German Cuisine History regional differences and common everyday

German Cuisine History, regional differences and common everyday foods. by Hanna

Interesting Facts: During the Cold War, Berlin was fed entirely by airlift. There are many typical German foods. Germany has a commonality between most of the states.

Interesting facts (cont. ) Germany is well-known for their production of cheese. Ham is a very important meat in Germany. The most well-known ham in Germany is the Black Forest Ham.

The importance of meat and Germany Survival on potatoes. There were years where meat was unavailable. Venison was very popular in Germany going back to the early 1800’s. Wurst (sausage) is such a huge part of German culture. There are several popular sausages that you may have heard of.

Daily eating habits in Germany may include: Breakfast (Frühstück) Second Breakfast (Zweites Frühstück) Lunch (Mittagessen) Dinner (Abendessen or Abendbrot) Coffee and Cake (Kaffee und Kuchen)

German rules at the dinner table Germans always use forks at the dinner table, so to blend in, use a fork when eating your french fries. For a sit down meal, use a knife and a fork with every bite. Elbows off the table and no hands on your lap while eating. It is always a good gesture to compliment the homecook or chef with “das schmekt gut/lecker/wunderbar” When eating and/or drinking with a group it is always polite to wait to eat until someone says: “Guten Appetit. ”

Rules at a restaurant in Germany You can always just seat yourself, unless you are eating at a fancy restaurant. If you want ice in your soda/drink, you have to ask. They have no such thing as free refills. You will typically be charged if you eat anything from the basket on the table of either bread or pretzels, they are not complimentary. If you are done with your meal, you can place your knife and fork side by side, if you are just taking a break, you are to cross them on your plate. Leftovers are not common, they may be confused if you ask for a “To Go” box. Tipping is usually around 10%.

Thüringen v v A typical Thüringia Sunday dinner would have Dumplings as a main course. Dumplings are hand made and are hard work and usually the job of the man of the house.

Sachsen v v Coffee was introduced in the 17 th Century in Europe. The coffee-saxons were nicknamed the Blümchenkaffee.

Sachsen-Anhalt v v The first canned sausage came from here. It was invented by Friedrich Heine. They have a very peculiar cheese which is produced in Würchwitz. This cheese is called Würchwitzer Spinnerkäse (Mite Cheese).

Berlin v v Berlin is the home of the currywurst. They are popular for the Doner Kebab, which is Germany’s version of a fast food item.

Brandenburg v v v Potatoes: 150 different varieties of potatoes are grown in Germany. It took until the 17 th century for potatoes to make it on the dinner table as an accepted food item. They are very well known for many potato dishes that are popular today throughout Germany.

Mecklenburg. Vorpommern v v v Most common dishes here may be marinated eel, roast goose and fried herring. Hotchpotch is very popular in Mecklenburg. Vorpommern. More common dishes here are red fruit pudding with milk and potato pancakes.

Schleswig-Holstein v v v Known for their fish dishes including shrimp, codfish, mackerel, oysters and mussels. They have many cabbage dishes here. They harvest about 80 million heads of cabbage every year.

Hamburg v v v They have the freshest fish market in Hamburg. The home of the original Hamburger. They have several popular dishes in Hamburg.

Bremen v v v Famous saying here is: v “Een beten veel un een beten good” it means, Good food and plenty of it. Melitta Bentz lived in Bremen. She is responsible for developing the 1 st ever coffee filter. Bremen is said to be the owners of the first coffee house that ever existed, it was opened in 1673.

Niedersachsen v v If you are visiting Niedersachsen, you should expect to be offered tea with everything. Harz Käse (known as Harzer Roller in the rest of Germany) is a sour milk cheese. v It is one of the oldest types of cheese ever made.

Nordrhein-Westfalen v v A dish that was originally made from horsemeat until it was banned in 732 a. d. , is still popular here today. It is called Sauerbraten. Open sandwiches are a food item you will find here. The bread is buttered and served with a topping such as ham, salami or cheese.

Hessen v v Most known for their green sauce. Made from 7 different herbs: sorrel, chervil, chives, parsley, burnet, cress and borage. Hesse is home of the largest kitchen in Germany. Hesse is known as potato country. They have a variety of well-known dishes including Himmel und Erde and Kartoffelbloatz The name “hot dog” originated from here.

Rheinland-Pfalz v v v In the 19 th century, there was a famine here and they had to survive on just bread and potatoes. They have a saying here: “Liebe zur Pfalz geht auch durch den Saumagen” ( Love of the Palatinate comes by way of the pig’s stomach). A very popular dish here is liver dumplings.

Saarland v v Potatoes were said to have been introduced here in the 1700 s by Walloon Steelworkers. They have a sausage that they are very well -known for called Lyoner sausage. It is very common amongst miners.

Baden. Württemberg v v They have a saying about bread: “Wo fried ist, da ist Gott und Brot, wo Unfried ist, ist der Teufel und d’Not” it means, “Where there is peace, there you will find God and Bread, where there is no peace, there you will find the Devil and need. ” They also have a popular dish called Spätzle. Sauerkraut is widely eaten here, but sauerkraut did not originate from Germany as most people think. They have a specialty called Schupfnudeln (potato noodle).

Bayern v v If you were to look at a menu here, all the restaurants would most likely be serving Roast pork and knuckle of pork. Bayern is known to not waste any part of the animal. If you don’t want to be kicked out of a restaurant here and mistaken for a Prussian, don’t ever go to a bar and ask for Weisswurst with potato salad and ketchup. They are well known for their Nuremberg Bratwurst.

Works Cited: Book Article Culinaria Germany by H. F. Ullmann Rumohr’s Falscher Rehsch Legel by Ursula Heinzelmann Internet sites www. germanfoods. org www. germanfoodguide. com www. germandeli. com