German cuisine - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia http://en.wikipedia.

org/wiki/German_cuisine

German cuisine
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

German Cuisine varies greatly from region to region. The southern regions of Bavaria
and Swabia share many dishes among them and with their neighbours to the south,
Switzerland and Austria.

Contents
The German style buffet
1 Meat
2 Eating habits
3 Fish
4 Vegetables
5 Side dishes
6 Drinks
7 Spices and condiments
8 Desserts
9 Bread
9.1 Bread rolls
10 Specialities by region
10.1 Baden-Württemberg, Swabia (Schwaben)
10.2 Bavaria (Bayern)
10.3 Bremen and Lower Saxony (Niedersachsen)
10.4 Franconia (Franken)
10.5 Frankfurt am Main and Hessen
10.6 Hamburg
10.7 Palatinate (Pfalz)
10.8 Rhineland (Rheinland)
10.9 Saarland
10.10 Saxony (Sachsen)
10.11 Saxony-Anhalt (Sachsen-Anhalt)
10.12 Schleswig-Holstein
10.13 Swabia (Schwaben)
10.14 Thuringia (Thüringen)
10.15 Westphalia (Westfalen)
10.16 Other famous dishes
10.17 Specialities from the former GDR
11 Foreign influences
12 External links

Meat

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Pork, beef, and poultry are the main varieties of meat consumed in Germany, with pork
being the most popular by a substantial amount. The average person in Germany will
consume up to 67 pounds of meat in a year. Among poultry, chicken is most common,
although duck, goose, and turkey are also well enjoyed. Game meats, especially boar,
rabbit, and venison are also widely available around the year. Lamb and goat are also
available, but are not very popular.

Meat is usually pot-roasted; pan-fried dishes also exist, but these are usually imports
Choucroute garnie, a variety of from France. Throughout Germany, meat is very often eaten in sausage form. There is
Sauerkraut said to be more than 1500 different types of sausage in Germany. Certain families may
also make their own sausage for personal consumption.

Eating habits
Breakfast (Frühstück) commonly consists of bread, toast, and/or bread rolls (Brötchen, Semmeln, Schrippen, Wecken or
Rundstücke) with jam ("Marmelade" or "Konfitüre"), marmalade or honey, eggs, and strong coffee or tea (milk, cocoa or
juice for children). Deli meats, such as ham, salted meats and salami, are also commonly eaten on bread in the morning,
as are various cheeses. A variety of meat-based spreads such as Leberwurst (literally liver-sausage) can be found during
breakfast as well. Muesli (Müsli) and cereals such as cornflakes are also popular.

Traditionally, the main meal of the day has been lunch (Mittagessen), eaten around
noon. Dinner (Abendessen or Abendbrot) was always a smaller meal, often consisting
only of a variety of breads and meats, similar to breakfast, or possibly sandwiches.
However, in Germany, as in other parts of Europe, dining habits have changed over the
last 50 years. Today, many people eat only a small meal in the middle of the working
day at work and enjoy a hot dinner in the evening at home with the whole family.
Nevertheless, the traditional way is still rather common, not only in rural areas.
Breakfast is still very popular and may be elaborated and extended on weekends, with
friends invited as guests. The extension of the breakfast is then called “Brunch”, a
mixture between Breakfast and Lunch. It usually consists of the parts of a regular
Breakfast but in addition to that people prepare a warm soup or little hot snacks as well Dry muesli mix, served with
as a smaller dessert. “Brunches” usually start later in the morning and end in the early milk and banana
afternoon.

Depending on the family of course, there is also a social aspect behind those meals. They offer an opportunity for the
whole family to come together and spend time together.

Fish
Trout is the most common freshwater fish on German menu as well as pike, carp, and
European perch are also frequently served. Seafood was traditionally restricted to the
northern coastal areas except for pickled herring. Today many seafish like fresh herring
(also as Rollmops), sardine, tuna, mackerel, and salmon are well established throughout
the country. Prior to the industrial revolution and the ensuing pollution of the rivers, Rollmops
salmon were common in the rivers Rhine, Elbe, and Oder. Nowadays, thanks to tight
environmental control, rivers are cleaner than they were a century ago and the fish
population of Germany's rivers is gaining back its territory.

