Around the World - First stop - GERMANY

My knowledge of German food starts and stops with wursts (sausages) and potatoes, two foods I've never really grown to appreciate.

What do you all know that you can share to help us tour Germany? We can spend a couple weeks working with the flavors of Germany.

Let's explore, share information, discoveries, recipes, results, photos.

This looks good to me. There's also a link to a video.


Herbed Spätzle Recipe
http://www.chow.com/recipes/10711-herbed-spatzle

lebkuchen!!

goatherder said:

lebkuchen!!

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Gesundheit sorry...I couldn't resist

Brats

On the grill for a pretty face, then simmer in beer and onions until internal temperature reaches 160F. Surround with brat bun, add your favorite mustard, drink beers, start telling jokes in German.

My friend in Germany sent me a bunch of Knorr seasoning packs for specific dinners a while back. These are kind of like the McCormick meal packs (Chili, spaghetti, etc) we have here. He says these are really popular over there. I’ve got 4 left, so I’ll cook one or two for this.

I’ll just have to get Frank to translate them for me!

I’m thinking I’ll do the Schnitzeltopf first. Not sure what it is, but the picture certainly looks good.

Wow, Keltin - that schnitzeltopf sounds really good!

Keltin, have you ever used Google Translate? Just type in the words, click on "German to English" and it will translate them for you.

MexicoKaren said:

Keltin, have you ever used Google Translate? Just type in the words, click on "German to English" and it will translate them for you.

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I actually like babel fish better for translations. It's a bit more accurte, but still not as good as having someone real that knows the dialect. And, using it, I have to type everything in by hand - can't c-n-p the text from a pic. Sounds easier to get Frank to work for me!


http://babelfish.yahoo.com/

schnitzel in this context is "diced"
topf = pot

a similar prep is the "Eintopf" - or "one pot" aka casserole

you need 350 g schnitzel - or "chop" - pork presumed
1 red pepper
200 g white mushrooms

1. dice the meat & saute in oil & remove from pan
2. clean the mushroom & pepper, cut into slices or disks, suate lightly in pan
3. add contents of pkg to 300 ml cold water, bring to a boil while stirring
4. (unreadable)

A few post late, but here's my 'proper' introduction to German food.

Traditional German Food is very centered on meat & potatoes. Pork is predominant, followed by beef. Poultry plays a role, but fish, with the exception of herring, has never been a large part of the German diet. Sausages, or wursts, are a staple.

There is heavy emphasis on breads, potatoes, and a hearty noodle called spatzle. The vegetables are more what we think of as winter vegetables, like cabbage and turnips. Fruits tend to be dried.

The food of Germany isn't what we'd consider hot or spicy. Onions and a few of the milder herbs are the predominant seasonings. We might consider it somewhat bland. However, one of the hallmarks of German food is the combination of vinegar and sugar for a sweet-sour taste profile. You see this in sauerbraten, red cabbage & German potato salad.

If you want further reading, I found this link helpful.


I'm ready to start! I've never eaten sauerbraten, but I think I want to start there. It sounds like the kind of dish that could use spatzle as a complement. I think Leni posted a family recipe for sauerbraten a couple months ago.....I'm off to find it.

Lovely theme for the beginning ;o))
have to see if I have time to join.

something typical for christmas season would be goose (with red cabbage and knoedel) or carp, another traditional christmas dish is wuerstchen with potatoe salad

K,
you still need translation help?
btw. I don't think Knorr Fix can do anything you couldn't do by yourself


and now I'll watch "Drei Haselnuesse für Aschenbroedel" - christmas is coming ;o)

ChowderMan said:

schnitzel in this context is "diced"
topf = pot

a similar prep is the "Eintopf" - or "one pot" aka casserole

you need 350 g schnitzel - or "chop" - pork presumed
1 red pepper
200 g white mushrooms

1. dice the meat & saute in oil & remove from pan
2. clean the mushroom & pepper, cut into slices or disks, suate lightly in pan
3. add contents of pkg to 300 ml cold water, bring to a boil while stirring
4. (unreadable)

Click to expand...

