingys are really cheap.
@anon: I don’t know how well they’d work. I think it would take a really long time if it worked at all. Blender sticks aren’t too expensive. Check on Amazon.de for Stabmixer. There are versions from Braun, Bosch and Krups for under 25 Euro, and there are no name brands for 10 Euro.
Added Cheerios lookalike, Weetabix Looters.
[…] 3. I love looking up information. That’s why my favorite pastime is genealogy and I make posts about American product equivalents. […]
I’ve been looking for frozen pie crusts, and even the American stores I’ve found don’t have them… It’s kind of depressing, actually. I mean, I _can_ make a pie crust (using Pflanzenfett and flour), but it’s a lot of work, and greatly reduces the number of pies I make, especially since I generally cook for a house of 30 people.
Brown sugar (at least here in southern NRW) is extremely hard to find. It doesn’t help that raw cane sugar is often called “Brauner Zucker”. I have had some luck adding Grafschafter Goldsaft to white sugar.
The Curry sauce here seems to be just German Catsup with a dash of Curry powder on top. Of course, trying to match that in the States is probably a lost cause…
@mark: I’ve thought about trying one of the Blatterteig sheets you can get in the refridgerator section of the supermarket the next time I make a pie. I think it would work for some types, but not for others. In Berlin, I loved getting the pre-made tart crust from Galleries Lafayette. They had a dessert crust and a savory crust. They were great, slightly different from pie crust, but delicious all the same. Maybe you can check out a French store? Or if you’re in Belgium sometime, maybe the supermarkets there stock the stuff.
If you don’t have an Asian market nearby, a bag of brown sugar can be ordered from http://www.hello-foods.de for €4,99 (€0,55/100g) and from http://www.my-asia-shop.de for €3,29 (€0,66/100g).
I just discovered your website and have really enjoyed it.
Do you happen to have any information on good substitutes for cheese such as Monterrey Jack (something that melts nicely into soups) or cheddar cheese (it’s so expensive here!). Thanks!
@Brigette: Sorry for taking so long to answer. I use Gouda or Emmentaler when I want a nicely melting cheese.
thanks for all the infos…esp brown sugar…
I recently found the normal Arm and Hammer Baking soda at a chinese food store… with chinese lettering and all.
michael
… i wanna go home :(
Brown sugar:
Please notice that “Brauner Zucker” is not cane sugar in German, but caramelized white sugar, so it has a different flavor. Germans use it mostly in pastry and tea.
Sugar that contains molasses is called “Rohrzucker” or “Rohrohrzucker” and most supermarkets carry only the lightest grade. While darker grades or molasses might be hard to find, “Vollrohrzucker” (dried sugar cane juice) is available in many drug stores, Reformhäuser or whole food stores.
Thanks for the hint :)