Vegetables

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Vegetables are often eaten in stews or vegetable soups, but can also be served as a side
dish. Carrots, turnips, spinach, peas, beans, and many types of cabbage are very
common. Fried onions are a common addition to many meat dishes throughout the
country. Potatoes, while a major part of the diet, are usually not counted among
vegetables by Germans. Asparagus, especially white asparagus known as spargel, is
particularly enjoyed in Germany as a side dish or as a main meal. Sometimes restaurants
will even devote an entire menu to nothing but spargel, when it is the right season (late
Spring). Spargel season is traditionally set to the month before St. John's Day.

Klöße (Semmelknödel)
Side dishes
Noodles are usually thicker than Italian pasta and often contain egg yolk. Especially in
the south-western part of the country, the predominant variety of noodles is Spätzle which contain a very large amount of
yolk. Besides noodles, potatoes and dumplings (Klöße or Knödel) are very common, especially in the south. Potatoes
entered German cuisine in the late 18th century and were almost ubiquitous in the 19th and 20th centuries, but their
popularity is currently waning somewhat in favour of noodles and rice. Potatoes are most often served boiled in salt
water, but mashed and fried potatoes also are traditional, and Pommes Frites (french fries) have now become very
common.

Drinks
Beer is very common throughout all parts of Germany, with many local and regional
breweries producing a wide variety of beers. In most of the country Pils is predominant
today, whereas people in the South (especially in Bavaria) seem to prefer other lagers or
wheat beer. A number of regions have a special kind of local beer, for example the dark
Altbier around the lower Rhine, the Kölsch of the Cologne area, which is light but like
Altbier uses a more traditional brewing process than Pils, and the weak and sour
Berliner Weiße, usually mixed with raspberry or woodruff syrup, in Berlin. Since the
reunification of 1990, Schwarzbier (black beer), which was common in East Germany
but could hardly be found in West Germany, has become increasingly popular in The various kinds of bottled
Germany as a whole. Beer may also be mixed with other beverages: Kölsch beer

pils or lager and lemonade: Alsterwasser or Radler

pils or lager and cola: Diesel, Schmutziges or simply Colabier
Altbier and cola: Krefelder
wheat beer and cola: Russ or simply Colaweizen

In the last years many breweries served this trend of mixing beer with other drinks, selling bottles of already mixed
beverages. Examples are Bibob (from Köstritzer), Veltins V+, Mixery (from Karlsberg) and Cab (from Krombacher).

Wine is also popular throughout the country. German wine comes predominantly from the areas along the upper and
middle Rhine and its tributaries; the northern half of the country is too cold and flat to grow grape vines. Riesling and
Silvaner are among the best-known varieties of white wine, while Spätburgunder and Dornfelder are important German
red wines. The sweet German wines sold in English speaking countries seem mostly to cater to the foreign market, as
they are quite rare in Germany itself.

Korn is a German spirit made from malt (wheat, rye and/or barley), that is consumed predominantly in the middle and
northern parts of Germany. Obstler on the other hand is distilled from apples and pears ("Obstler"), plums, cherries
(Kirschwasser), or mirabelle plums and is preferred in the southern parts. The term Schnaps refers to both kinds of hard
liquors.

Coffee is also very common, not only for breakfast, but also accompanying a piece of cake in the afternoon, usually on
Sundays or special occasions and birthdays. It is generally filter coffee, somewhat stronger than usual in the US though

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weaker than espresso. Tea is more common in the Northwest. East Frisians traditionally have their tea with cream and
rock candy ("Kluntje").

Popular soft drinks include Apfelschorle, apple juice mixed with sparkling mineral water, and Spezi, made with cola and
an orange-flavored drink such as Fanta. Germans are unique among their neighbours in preferring strongly carbonated
bottled waters ("Sprudel") to non-carbonated ones.

Spices and condiments

Mustard ("Senf") is a very common accompaniment to sausages and can vary in strength, the most
common version being "Mittelscharf", which is somewhere between traditional English and French
mustards in strength. In the southern parts of the country, a sweet variety of mustard is made which
is almost exclusively served with the Bavarian speciality Weißwurst.

Horseradish is commonly used as a condiment either on its own served as a paste, enriched with
cream ("Sahnemeerettich") or combined with mustard. In some regions of Germany it used with
meats and sausages where mustard would otherwise be used.

