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'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.
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 from France. Throughout Germany, meat is very often eaten in sausage form. There is said to be more than 1500 different types of sausage in Germany. Certain families may also make their own sausage for personal consumption.
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 very 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 as a smaller dessert. “Brunches” usually start later in the morning and end in the early 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.
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, 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 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.
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.
'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 lager 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 very weak Berliner Weiße, often mixed with fruit syrups, in Berlin. Since the reunification in 1990, Schwarzbier (black beer), which was common in East Germany but could hardly be found in West Germany, got more and more popular in all of Germany. Beer may also be mixed with other beverages:
★ 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 beverages, selling bottles of already mixed bewerages. 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 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.
'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 weaker than espresso. 'Tea' is more common in the Northwest. East Frisians traditionally have their tea with cream and rock candy ("Kluntje").
'Apfelschorle', apple juice mixed with sparkling mineral water, is a common beverage.
'Spezi' is a soft drink made with cola and orange-flavored soft drink such as Fanta.
'Korn' is a German spirit from wheat and malt, 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.
Germans are unique among their neighbours in preferring strongly carbonated bottled waters (''"Sprudel"'') to non-carbonated ones.
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 spice from elder recipes is used again as a surrogate to garlic.
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.
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 then wrapped, in others they're cut into small pieces and arranged in a heap. The word ''Pfannkuchen'' can either mean German doughnats (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.
With regard to bread, German cuisine is more akin to Eastern than to Western Europe. The country boasts at least 6,000 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 sandwiches in the evening, seldomly 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:
# Rye-wheat ("Roggenmischbrot")
# Toast bread ("Toastbrot")
# Whole-grain ("Vollkornbrot")
# Wheat-rye ("Weizenmischbrot")
# White bread ("Weißbrot")
# Multi-grain ("Mehrkornbrot")
# Rye ("Roggenbrot")
# Sunflower seed ("Sonnenblumenkernbrot")
# Pumpkin seed ("Kürbiskernbrot")
# 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, 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.
★ Snail soup
★ Brägele, sliced potatoes pan-fried in lard
★ Knöpfle, similar to Spätzle, but thicker rather than long
★ Schupfnudeln, pasta made from potatoes and flour, often served with Sauerkraut
★ Flädlesuppe, broth with thin strips of German-style pancakes
★ Bibbeleskäs, cottage cheese
★ 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.
★ Leberkäse (a type of sausage baked in a mould and cut into slices - usually eaten in a bread-roll with mustard)
★ Kartoffelsalat potatoe salad
★ Kohl und Pinkel (kale, very slowly cooked, with bits of rather salty sausage; a typical winter dish)
★ (a type of sheep)
★ crabs
★ Knipp
★ Bratwurst (grey sausage with veal content) mild flavor, pan fried. Eaten with a hard roll
★ 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 elswhere 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 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 cool oven over long period so that the meat is extremely tender with a crunchy 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 available at Christmas, although tourist demand means that Lebkuchen are available in some form practically all year round.
★ 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 much stronger and tastier. Best enjoyed in traditional "Äbbelwoi-Lokalen". Served in a special mug (the "Bembel"), drunk with a special glass ("the Gerippte").
★ Sauer Gespritzer, apfelwein mixed with sparkling water. Very refreshing, usually served during summer. Also available as Süß Gespritzer which is a lot sweeter through using other types of Apfelwein.
★ 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. The "music" is not the dressing, it is a comical reference. The "music" is what happens to some people a few hours later after eating a 6 inch diameter by 1.5 inch thick piece of cheese.
★ 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.
★ Aalsuppe, a sweet and sour soup of meat broth, dried fruits, vegetables, and herbs.
★ Jükääg is a cabbage roll popularized by the Plattdüütsch-speaking minorities of northern Germany.
