40 typical German foods you must try

German sausage and black forest cake are just 2 of the many dishes that Germans eat throughout the year and on special occasions.

Let us know in this article what other typical German foods make up the gastronomy of this Western European country.

1. Flammkuchen

It is a dish similar to a pizza that is widely consumed in the southwestern federal states bordering France, specifically Baden-Württemberg, Rhineland-Palatinate and Saarland, whose cuisine has a strong influence from the French region of Alsace (in France the dish is called “tarte flambée”).

It is a thin cake of wheat flour covered with bacon, onion and a fresh white cheese or milk cream.

The raw ingredients are mixed and placed on the dough that is baked for between 10 to 15 minutes. It is served on a board and eaten in pieces with the hands as if it were a pizza.

The saucer emerged at the beginning of the 20th century. The bakers made a thin layer of dough that they placed in the oven to check its temperature and thus ensure that the bread baked properly.

When the thin layers cooked in 30 seconds it meant the oven was ready for the bread. Then they began topping the dough with whatever they had on hand.

2. Dibbelabbes

Typical dish from western Germany, especially from the mountains of the Eifel, Saarland, the Rhineland and the Westerwald.

Its main ingredient is the grated potato with which a dough is made with minced or grated onion and dried meat or räucherspeck (ham cured with salt). Other components are usually minced pork sausage (mettwurst), egg, leek, chopped into rings, and garlic.

Cooking is in a pan that is shaken to integrate the ingredients until the meat is crispy. It is accompanied with a salad of endives and apple compote.

In the Moselle region and in the Hunsrück mountain range, the saucer is known as Schales.

A variant of dibbelabbes is known as Pulschder in the Nahe River region between Saarland and Rhineland-Palatinate, famous for its long-acid, spicy dry wines.

Another variant is cooked in the oven. First with the preparation covered and then uncovered so that it browns a little on the surface.

3. Black Forest Cake

Germany’s most famous forest has the nickname “black” because of its density of fir trees, which give a dark appearance to the immense forest of the federal state of Baden-Württemberg.

As well or better known than the jungle is the cake of the same name, one of the main letters of introduction of German pastry in the world.

Its full German name is “schwarzwälder kirschtorte”, which means “Black Forest cherry cake”.

It is a cake 25 to 30 cm in diameter with several layers of chocolate sponge cake soaked in kirsch, a typical German liqueur made by distilling the juice of a kind of wild cherry that grows in the Black Forest.

Layers of sponge cake are interspersed with layers of whipped cream and cherry jam. The classic cover of the cake is whipped cream, chocolate chips and cherries.

The origin of the famous cake has been dated to the 16th century, after the conquerors discovered cocoa from America and brought it to Europe.

4. Pretzels

The pretzel is the most popular snack of the Germans. A kind of slightly salty biscuit (there is also a sweet version) with an unmistakable rounded bow appearance, also typical in the German-speaking Swiss cantons, Austria and Alsace (France).

Germans eat pretzels as a snack between meals and for breakfast. They are originally from Bavaria and there are hard and soft.

Its basic baked ingredients are self-rising wheat flour, butter, milk and salt. Some regional variants contain egg and lemon zest. The sweet version has sugar, vanilla and cinnamon.

The shape of the snack is believed to have been created by the Celts as a representation of ram’s horns. During the Middle Ages they were used to reward children for good behavior.

5. Sauerkraut

Sour cabbage, sauerkraut or sauerkraut, is a traditional food in Germany and other European countries with cold winters such as Switzerland, Poland, Russia and the Baltic States.

Before the invention of refrigeration, sour cabbage was a blessing during the long and harsh winter periods and in Lithuanian mythology there is a deity who especially protects the fermentation of cabbages.

It is produced by subjecting fresh cabbage leaves, finely cut into filaments, to a lactic fermentation process with salt in which the sugars, especially glucose, are partially oxidized by the action of acidophilic bacteria, producing lactic acid.

The world’s leading consumer of sauerkraut is Germany, where 80% of cabbage production goes into making the product.

Manufacturing is very simple. You just have to follow strict hygienic and environmental regulations such as handling the cabbage and salt with gloves, ensuring that the fermentation for 7 days is carried out at no more than 20 °C, using sterilized containers and storing immediately in the refrigerator.

6.Kasseler

The kasseler or kassler is a cut of salted and slightly smoked pork that comes from the animal’s ribs.