Garlic was long frowned upon as "making one stink" and thus has never played a large role in
traditional German cuisine, but it has seen a rise in popularity in recent decades due to the influence
of French, Italian, Spanish, Portuguese, Greek, and Turkish cuisine. Bear's garlic, a rediscovered Löwensenf: a jar
spice from elder recipes is used again as a surrogate to garlic. of Bavarian
mustard.
Generally, with the exception of mustard for sausages, German dishes are rarely hot and spicy — the
most popular herbs are traditionally parsley, thyme, laurel, and chives, the most popular spices are black pepper (used in
small amounts), juniper berries and caraway. Cardamom, aniseed, and cinnamon are often used in sweet cakes or
beverages associated with Christmas time, and sometimes in the preparation of sausages, but are otherwise rare in
German meals. Other herbs and spices like basil, sage, oregano, and hot chilli peppers have become more popular in
recent times.

Desserts
A wide variety of cakes and tarts are prepared throughout the country, most commonly
made with fresh fruit. Apples, plums, strawberries, and cherries are used regularly on
cakes. Cheesecake is also very popular and almost always made with quark. German
doughnuts (which have no hole) are usually balls of dough with jam or other fillings
inside, and are known as Berliner, Kreppel or Krapfen depending on the region.
Eierkuchen are large, relatively thin pancakes, comparable to French Crèpes. They are
served covered with sugar, jam, syrup etc.; salty variants with cheese or bacon exist as
well (but aren't usually considered desserts). In some regions Eierkuchen are filled and
Frankfurter Kranz
then wrapped, in others they're cut into small pieces and arranged in a heap. The word
Pfannkuchen can either mean German doughnuts (see Berliner) or pancakes (see
Eierkuchen).

A popular dessert in northern Germany is "Rote Grütze", red fruit pudding, which is made from black and red currants,
raspberries and sometimes strawberries or cherries cooked in juice with cornstarch as a thickener. It is traditionally
served with cream, but also common with vanilla sauce, milk or whipped cream. "Rhabarbergrütze" (rhubarb pudding)
and "Grüne Grütze" (gooseberry fruit pudding) are variations of the "Rote Grütze". A similar dish, Obstkaltschale, may
also be found all around Germany.

Ice cream and sorbets are also very popular. Italian-run ice cream parlours were the first large wave of foreign-run
eateries in Germany, becoming widespread in the 1920s. A popular ice cream treat is called Spaghetti Eis.

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Bread
With regard to bread, German cuisine is more akin to Eastern than to Western Europe.
Depending on definition there are 300-600 different types of bread, ranging from white
wheat bread to grey bread (Graubrot) and "black" (actually dark brown) rye bread
(Schwarzbrot). Most types of bread contain both wheat and rye flour (hence Mischbrot,
mixed bread), and often wholemeal and seeds (such as linseed, sunflower seed, or
pumpkin seeds) as well. Pumpernickel, a Westphalian black bread, is not baked but
steamed, and has a unique sweetish taste.

Bread is a big part of the German diet, and usually eaten for breakfast and as Pumpernickel
sandwiches in the evening, rarely as a side dish for the main meal. The importance of
bread (Brot) in German cuisine is also illustrated by words such as Abendbrot (supper,
literally Evening Bread) and Brotzeit (snack, literally Bread Time). In fact, one of the major complaints of German
expatriates in many parts of the world is their inability to find acceptable local breads.

Germany has the widest variety of bread available to its residents. About 6,000 types of breads and approximately 1,200
different types of pastry and rolls are produced in about 17,000 bakeries and another 10,000 in-shop bakeries. Bread is
served with almost every (non-main)-meal. Bread is not considered a side dish and is considered important for a healthy
diet.

Germany's top ten in bread are:

1. Rye-wheat ("Roggenmischbrot")
2. Toast bread ("Toastbrot")
3. Whole-grain ("Vollkornbrot")
4. Wheat-rye ("Weizenmischbrot")
5. White bread ("Weißbrot")
6. Multi-grain ("Mehrkornbrot")
7. Rye ("Roggenbrot")
8. Sunflower seed ("Sonnenblumenkernbrot")
9. Pumpkin seed ("Kürbiskernbrot")
10. Onion bread ("Zwiebelbrot")

Especially the darker kinds of bread like Vollkornbrot or Schwarzbrot are typical of
German cuisine. Internationally well known is Pumpernickel which is steamed for a
very long time, it is one kind of dark bread from Germany but not representative. Most
German breads are made with sourdough. Whole grain is preferred for high fibre.
Germans use almost all available types of grain for their breads — wheat, rye, barley,
spelt, oats, sorghum, corn and rice. Some breads are even made from potato flour.