★ 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 un Quetschekuche (potatoe-soup and plum-cake)
★ Kerscheblotzer (cherry-cake)
★ Zwiwwelkuche un neie Woi (onion-pie with freshly made wine)
★ chestnuts
★ 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 un 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 sandwich with onions, the name is based on a wordplay (Köln)
★ Rice pies, apricot pies and pear pies in Eschweiler
★ Mussels
★ Grünkohl
★ Eintopf
★ Dibbelabbes (A potato hash prepared from raw grated potatoes, bacon and leeks, and baked in a ''Dibbe'', or pot)
★ Geheirote (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)
★ 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, 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.
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.
★ Baumkuchen
★ ''Birnen, Bohnen und Speck'' (pears, beans and bacon)
★ Green cabbage
★ ''Labskaus''
★ ''Mehlbüdel''
★ ''Schnüüsch''
★ ''Schwarzsauer''
★ Buttermilk soup with ''Klüten''
★ ''Kieler Sprotten''
★ 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)
★ Thuringian Bratwurst, red to grey in color, stuffed in a natural casing of pig intestine, unlike the white Franconian variety
★ Thüringer Rostbrätel, a pork steak (Schweinekamm, translation please!) marinated together with onions in beer and mustard
Both Thüringer Bratwurst and Thüringer Brätel are typically grilled and not pan-fried in Thuringia.
★ Thüringer Klöße: dumplings made of raw and/or cooked potatoes with pan-fried toast-bread inside.
★ hearty meat dishes with rich sauces
★ Mutzbraten: pound of pork, roasted on open birchwood fire, served with sauerkraut
★ Rinderroulade (beef roulades), spread with mustard and filled with bacon fat, onions and pickled cucumbers
★ delicious cakes; favourites among the locals are Mohnkuchen (poppyseed cake) and Quarkkuchen (quark cake). Specialties: Eichsfelder Schmandkuchen, Weimarer Zwiebelkuchen and Altenburger "Aufläufer" (Prophetenkuchen)
★ 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.
★ 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 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 Königsberg, now Kaliningrad
★ Marzipan f.e. 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 hering.)
★ Pfefferpotthast (pepper-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.
★ Sauerbraten
★ 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.
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.
★ Eating the German way
★ German food recipies
★ Bavarian Food Guide
Meat
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 from France. Throughout Germany, meat is very often eaten in sausage form. There is 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 very 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 as a smaller dessert. “Brunches” usually start later in the morning and end in the early 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, 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
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.
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 lager 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 very weak Berliner Weiße, often mixed with fruit syrups, in Berlin. Since the reunification in 1990, Schwarzbier (black beer), which was common in East Germany but could hardly be found in West Germany, got more and more popular in all of Germany. Beer may also be mixed with other beverages:
★ 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 beverages, selling bottles of already mixed bewerages. 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 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.
'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 weaker than espresso. 'Tea' is more common in the Northwest. East Frisians traditionally have their tea with cream and rock candy ("Kluntje").
'Apfelschorle', apple juice mixed with sparkling mineral water, is a common beverage.
'Spezi' is a soft drink made with cola and orange-flavored soft drink such as Fanta.
'Korn' is a German spirit from wheat and malt, 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.
Germans are unique among their neighbours in preferring strongly carbonated bottled waters (''"Sprudel"'') to non-carbonated ones.
Spices and condiments
Löwensenf: a jar of Bavarian mustard.
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 spice from elder recipes is used again as a surrogate to garlic.
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 then wrapped, in others they're cut into small pieces and arranged in a heap. The word ''Pfannkuchen'' can either mean German doughnats (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.
Bread
With regard to bread, German cuisine is more akin to Eastern than to Western Europe. The country boasts at least 6,000 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 sandwiches in the evening, seldomly 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:
# Rye-wheat ("Roggenmischbrot")
# Toast bread ("Toastbrot")
# Whole-grain ("Vollkornbrot")
# Wheat-rye ("Weizenmischbrot")
# White bread ("Weißbrot")
# Multi-grain ("Mehrkornbrot")
# Rye ("Roggenbrot")
# Sunflower seed ("Sonnenblumenkernbrot")
# Pumpkin seed ("Kürbiskernbrot")
# 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, 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
Baden
★ Snail soup
★ Brägele, sliced potatoes pan-fried in lard
★ Knöpfle, similar to Spätzle, but thicker rather than long
★ Schupfnudeln, pasta made from potatoes and flour, often served with Sauerkraut
★ Flädlesuppe, broth with thin strips of German-style pancakes
★ Bibbeleskäs, cottage cheese
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.
