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South Africans in Germany

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Substitutes – Other Products

Here is a list of substitutes and translations for general food and kitchen items like cling film, maize meal, custard and biscuits

ProductSubstitute
Foildie Aluminiumfolie, auch Alufolie oder Silberpapier
Cooking spray (Spray and Cook)It is called Trennspray or Backspray in Germany and can be found in most shops
Clingfilmdie Frischhaltefolie
Maize MealYou might find it in African shops, although mostly the yellow variety.
Best it to buy online.
Polenta / Maisgrieß is not the same!
Peanut Butterdie Erdnussbutter or die Erdnusscreme.
Marmite or BovrilNo substitute. You can buy online or find it in British shops. Sometimes you can find Marmite in shops like Edeka
Taystee WheatIt is made from Semolina (hartweizengrieß or just Griß), to find substitutes look for Grießbrei. You can buy Grieß and make it from scratch or buy pre cooked in packets.
All Bran FlakesCan be bought at Lidl
Custard PowderYou can buy the Dr Oetker Dessert Soße, but it is not exactly the same. It is a good substitute though.
Some of the major shops have Bird’s Instant Custard which is more like the custard we know.
Other options:
South African Shops in Germany (see the list here)
Indian/Pakistani shops
British shops
Peppermint CrispMarabou Mint Krokant. Found in most big shops
Tennis or Marie BiscuitsLeibniz Butterkekse .
A member also noted you can add 2 tablespoons of coconut flakes when making a recipe that calls for crushed Tennis biscuits. For a nice twist, you can also use Spekulatus biscuits, they are spiced with cinnamon, ginger, cloves, cardamom and nutmeg
Graham CrackersYou can buy it in British Shops. As alternative you can use the following:
Leibniz Vollkorn crackers
For Custard Slices you can use Phyllo or Puff pastry
Jelly Powderdie Götterspeise.
My own and other peoples experience is that the German jelly powder is stronger than those in SA.
The German product does not contain any sugar like the SA one.

It also tastes a lot more like gelatine Your dessert will be much stiffer.
You will also not find all the flavours we have in SA.
You can find pinapple and lemon flavours at online shops like Saffa Shop
A good alternative has come to our attention. RUF makes jelly powder with sugar in the mix.
Make sure that you look out for “Zucker enthalten”.
They have a lemon flavour.
We have not tested it in South African recipes yet, but will soon.
“Government” Bread. A normal loaf of bread as we know it in South AfricaThe sliced variety you can find in most big shops. Look for das Toastbrot.
If you are looking for whole loaf that is not sliced, aks for das Kastenbrot in the bakery.
Hotdog or Hamburger buns.I have not find similar buns in Germany yet. You can find ok alternatives in the bread section of major shops. They tend to be very dry and are not freshly baked.
SagoCan be bought in most shops. Tapioca is a good alternative – Tapioca is made from the starchy root of the cassava tree, whereas sago is made from the inner part, or pith, of the stem of the sago palm tree. They are similar, flavorless starches that are used in cooking and baking, and they can be used interchangeably in many recipes. Both tapioca and sago are used to make puddings and baked goods, and to thicken soups, stews and pie fillings.
Goldyn SyrupCalled Sirup in Germany.
You can find Lyles Golden Syrup at Edeka and Rewe (also in their online shops)
You can also buy at Amazon or online British Shops
Grafschafter makes a Karamell sirup
Jamaika GemmerAccording to the Aspen website, Lennon’s Jamaika Gemmer 20 ml. Each ml contains the alcoholic extractives of: Ginger – 0.5g. Contains: Ethanol (100%) – 84% v/v. Sugar free.
VinegarFor normal white wine vinegar, you can buy Tafelessig or Weißweinessig. Be very careful of Essigessenz, this is a very concentrated (25%) vinegar and is mainly used for cleaning. You can of course water it down to use in cooking. The general consensus is one part Essigessenz and four parts water. There should be instructions on the bottle as well.

  

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