Two of its variants are the kasseler kamm, prepared with the pork knuckle, and the Kasseler Blatt, made with the shoulder. In Spain it is known as Saxony steak or fillet.

It is a very tender and tasty cut that is not seasoned and that offers the versatility of being prepared boiled with vegetables, roasted in the oven or fried in a pan. Its typical companions are potatoes and/or sauerkraut.

The dish comes from a Berlin butcher named Cassel, who created the recipe in the late 19th century.

7. Pork knuckle

The Germans’ taste for pork makes eisbein or pork knuckle one of the most popular typical German foods.

This pork cut of the animal’s legs is greasy and has a strong flavor, which is why it requires a long cooking time.

This specialty of German cuisine has some variants in the country, but it is common to cook the knuckle salted. Its traditional companion is sauerkraut or sauerkraut, although Berliners like to eat it with mashed peas.

It is a dish baked directly, boiled and then roasted. Baked recipes use aromatic herbs, wine, onion, crushed garlic and spices.

Roast knuckle recipes require first softening the cut in boiling water with salt, spices and herbs to taste, reserving part of the cooking broth for dressing when roasting in the oven.

If well prepared, the pork knuckle is a juicy, shiny and syrupy delicacy that melts easily in the mouth.

8. Berlin

Also known as berlin, Berlin ball and friar’s ball, it is a traditional German bun prepared with a sweet dough filled with jam or cream, which is fried in butter or oil.

The dessert is called in German, berliner pfannkuchen (Berlin pancake), and its texture is similar to that of a doughnut.

The ingredients are wheat flour, yeast, egg, milk, sugar, vanilla essence, lemon zest, butter and a pinch of salt. After baking, the buns are covered with a sugar glaze or dusted with icing sugar.

The Berliner is believed to have been invented in the mid-18th century by a Berlin artilleryman and confectioner in Frederick the Great’s army.

The man was declared unfit for combat, but the king allowed him to continue campaigning as a pastry chef. As a thank you to the monarch, he created the Berliner inspired by a cannonball. He fried them because of the lack of ovens in the military camps.

9. Rinderrollade

Stuffed beef fillet, rinderroulade or rouladen, is a typical German dish for Sunday lunch.

It is prepared with large beef leg fillets, mainly kugel (stifle) and oberschale (top) cuts, seasoned with pepper, mustard and salt.

The fillets are stuffed with pancetta, pickles and onions, rolled up and tied or held with sticks to be grilled or fried. Some variants substitute minced meat for the bacon and rice for the pickle.

Side dishes are boiled potatoes, mashed potatoes, red cabbage (purple) and klöße. The dish is said to have been brought to Germany in the late 16th century by a Spanish cook who was in the service of Rudolf II, Holy Roman Emperor.

The popularity of the dish expanded throughout the 20th and 21st centuries. In the Czech Republic it is called španělský ptáček (Spanish bird) and it is a dish that is eaten any day of the week.

10. Kartoffel

Germans are fans of potatoes. They consume them both in special recipes and as side dishes, cooked, fried and pureed.

One of the traditional ways of eating them is in a potato pancake or kartoffelpuffer.

Shredded or ground potato pancakes are thick and the batter is mixed with egg, wheat flour, onion and seasonings.

The potato dumpling or kartoffelknödel is another typical potato-based dish that is served as a side dish, in soups and even as a sweet. In some places they fill the meatball with meat or fruit.

Boiled tubers with bacon and onions make bratkartoffeln, another traditional German potato dish.

It is a popular way of eating French fries, as thick slices of boiled potatoes are pan-fried with onion and bacon, a favorite Teuton combination.

Potato salad is a classic of German cuisine that has onion, mustard, vinegar, chicken broth and salt, pepper and parsley to taste.

11. Eintopf

This German word coined in the first third of the 20th century is an apocope of “eintopfgericht”, which means: “stew in a pot”. It does not refer to a particular recipe, but to a way of cooking.

It is a traditional German stew that can have many ingredients, such as the basic ones, which are beef or vegetable broth, aromatic herbs, potatoes or legumes, and a protein part that can be meat or sausage.

The broth is used as a base to which the other components are incorporated until they soften, but without falling apart.

The dish is linked to Nazi symbology. The National Socialists instituted the so-called “eintopf Sundays”, days in which the population was exhorted to prepare this dish instead of the traditional large meat dish.

12. Badische Schneckensuppe

It is an iconic snail soup from the Baden region, bordering France, so it has influences from French cuisine.