★ Leberkäse (a type of sausage baked in a mould and cut into slices - usually eaten in a bread-roll with mustard)
★ Kartoffelsalat potatoe salad
Bremen and Lower Saxony (''Niedersachsen'')
★ Kohl und Pinkel (kale, very slowly cooked, with bits of rather salty sausage; a typical winter dish)
★ (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 elswhere 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 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 cool oven over long period so that the meat is extremely tender with a crunchy 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 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 much stronger and tastier. Best enjoyed in traditional "Äbbelwoi-Lokalen". Served in a special mug (the "Bembel"), drunk with a special glass ("the Gerippte").
★ Sauer Gespritzer, apfelwein mixed with sparkling water. Very refreshing, usually served during summer. Also available as Süß Gespritzer which is a lot sweeter through using other types of Apfelwein.
★ 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. The "music" is not the dressing, it is a comical reference. The "music" is what happens to some people a few hours later after eating a 6 inch diameter by 1.5 inch thick piece of cheese.
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.
★ Aalsuppe, a sweet and sour soup of meat broth, dried fruits, vegetables, and herbs.
★ Jükääg is a cabbage roll popularized by the Plattdüütsch-speaking minorities of 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 un Quetschekuche (potatoe-soup and plum-cake)
★ Kerscheblotzer (cherry-cake)
★ Zwiwwelkuche un neie Woi (onion-pie with freshly made wine)
★ chestnuts
Rhineland ('Rheinland')
★ 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 un 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 sandwich with onions, the name is based on a wordplay (Köln)
★ Rice pies, apricot pies and pear pies in Eschweiler
★ Mussels
★ Grünkohl
★ Eintopf
Saarland
★ Dibbelabbes (A potato hash prepared from raw grated potatoes, bacon and leeks, and baked in a ''Dibbe'', or pot)
★ Geheirote (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, 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.
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'')
★ Baumkuchen
Schleswig-Holstein
★ ''Birnen, Bohnen und Speck'' (pears, beans and bacon)
★ Green cabbage
★ ''Labskaus''
★ ''Mehlbüdel''
★ ''Schnüüsch''
★ ''Schwarzsauer''
★ Buttermilk soup with ''Klüten''
★ ''Kieler Sprotten''
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'')
★ Thuringian Bratwurst, red to grey in color, stuffed in a natural casing of pig intestine, unlike the white Franconian variety
★ Thüringer Rostbrätel, a pork steak (Schweinekamm, translation please!) marinated together with onions in beer and mustard
Both Thüringer Bratwurst and Thüringer Brätel are typically grilled and not pan-fried in Thuringia.
★ Thüringer Klöße: dumplings made of raw and/or cooked potatoes with pan-fried toast-bread inside.
★ hearty meat dishes with rich sauces
★ Mutzbraten: pound of pork, roasted on open birchwood fire, served with sauerkraut
★ Rinderroulade (beef roulades), spread with mustard and filled with bacon fat, onions and pickled cucumbers
★ delicious cakes; favourites among the locals are Mohnkuchen (poppyseed cake) and Quarkkuchen (quark cake). Specialties: Eichsfelder Schmandkuchen, Weimarer Zwiebelkuchen and 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.
Other famous dishes
''Spanferkel''.
★ 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 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 Königsberg, now Kaliningrad
★ Marzipan f.e. 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 hering.)
★ Pfefferpotthast (pepper-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.
★ Sauerbraten
★ 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.
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
★ German food recipies
★ Bavarian Food Guide
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