4. add meat and cook for ten minutes at slow heat. stirr once in a while

click here


btw. Räubertopf means something like robber's pot

goatherder said:

lebkuchen!!

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Right on! I'd post my great grandmother's recipe but it needed to be started the day after Thanksgiving.

Gleuwein!

I like zweibelkuchen, onion pie. A traditional dish served at new wine festivals. Like most traditional dishes, recipes vary with the hausfrau. I don't do recipes well, but make it something like this:

1/2 pound good smoked thick sliced bacon, diced
5 or so medium sweet onions. Stronger onions may be used, add small amount sugar.
1 + cups sour creme room temperature
2 eggs, lightly beaten
Salt, pepper, nutmeg

Homemade or purchased pastry dough

Render bacon, not too crisp, reserve some fat
Slice onions into half rings around 1/8th inch, saute till just clear in bacon fat.

Mix ingredients in bowl. Line greased straight sided pie, pizza, or quiche pan with dough. Add ingredients and garnish top with bacon, I generally use larger pieces for the top, but then I like bacon. I sometimes add grated cheese to the top, but then I like parm and reg. Strictly non traditional.

Cover with foil and bake at 350 for around 1/2 hour, remove foil and crisp. Don't overcook. All ingredients are already cooked.

Like I said, I don't do recipes well. There are many versions on the internet. Serve as a side dish. Lighter wines go well with this

having spent a lot of time in Germany and by business travel also the low countries, Sweden, Norway, Italy, France & UK, I'm sitting here trying to compose a list of dishes one can consider
"near exclusively" German.

there's a couple problems - historically what is "Germany" varies rather a lot - even excluding the WW2 events. next is the problem that 'everything has spread to everywhere' - when I was in Germany as a student there were no supermarkets, no department stores, it was all individual shops in their specialties. when you went into a shop you saw stuff that you'd never seen before. twenty years later, you find the same thing in the German department stores you'd find in any USA mall....

here's my list of suggestions:

sauerbraten - as mentioned. it's not unknown, but it is not 'common' outside Germany

Eisbein (ice leg(?)) - pork shanks - come in boiled and roasted variety (Schweinshaxe/ pork shank) - depending on region. the difference the the German approach is these are often cooked "all by themselves" and served with sides vs. our more typical 'hamhock & bean" dish.
there is a notable Berlin exception/specialty: hock in pea soup. also the Berliner-Weisse - raspberry juice in beer.

spaetzel - this also has a number of regional/recipe variations - the cheese doodle shape to thin strips (Schwarzwald / Black Forest style) - recipes, some with milk, some with just water, some with just nutmeg, others all seasoned up.

kloss - dumplings - major ingredients grated potato, second style stale bread - these are round, apple size dumplings - very unusual to find in USA. without question there are more methods and recipes for Kloess than cooks.....

weisswurst
gelbwurst
speck
scwarzwalder
basically all the stuff we call "cold cuts" aka Aufschnitt - but there are a number of specialty types that are seldom seen except in a import deli. put simply,,, Oscar Mayer and BoarsHead have not taken over the German market - every town has one or more butchers who make the stuff slightly different and the types/varieties are near endless. now the really unfortunate part a lot of German dishes use cold cut items in their preparation and it's pretty dang difficult to get the real taste without the real thing....

which creates the Wurst-salat
somewhat thicker slices, julienne of various cold cuts in a bowl served with small pickles (typical would be a gherkin style) and sometimes cubes o/ strips of cheese.

Quark - something between cream cheese and sour cream - I've never seen outside Germany / nordic regions....and have never figured out how to 'duplicate it'

Spaetzi - mix of coke & orange crush/soda

cucumber salad - thin sliced cucumbers & thin sliced onion marinated in oil/vinegar
similar also: large grated radish salad - same but usually served with a dollop of sour cream.