It is prepared with the helix pomatia species commonly called “Roman snail”, “vine snail” and “Burgundy snail”, which is used in French cuisine to make escargot.

These snails hardly exist in other German regions, so the dish is entirely typical of Baden.

In the preparation, shallot or shallot is used, another traditional ingredient of French gastronomy little used in Germany.

The recipe also includes white wine, carrot, leek, celery, cream, egg yolk, butter, salt, pepper and chopped parsley.

Clean and finely chop 2 dozen snails and 4 shallots, which are fried together with half of the snails in a little butter, seasoning to taste.

Add finely chopped carrot, leek and celery, plus white wine and fry until evaporated. Add a liter of meat broth and the rest of the snails, cooking until tender. Before serving, add the egg yolk with the whipped cream and chopped parsley.

13. Kirschenmichel

It is a traditional dessert from the cuisine of the historical region of Swabia, in southern Germany, specially prepared in the federal states of Hesse, Rhineland-Palatinate, Baden-Württemberg and Bavaria. It is a homemade sweet that is rarely found in restaurants

It is made with the rolls that are left over and hardening. They are dissolved with milk in a baking dish and mixed with butter, egg, whole sweet and sour cherries, almonds and sugar. Aromatic and flavoring ingredients such as cinnamon, vanilla and cloves are also added. Depending on the bread used, the dessert can be more or less light.

It is served hot after a soup or other light entree and is more common in the summer when fresh cherries are available. It is accompanied with a vanilla sauce.

A similar dessert is the ofenschlupfer, in which apples are used instead of cherries. In this case, apple slices are marinated in rum or seasoned raisins are added in the same brandy.

14. Grunkohlessen

The name of this popular Lower Saxony dish means, “green cabbage meal”, although in addition to kale it contains pinkel sausage, a portion of cooked meat, a kassler steak and speck ham. The main dressing is mustard and it is common to eat it in winter.

Kale or grünkohl, the main protagonist of the recipe, is harvested in winter almost always with some frost or ice on its bushy leaves, which strengthens the dish’s association with the winter season.

Diners in rural areas of northern Germany drink kornbrand, a kind of wheat brandy, before eating the dish.

15. Leberkäse

It is a typical sausage of Bavarian cuisine whose texture is similar to foie gras. Its ingredients are a mincemeat of beef and pork, crustless bacon and onions, plus oregano, salt and water. The meats used are salted, which gives the pasta its characteristic pink color.

Some variants are prepared with fresh meat and additional ingredients such as cardamom, ginger and mace, which give them different flavors, textures and aromas. There is a heavily spiced horse meat version.

Prince Karl Theodor of Bavaria was introduced to the dish in Mannheim in the 1770s and had some cooks brought in to prepare the first Bavarian leberkäse.

German sausage butchers prepare leberkäse in the morning and evening, to be eaten hot with a bun as a snack. It is also eaten cold, with bread, pickles and mustard.

16. Strammer Max

It is a typical German dish that has a slice or slice of bread made by mixing wheat and rye flour, plus a slice of ham, all topped with a fried egg.

It is a traditional dish in Saxony and Berlin, although it can be found in almost all German regions as home preparation and in bars. Its companion is pickled cucumbers.

The slice of bread is buttered and lightly toasted. A sheet of 5 to 8 mm thick roasted cured ham is then placed on it and covered with a fried egg. In some recipes the ham is replaced by roast meat or cooked ham is used.

The most contemporary recipes include slices of cheese, tomato and onion rings. In the former German Democratic Republic, it was common to prepare the strammer Max with slices of plockwurst sausage, an air-dried sausage prepared with beef, fatty pork and smoked bacon.

17. Frankfurt sausage

The Frankfurt sausage is one of the most famous sausages in Germany for the flavor achieved with its special smoked.

Originally from the city of Frankfurt am Main, in the federal state of Hesse, it is made with pork stuffed in sheep’s casing.

After their curing and smoking process, they acquire their matte golden yellow color and are placed in wooden boxes separated by layers of parchment.

These sausages should not be subjected to strong cooking. It is enough to heat them in water for 7 to 8 minutes to eat them. They are accompanied with bread, horseradish, mustard and potato salad.

Its first documented reference dates back to 1564 during the coronation of Maximilian II of Habsburg as Holy Roman Emperor. However, in Frankfurt am Main it has been known since at least the 13th century.