Bread rolls Bread rolls in a basket

Bread rolls, known in Germany as Brötchen, Semmel, Schrippe, Rundstück or Weck / Weckle / Weckli depending on the
region, are common in German cuisine. They are typically cut in half, and spread with butter or margarine. Cheese, meat,
fish or preserves is then placed between the two halves, or on each half separately, known as an open sandwich.

Rolls are also used for snacks like Bratwurst or Brätel in a hot-dog style.

Specialities by region

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Baden-Württemberg, Swabia (Schwaben)

Maultaschen, pasta filled with various ingredients such as meat, spinach, onions,
spices. Maultaschen are either served with broth or cut into slices and fried with
eggs.
Spätzle and Knöpfle are two varieties of soft, thick noodles.
Schupfnudeln, pasta made from potatoes and flour, often served with Sauerkraut. Springerle
Flädlesuppe, broth with thin strips of German-style pancakes.
Springerle, cookies made by pressing dough into intricate molds. Commonly used for dunking into a drink, as they
are quite hard.

Bavaria (Bayern)

Weißwürste ('white sausages') — a speciality from Munich (München),

traditionally eaten for second breakfast. Always accompanied by sweet mustard,
pretzels, and wheat beer.
Weizenbier/Weißbier (wheat beer).
Knödel (dumplings made from potatoes or white bread).
Schweinsbraten (pot-roasted pork).
Schweinshaxe (braised pork leg). Crunchy brown on the outside, moist and juicy
inside. Served with gravy and Klöße. Baked Schweinshaxe
Leberkäse (a type of sausage baked in a mould and cut into slices - usually eaten
in a bread-roll with mustard).
Kartoffelsalat potato salad.

Bremen and Lower Saxony (Niedersachsen)

Kohl und Pinkel (kale, very slowly cooked, with bits of rather salty sausage; a typical winter dish).
Heidschnucke (a type of sheep)
Crabs
Knipp
Bratwurst (grey sausage with veal content) mild flavor, pan fried. Eaten with a hard roll.

Franconia (Franken)

Bratwurst: Beef, pork or veal sausages, served fried or grilled with sauerkraut or
potato salad and mustard, or simply in a bread roll (Bratwurstsemmel). They vary
greatly in size and seasoning from region to region but are often considerably
thinner than the equivalents elsewhere in Germany. The best-known sausages are
from Nuremberg (Nürnberg) and are recognisable by their small size and clearly
visible herb seasoning. They are traditionally served as three sausages in a roll
("Drei in 'a Weckla") or six sausages on sauerkraut ("Sechs auf Kraut").
Klöße: Large dumplings made from a dough consisting of raw or a combination
of raw and cooked potatoes. The exact recipe is a matter of regional differences
and personal belief. The best friend of pot-roasted meats or mushroom ragout.
Schäuferle: An entire pork (or, in some cases, Lamb) shoulder roasted in a fairly Bratwurst with sauerkraut and
cool oven over long period so that the meat is extremely tender with a crunchy potatoes
crust. Seasoning is usually simple using salt, pepper and caraway and traditionally
it is served in a dark sauce, made from the roast stock, meat broth, and often dark
beer and Lebkuchen spices. Accompanied by a side salad, dumplings and red
cabbage or less commonly Sauerkraut.
Hochzeitssuppe ("wedding soup"): A spicy meat broth with bread dumplings, liver dumplings and finely sliced
pancakes.
Lebkuchen (gingerbread): The most famous German gingerbread is, again, from Nuremberg and traditionally only

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available at Christmas, although tourist demand means that Lebkuchen are available in some form practically all
year round.