Leberkaese / liver cheese - it does not contain liver or cheese, go figger - closest description would be hot baloney - but it's much tastier. served hot, meatloaf style.

wild game - certainly not unique to Germany, but perhaps more common.

pastries - ah, <sigh> no end to that category - we just don't have the shops/bakeries/selection that exists in Germany/Austria/Switzerland/et al.....

warm potato salad - the mayo style potato salad is uncommon in Germany. warm boiled potato chunks dressed with pork fat/oil & vinegar/wine, liberal sprinkling of 'speck / bacon' - this dish is also frequently seen in US.

"Salat" in general,,, the 'tossed' US style is uncommon. a common side is a dressed salat of finely julienne root crops - another is the "Feld-salat" (Field salad) which is a mix of greens - tho short on "leaf lettuce" - usually with a vinaigrette. must admit, never did learn the secrets of the German "Salat" prep world....just ate them.

fish - hummm, the link is good stuff, but it talks about Emden - which is way up on the North Sea. one sees very little herring in Frankfort and just about none in Munich. in Sweden you can make two weeks meals out of the herring buffet; been there, done that (g)! every sauce & seasoning you can think of and some you've prolly never ever thought of - but all really good stuff.

but fresh water fish is common down south - our little village has a "FischFest" every year (grilled on sticks over an open fire.) curiously deep fried whole carp is a specialty - carp is not widely eaten in US.... trout / Forellen is commonplace - but there's too many mouths and not enough fish to make it widely consumed. depending on region there's any number of other freshwater fish consumed but again with limited natural resources (lakes/streams/land for fish farming...) it is a restricted commodity.

vegetables - root crops are far more common. the German climate does not do tomatoes and green beans well - being cooler the brassicas (aka 'cabbages') and root crops like turnips, beets, parsnips, rutabaga, etc. are far more common. potatoes of course abound - mashed potatoes (Kartoffelpureee) is again not uncommon but often not the first thing offered - fried, boiled, roasted is the usual method.

and for Christmas cookies - those with the bakers ammonia - aka hartshorn. very uncommon taste in USA cookies.

Sauerbraten

4-5 lb rump roast
2 1/2 C dry red wine
1 1/2 C tarragon vinegar
1 tsp salt
1 tsp whole black pepper
1 tsp thyme
1/2 tsp mace (or nutmeg)
1/4 tsp sage
1/4 tsp allspice
1 tsp dry mustard
2 bay leaves
12 whole cloves
2 large onions sliced
1 carrot sliced
6 sprigs celery tops
3 Tb bacon fat
2 tsp flour
5 gingersnaps crushed
1 C sour cream
2 Tbs Maderia or Sherry

Marinate with all but the last 5 ingredients 5 to 7 days turning daily. Melt the bacon fat in a Dutch oven and brown the meat. Remove the meat, blend in the flour and salt. Gradually add strained marinade. Add crushed gingersnaps. Return the meat to the Dutch oven and simmer for 2 1/2 to 3 hours. Remove the meat to a platter. Stir in the sour cream and wine. (Gravy usually need extra thickening before adding the sour cream.) Serve with potato pancakes or dumplings.

I don't make this very often for obvious reasons. I serve it with potato pancakes, applesauce, and sour cream along with red cabbage. This is a great recipe for a crock pot, if you have one that doesn't boil.
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I bought the stuff for wienerschnitzel and red cabbage, but will make it next weekend, as I'd already planned dinners to make this weekend.

We have 2 weeks, right?

Lee

Wow, nice post, Chowderman - thanks!

And, bigjim, that recipe for onion pie is copied and saved into my file. Looks WONDERFUL!

Lee

OK, Leni, I now have everything I need to make your sauerbraten. But I have a question for you. I didn't want a 5 pound roast because that's just way too much for us. So I bought a 2 1/2 pound eye round roast. It's very lean like a rump, and has a little fat cap on one side. Do you think it would be the same?

If I use the smaller roast, do you think I should marinate it as long? Will it penetrate faster into a smaller piece of meat? I've never eaten it before, and I don't want it so sour that we can't eat it.

I await the advice of those who know more about this than I..........