18. Himmel and Erde

The name in Colon dialect of this dish means “Heaven and Earth”. It is traditional in the German states of North Rhine-Westphalia and Lower Saxony and consists of portions of applesauce, mashed potatoes and fried smoked blood sausage, accompanied by onions fried until caramelized.

You can also have pancetta or leberwurst, a popular German sausage with 15% finely chopped liver meat.

In the Hamburg area there is a version that substitutes grützwurst for blood sausage, a hamburger sausage made with pig’s blood and buckwheat similar to the Polish Kaszanka.

The dish has been known in the Westphalia region since the 18th century and its name Heaven and Earth alludes to the fact that the apple with which the compote is made grows outside, while the potato used to make the puree is underground.

19. Halloren Chocolate Balls

The Halloren Chocolate Factory (Halloren Schokoladenfabrik) is the oldest in operation in Germany. It was founded in 1804 in the city of Halle, today’s federal state of Saxony-Anhalt, and became the main manufacturer of the candy in the former East Germany.

Its flagship product is the Halloren Kugeln or Halloren Balls, famous spherical sweets in the country. The name Halloren comes from the old Halle saltworkers, who wore a suit with large ball-shaped buttons.

The factory is still in operation in a building built in Halle in 1896.

20. Stollen

It is a German sweet bread in the shape of a newborn child and covered with a layer of sugar that looks like a diaper, consumed especially during Advent and Christmas.

A typical stollen can hold 10kg of flour, 5kg of butter, 6kg of sultanas and candied citrus peels.

It began as a simple snack to eat during Advent fasts and the inclusion of butter in the formula required a written papal authorization in 1491. For this reason, Pope Innocent VIII is considered to be the first in history to formulate the formula. dessert recipe.

The most popular in Germany is the Dresdner Stollen, originally from the city of Dresden, capital of the state of Saxony, which has a “controlled designation of origin”.

There are different versions such as butterstollen, which has much more butter and includes nuts, and mohnstollen, which has poppy seeds, a product that is easy to buy in Germany.

21. Streuselkuchen

It is a traditional sweet cake of German cuisine. It is made with a dough of yeast flour or pastafrola, on which a granulated streusel is spread, a typical covering of German pastries made with flour, butter and sugar.

Cherry, plum or other fruit jam is placed between the dough and the streusel. The filling can also be cream, and some streusels even omit this component. In most German pastry shops and cafes, they serve this cake to accompany coffee.

A variant is the apfel streuselkuchen, a spongy apple pie with a very juicy texture. It is covered with a streusel that gives it a crunchy touch. The dough for this cake is made with equal parts flour, sugar, and butter, plus egg, milk, and lemon zest.

22. Nordseekrabben

Fish and shellfish are also part of German cuisine, especially in the coastal states of Lower Saxony, Schleswig-Holstein, Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania and the city-state of Hamburg, connected to the ocean by the Elbe River.

The Nordseekrabben (Crangon crangon) is a small shrimp from the North Sea that is highly appreciated in North Germany, the Netherlands and Denmark for its tender and delicious meat.

Shrimp is the basis for preparing typical German meals, especially in the north of the country where it is eaten for breakfast. It has distinctive black stripes on its back and its meat is a little tougher than that of the common shrimp.

23. Rostbratel

It is a pork fillet from the animal’s neck, marinated and roasted over wood or charcoal. It is a specialty of the cuisine of the German state of Thuringia, popular in cities such as Weimar, Erfurt and Jena.

The piece of meat should be about 3 cm thick and can be boneless or bone-in. It is marinated for up to 24 hours, first seasoning and smearing the cut with Thuringian mustard, which is spicy. The meat is put in a bowl with raw onion rings and a mixture of 3 parts Pilsen beer and 1 part vegetable oil.

To cook it, the grill is greased with bacon, butter or oil, but the heat should not be very high (medium down).

After each turn, it is sprinkled with the marinade liquid or with a little beer so that the meat does not dry out and improves the flavour. You can also add some beer to the coals so that the steam bathes the meat.

24. Thuringer Rostbratwurst

This article includes several sausages due to the quantity, variety and importance of these sausages in German cuisine.

The Thuringian sausage is well known in Germany and in the European Union, where it has a designation of origin and according to continental food regulations, it must be between 15 and 20 cm long, medium thick, have a strong spicy flavor and be stuffed in natural casing. pork or lamb.