Frankfurt am Main and Hessen

Green Sauce (Made from minced and an abundant amount of seven fresh herbs
namely borage, sorrel, cress, chervil, chives, parsley, and burnet. Served with
boiled potatoes and hardboiled eggs. Called "Grüne Soße" in German or "Griee
Sooß" in the Hessian dialect).
Frankfurter sausage, a smoked sausage made from pure pork, which is eaten hot
and usually accompanied by bread and mustard. Not to be confused with the
American hot dog "Frankfurter".
Apfelwein (dialect: Ebbelwoi or Äppelwoi), wine made of apples, somewhat
comparable to Cider and French Cidre though dryer and more sour-tasting. Best
enjoyed in traditional "Äbbelwoi-Lokalen". Served in a special mug (the
"Bembel"), drunk with a special glass (the "Gerippte"). Apfelwein
Sauer Gespritzer, apfelwein mixed with sparkling water. Very refreshing, usually
served during summer. Also available as Süß Gespritzer which is Apfelwein
mixed with lemonade.
Handkäs mit Musik ("hand-cheese with music"), a strong cheese made from curdled milk served in a dressing from
vegetable oil, vinegar, caraway, salt and pepper and sliced onions. Usually served with rye bread and butter.
Although people love to make jokes of dubious quality about the meaning of the "music", several traditional
Kneipe sport a choice of Handkäs with and without "music" (the seasoning), thereby ruling out any reference to
post-digestive side effects.

Hamburg

Labskaus, made from corned beef, herring, mashed potatoes, and beetroot, served
with a fried egg and a gherkin.
Birnen, Bohnen und Speck: literally "pears, beans and bacon", cooked together in
a stew.
Hamburg-style Labskaus with
Aalsuppe, a sweet and sour soup of meat broth, dried fruits, vegetables, and herbs.
fried egg, gherkin and
Jükääg is a cabbage roll popularized by the Plattdüütsch-speaking minorities of rollmops
northern Germany.

Palatinate (Pfalz)

Saumagen (Pork stomach). The stomach itself is not eaten, it just serves as a casing.
Gequellde mit weißem Kees (cooked potatoes with curd cheese).
Gequellde mit Lewwerworscht (cooked potatoes with liver sausage).
Verheierde (potatoes and dumplings made of flour).
Gedadschde (in a pan fried dumplings made of mashed potatoes with flour).
Weck, Worschd un Woi (bread roll, sausage and wine).
Grumbeersupp und Quetschekuche (potato soup and plum tart).
Kerscheblotzer (cherry cake).
Zwiwwelkuche un neie Woi (onion pie with freshly made wine).
Chestnuts.

Rhineland (Rheinland)

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Rheinischer Sauerbraten, large pieces of beef or more traditionally horse meat,

marinated in a spicy water-vinegar mixture for a long time before baking.
Potato fritters (Reibekuchen) with black bread, apple syrup, sugar beet syrup or
stewed apples.
Blood sausage (Blutwurst) crude or fried.
Himmel und Ääd (literally Heaven and Earth) Mashed potatoes with stewed
apples and fried blood pudding (Köln).
Halve Hahn (literally Half Rooster), actually not a rooster at all but a cheese Rheinischer Sauerbraten
sandwich with onions, the name is based on a wordplay (Köln).
Rice pies, apricot pies and pear pies in Eschweiler.
Mussels
Grünkohl
Eintopf peace

Saarland

Dibbelabbes (A potato hash prepared from raw grated potatoes, bacon and leeks, and baked in a Dibbe, or pot).
Hoorische/Verheiratete (lit. "Married ones", Potatoes and dumplings made of flour served with a creamy bacon
sauce).
Schwenker or Schwenkbraten (pork steaks, marinated in spices and onions and broiled on a grill that hangs on a
chain over a wood fire).

Saxony (Sachsen)

Lebkuchen (gingerbread): Some believe that the most famous German

gingerbread is from Pulsnitz in Saxony.
Eierschecke: A cake consisting of three layers: The bottom one is either a yeast
dough (Hefeteig) or one made with baking soda (Rührteig), the middle layer is a
cream made of quark, vanilla and some butter, egg, sugar and milk, and the top
layer is mainly made from eggs (Eier), which are beaten with butter, sugar and
"Vanillepudding"-powder (starchy substance normally used to cook a dessert
similar to semolina pudding).
Quarkkeulchen (also: Quarkkäulchen): A sweet main dish made from quark, Quarkkeulchen
mashed boiled potatoes, a little flour, an egg and some grated lemon peel. The
ensuing dough is baked as small, less than palm-sized pancakes and eaten hot with
sugar and cinnamon, or with fruit, whipped cream, vanilla ice cream etc.
Leipziger Allerlei: Vegetable dish consisting of peas, baby carrots, white
asparagus and morels. It may also, but not necessarily, contain broccoli,
cauliflower, green beans or corn, even small prawns.
Stollen: There are two important centers of Stollen in Saxony, Dresden and the
Ore Mountains.
A Christmas stollen
Note: The cuisine of the Saxon part of the Ore Mountains is more a relative of the
cuisine of Franconia than a relative of the other parts of Saxony.