I have another question for someone in the know.

I grew up in Michigan, and we used to get pickled bologna. I've never seen it anywhere else. Some years ago, I was given a recipe for it. SousChef loves the stuff!

I've tried to research its origins, but haven't been very successful. THe closest I've come is that it may have been introduced by the Pennsylvania Dutch, which was really the Pennsylvania Deutsch, which were really German. But other than that one lead, with no verification, I can't find anything else. Does anyone know if there's any real link here?

I think that I would go with the five days for marinading. I don't know how that cut of meat will react. If left in too long for that cut it can get mushy on the outside. You have to turn it once a day anyhow so you can check it then to see what's going on.

As far as pickled bologna is concerned it does sound like a German dish. I'll check my cookbooks. Also I have a couple of German friends different parts of Germany so I'll ask them.

SilverSage said:

I have another question for someone in the know.

I grew up in Michigan, and we used to get pickled bologna. I've never seen it anywhere else. Some years ago, I was given a recipe for it. SousChef loves the stuff!

I've tried to research its origins, but haven't been very successful. THe closest I've come is that it may have been introduced by the Pennsylvania Dutch, which was really the Pennsylvania Deutsch, which were really German. But other than that one lead, with no verification, I can't find anything else. Does anyone know if there's any real link here?

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Here's a recipe that Luckytrim posted in the Appetizer forum http://www.netcookingtalk.com/forums/showthread.php?t=4690

He doesn't mention the origins, however.

Lee

Gluhwein Recipe:
Appropriate for this time of year as it is often served at the Kristkindlemarts.

Ingredients

• 3/4 cup water
• 3/4 cup white sugar
• 1 cinnamon stick
• 1 orange
• 10 whole cloves
• 1 (750 milliliter) bottle red wine

Directions

1. In a saucepan, combine the water, sugar, and cinnamon stick. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, and simmer.
2. Cut the orange in half, and squeeze the juice into the simmering water. Push the cloves into the outside of the orange peel, and place peel in the simmering water. Continue simmering for 30 minutes, until thick and syrupy.
3. Pour in the wine, and heat until steaming but not simmering. Remove the clove-studded orange halves. Serve hot in mugs or glasses that have been preheated in warm water (cold glasses will break.)

SilverSage said:

I have another question for someone in the know.

I grew up in Michigan, and we used to get pickled bologna. I've never seen it anywhere else. Some years ago, I was given a recipe for it. SousChef loves the stuff!

I've tried to research its origins, but haven't been very successful. THe closest I've come is that it may have been introduced by the Pennsylvania Dutch, which was really the Pennsylvania Deutsch, which were really German. But other than that one lead, with no verification, I can't find anything else. Does anyone know if there's any real link here?

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that is definetely not a german dish - maybe it was made by the Pennsylvanian german people, but I have never heard of that here in G.
even chefkoch doesn't know about pickled Lyoner, as the Bologna-Wurst is called over here..

Thanks for that info, Cara.

loboloco said:

Gluhwein Recipe:
Appropriate for this time of year as it is often served at the Kristkindlemarts.

Ingredients

• 3/4 cup water
• 3/4 cup white sugar
• 1 cinnamon stick
• 1 orange
• 10 whole cloves
• 1 (750 milliliter) bottle red wine

[/LIST]

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substitute the water and white sugar with applejuice or orangejuice or elderberryjuice or something like that - no real Gluehwein is made with water

Cara, maybe you could tell me how to make potato pancakes? I tried to do it once, and while they were OK, they weren't spectacular. I don't know if it was the recipe or my technique (probably me).

And does anyone know the difference between German style potato pancakes and latkes? Or are they just 2 different names for the same thing?

SilverSage said:

And does anyone know the difference between German style potato pancakes and latkes? Or are they just 2 different names for the same thing?

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seems to be the same thing - must admit I have never heard of latkes before, they are simply called "Kartoffelpuffer" here.
My Mums recipe is made with Quark, do that might be the problem with you
and she uses onions and eggs - so I think.. have to ask her for some more infos