The sausage is made with finely chopped pork, salt, pepper, ground cumin and marjoram seeds, and minced garlic cloves.

Traditional recipes are passed down from generation to generation among the Thuringian sausage families.

They are spread a little with bacon and grilled over charcoal until dark, but without burning. The sausage casing must not break.

25. Labskaus

It is a popular north coast dish in Bremen, the smallest state in the Federal Republic of Germany. It consists of salted beef, herring in brine, potatoes, beets, onions and other components.

Salted meat, herring, onion and other ingredients, mainly spices, are mixed together and run through a mincer to form a paste that is served with mashed potatoes, fried eggs, pickled gherkins and pickled beets.

The labskaus is sold canned in preserves. Hamburg’s restaurant Old Commercial Room, founded in 1795, serves the most famous labskaus in the country.

26. Birnen, Bohnen and Speck

This dish literally means “pears, beans and bacon”. It is known in Schleswig-Holstein, Hamburg, Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania and Lower Saxony.

It is of peasant origin and in the past it was eaten only in the summer when Kochbirne pears or cooking pears were harvested, a small, hard and bitter fruit (if eaten raw).

Outside the fruit season, other pear varieties are used, such as Vierländer, Finkenwerder and Bürgermeister, which are sweeter and less harsh than the Kochbirne. The beans are the round and slightly elongated green ones that are obtained in the markets.

The preferred bacon for the recipe has a smoky flavor and aroma from Hamburg, the Black Forest or Tyrol. This pancetta is air-cured and practically melts in your mouth when cooked. It is a typical dish almost in extinction.

27. Zwiebelkuchen

Zwiebelkuchen or onion tart is a pizza-like dough made with chopped onions, small strips of Tyrolean ham (speck) and flavored with caraway. It is cooked in the oven.

It is a dish related to the weinfeste or wine festival, so it is eaten between September and October, most of the time as an evening aperitif.

It is eaten fresh from the oven and is accompanied by a glass of white wine with a low alcohol content (around 4%). It is similar to the typical Flammkuchen from Rhineland-Palatinate, Baden-Württemberg and Saarland in Germany and from the Alsace region in France.

Germans in the wine regions start preparing zwiebelkuchen in the fall, as soon as the first white wines are produced.

In the Swiss city of Basel, on the border with Germany and France, the dish is associated with the celebration of the Morgestraich or “touch of reveille” (4 am) during Carnival.

28. Eel Soup

Aalsuppe is a specialty of Hamburg cuisine that is also very popular in Holstein, Bremen and Mecklenburg, where there are different recipes, but all with North Sea eel as the basic ingredient. It is eaten hot and as the only dish.

First, a meat and vegetable broth is prepared, adding nuts at the end to give a sweet touch and a little vinegar for an acid touch. Finally, the eels previously cooked in white wine or smoked are added.

A variant of the Aalsuppe is served by adding two kinds of klüten or flour pastes to the dish. Another type of eel soup is one strongly flavored with herbs including thyme, parsley, marjoram, sage, tarragon, basil, savory, purslane, lemon balm, celery leaves, dill, immortelle, and sorrel.

29. Rollmops

They are marinated herring fillets rolled around a gherkin, eaten as appetizers or snacks in northern Germany. They are accompanied with a beer, never with wine due to the vinegar content of the dish.

You need 8 salted herring, 4 large pickles cut into quarters, 6 tablespoons of hot mustard, an onion cut into thin rings and 2 tablespoons of capers. In addition, a marinade with 500 cc of water or dry white wine, 500 cc of white vinegar and allspice, common pepper and cloves to taste.

Desalt the herring in water overnight. Boil the marinade for 10 minutes and let cool. Drain the herrings, fillet them (obtaining 16 fillets) and spread mustard on the meat side. Put a quarter of pickles, some onion rings and capers on each fillet and roll up holding with a toothpick. Put them in a bowl and cover them with the marinade. Cover and let marinate for a week.

30. Weck, Worscht a Woi

It is a traditional dish from the Palatinate region in the federal state of Rhineland-Palatinate, known as “www” after the initials of the three components of the dish: weck (bread roll), worscht (sausage) and woi (wine).

The most common rolls are the weinknorzen made with rye flour and cumin and the popular brotchen of German cuisine.

The sausage is a local sausage called worscht. The Palatinate borders France and is home to a German wine region with a designation of origin.

The region produces a magnificent wine from the white Riesling grape variety, one of the quintessential companions to Weck, