German CUISINE
When following your German roots, your experience should include all senses! The German kitchen offers culinary delights to suit all tastes. From hearty to sweet, great grandma's recipes or traditional specialties of festivities throughout the year, we are sure you will find your favorite dish that will make your heritage come alive in your kitchen.
German food is not all about Sauerkraut!
Even though German cuisine is associated for the largest part with Sauerkraut, sausages and other meat dishes, it is really impossible to specify the way the Germans cook and eat. German cuisine can be largely divided into its landscapes and provinces. Each geographic region, according to its vicinity to the ocean, neighboring countries and agricultural setting has developed its own specialties and style.
Even though Germany is certainly famous for its traditional hearty fare, these dishes by far are not all the German cuisine has to offer! A strong organic movement, European fusion and new young chefs add a light and sophisticated taste to regional dishes. Restaurants in Germany have more than their fair share of Michelin stars.
To accompany all the fine foods, Germany is also well known for its choice of beverages.
As Mark Twain has once stated, German beers are as different as hens in a farmyard. Beer lovers can choose between 5,000 product names coming from more than 1,200 breweries. In the Northern parts of the country, the light Pilsner with little hops is usually favored. In Cologne, people drink the light yellow Kölsch which is brewed with lots of hops. Further down south a lager with more malt is dominant. The South is also home of the Weissbier (White Beer), a light, highly effervescent, top-fermented beer. In Eastern regions, the very old black beer is regaining some of its former popularity.
Almost 2,000 years ago, the Romans brought wine to Germany. The hearty Elbling from Trier in Western Germany and Meissen in the East still reminds our taste buds of this today. In general, German wines from the 13 different wine growing regions can be distinguished by their fruity acidity and a wide range of wonderful scents. While there is red wine cultivated in some areas, three quarters of the German wines are white wines. The leading grape variety is Riesling, which is mostly grown in the Palatinate and Baden areas in Germany's Southwest.
Northern parts feature many recipes with ocean fish, as it is a common belief that fish should be eaten in the area it came from. Different meat products, like sausages, Braten (roasts) and sweet water fish prevail in the South, East and West. Common to all regions throughout Germany is the love for root vegetables, diverse choice of cabbage, large variety of Teigwaren (Pasta Dishes), Eintöpfe (Stews) and, of course, potatoes.
Potatoes were traditionally used in German cuisine after World War II. When basically no other food was available, potatoes were a simple way to provide nutrients. Over time, the image of potatoes has changed and while they are still used in everyday recipes all over the country, you will also find them in gourmet restaurants. The colorful culinary potato fields range from Flensburg, where pears, beans and bacon are served with boiled potatoes in the most Northern part of Germany to Füssen near the border with Austria. Potatoes come with varying spices as potato fritters, sautéed potatoes, boiled and fried, as a gratin or an ingredient to stews.
Breads varieties are found in Germany that are mostly unknown in other parts of the world. From light white bread to Sourdough and Rye breads, you can pick from more than 300 kinds of bread to perfectly match your topping. A special favorite is Pumpernickel, a grainy black wholemeal bread that has its origins in Westphalia. Try it with dried ham, it tastes fantastic!
Also very typical for Germany is the salty pretzel. You can find it in the bakeries of the country among crispy rolls of all shapes. The rolls are a favorite on German breakfast tables, but they also make a great snack at any time.
Each region in Germany is also proud of the special sausages produced there. Just like brewers, the butchers also have to stick to purity laws: no substitutes either from animals or plants, only meat, bacon, offal, salt and spices are allowed to be combined to sausage-meat! There are more than 550 types of raw sausage such as salami or soft smoked sausage. And then blanched sausages like the Frankfurter, Bockwurst and Weisswurst and finally, cooked sausages such as liver sausage and sausages with diced meat in aspic can be found, not to forget the grilled specialties like Thüringer. Of course, each sausage has to be enjoyed with just the right mustard.
Just as with food and other drinks, the choice of high-proof spirits also depends on the region: Kirschwasser is served with ham in the Black Forest, and Enzian is very well suited with a hearty snack in the South, in Berlin, a Doppelkorn goes with a knuckle of pork while in the North, people enjoy to drink it with a beer.
A schnapps is always appropriate in any region, whether are clear or colored, bitter or sweet, they can be used as an aperitif, an after-dinner drink or simply when you feel like it. The typical measure is two centiliters (a shot glass).
Coming from all different regions of the country, German cuisine has emigrated to the U.S. with the many German immigrants who came to North America throughout the centuries. Love of their home country, cherishing of their roots or just simply home-sickness have made them keep traditions and cultural heritage alive.