Saxony-Anhalt (Sachsen-Anhalt)

Typical for very traditional dishes from Saxony-Anhalt is the combination of bitter or
hearty meat dish with sweet. Sweet pancakes in Green bean soup for example are the
cause of many jokes.

Baumkuchen Baumkuchen
Magdeburger Schmalzkuchen

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Schleswig-Holstein

Birnen, Bohnen und Speck (pears, beans and bacon).

Kale
Labskaus
Mehlbüdel, a large flour dumpling served with bacon and a sweet sauce.
Schnüsch, a stew made of ham, potatoes and vegetables cooked in roux.
Schwarzsauer, a sort of black pudding made with vinegar.
Buttermilk soup with flour dumplings.
Kieler Sprotten, smoked Baltic sprats.

Swabia (Schwaben)

Gaisburger Marsch A stew.

Käsespätzle (Spätzle (a kind of noodles) and fried onions gratinated with cheese.
Maultaschen (A distant relative of Italian ravioli and Russian pelmeni)
Sauerbraten
Wibele (sweet biscuits).
Zwiebelkuchen (onion pie).

Thuringia (Thüringen)

Meat dishes
Gaisburger Marsch
Thüringer sausage - Red to grey in color, stuffed in a natural casing of pig
intestine, unlike the white Franconian variety.
Thüringer Rostbrätel - A pork neck steak marinated together with onions in beer and mustard.
Thüringer Klöße - Dumplings made of raw and/or cooked potatoes with pan-fried toast-bread inside.
Mutzbraten - Pound of pork, roasted on open birchwood fire, served with sauerkraut.
Rinderroulade (beef roulades) - Spread with mustard and filled with bacon, onions and pickles.

Cakes

Mohnkuchen - poppyseed cake.

Quarkkuchen - Quark cake .
Eichsfelder Schmandkuchen
Weimarer Zwiebelkuchen
Altenburger "Aufläufer" (Prophetenkuchen).

Westphalia (Westfalen)

Pickert (potato pancake)

Grünkohl und Kohlwurst (curly kale and cabbage sausage)
Westfälischer Schinken (smoked ham)
Möpkenbrot (bread, which is made of rye flour, pig-blood, milk, eggs, fat, salt and
pepper)
Rumpsteak (rump steak)
Potato pancakes (Reibeplätzchen Reibekuchen)
Black bread (Schwarzbrot) hearty bread; it goes black because the sugar in the
bread goes to caramel.
Gentleman cream (Herrencreme) Vanilla jelly with cream and rum. Pickert

Other famous dishes

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Aachener Printen, from the German city Aachen

Bratkartoffeln (fried potatoes, often with diced bacon and/or onions)
Currywurst, a large-format fried or grilled sausage cut into thick slices and
seasoned with spicy ketchup and generous amounts of curry powder, usually
served with french fries — a popular snack originating in early 1950s Berlin.
Both "Bockwurst"-style (ie. intended to be boiled) and "Bratwurst"-style (ie.
intended to be grilled or fried) sausages are used depending on region and the use
of one or the other is a matter for much debate among "Currywurst"-Gourmets. Currywurst
Currywurst remains one of most popular fast foods in Germany, especially in
Berlin and in Düsseldorf, Cologne and the surrounding area, but the larger Döner
kebab is gaining rapidly in popularity.
Whole grilled Chicken, marinated with pepper and other spices. Known as
Brathühnchen, Brathähnchen and in eastern Germany also as Broiler.
Hasenpfeffer (peppered hare)
Kartoffelsalat (potato salad, which comes in many varieties, for example in a
cream or mayonnaise dressing or even in meat broth. Often served as a side dish
to bratwurst or boiled sausages)
Königsberger Klopse, from the East-Prussian city of Königsberg, now
Kaliningrad Königsberger Klopse
Marzipan e.g. Lübeck style (widely used in Christmas specialities)
Pellkartoffeln (potatoes boiled or steamed unpeeled, young ones often eaten with
the peel, served with Quark, butter, or herring.)
Pfefferpotthast (peppered beef stew)
Pommes, a shortened version of "Pommes Frites". Both American style "french
fries" and Dutch or Danish style fries are common, with the portion being
traditionally offered either with ketchup or mayonnaise or, as "Pommes
rot-weiss", with both.
Rouladen, a roulade of bacon and onions wrapped in thinly sliced beef.
Sauerbraten Spätzle
Sauerkraut (pickled shredded cabbage)
Schweinshaxe, pork hock served grilled and crispy with Sauerkraut or boiled as "Eisbein"
Spanferkel, a grilled whole young pig. Usually eaten in a big company of friends or guests.
Speckpfannkuchen (large, thin pancakes with diced, fried bacon)
Spätzle (hand-made noodles used extensively in southern Germany and Alsace)
Stollen (a bread-like cake with dried citrus peel, dried fruit, nuts, and spices such as cardamom and cinnamon,
usually eaten during the Christmas season as Weihnachtsstollen or Christstollen). The best-known Stollen is from
Dresden and is sold at the Striezelmarkt Christmas market, which derives its name from the cake.
Wiener schnitzel is a thinly sliced beef steak with a flour, egg, bread crumb coating which is pan fried
Würzburg E-Donäten, A dough ball filled with berries, fruit and hops (Fermented hop husks) and moulded into the
familiar Würzburg 'oval' shape used in local bread making. This semi-alcoholic confection was popular with local
farm workers as a way of circumventing the strict drinking laws in the 1900's.

Specialities from the former GDR

The cuisine of the former GDR differed in several ways from the cuisine of West Germany and today's United Germany.

First the East German cuisine was strongly influenced by Russian, Hungarian, Bulgarian and other Eastern European
countries from the 1960's on. East Germans travelled abroad to these countries on holiday and immigrants to East
Germany from these countries brought their dishes with them. A typical dish that came to the East German kitchen this
way is Soljanka.

Another dissimilarity was the lack of certain spices in the GDR. Oregano for example was totally unknown and the value
of garlic or Worcestersauce reached extremes. Lemon juice had to be replaced with vinegar and instead of capers peas
soaked in brine were used. While cooking with wine as it is typical for the wine-growing regions in Franconia and Hesse
was known, the lack of good wine on the East German market reserved this for special occasions. Out of these reasons

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German cuisine - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/German_cuisine

Ragout fin (commonly known as Würzfleisch) became a highly sought-after delicacy. As positive can the lack of
chemical additives to be mentioned. Food and other allergies were almost unknown in East Germany.

The final influence on East German kitchen was the unified cafeteria cuisine. All over East Germany cafeterias in
companies and in schools served the same food. The cafeterias were commonly run by the national HO (Handelsorgan)
organisation. They had a standard of approx. 300 dishes that tasted almost the same everywhere, since the recipes were
standardised. The lack of supplies and the pressure of cooking for large numbers of people gave birth to several typical
East German inventions such as covering a 2 large and thin slices of sausage with bread crumbs, frying them and serving
them in tomato sauce and makkaroni.

The effort has been made to preserve this cultural East German heritage, and a collection of East German HO recipes is
available online in German [1] (http://www.kirchenweb.at/kochrezepte/ddr/) .

Foreign influences
With the rising influx of foreign workers after World War II, many foreign dishes have been adopted into German cuisine
— Italian dishes like spaghetti and pizza have become a staple of German cuisine. Turkish immigrants have also had a
considerable influence on German eating habits — Döner kebab, a meat sandwich invented by Berlin Turkish
immigrants, is Germany's favourite fast food, selling twice as much as the major burger chains put together. Chinese and
Greek food is also widespread and popular. Indian, Thai and other Asian cuisines are rapidly gaining in popularity. Many
of the more expensive restaurants used to serve mostly French dishes for many decades, but they are increasingly turning
to a more refined form of German cuisine since the 1990s.

External links
Eating the German way (http://www.cp-pc.ca/english/germany/eating.html)
German food recipies (http://www.kitchenproject.com/german/german_food_recipes.htm)
German Cuisine (http://www.cuisineeurope.com/recipes_germany/main_recipes_germany_en.html)
Bavarian Food Guide (http://www.lessordinary.eu/content/view/415/525/lang,en/)

Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/German_cuisine"

Category: German cuisine

This page was last modified 18:46, 30 December 2007.

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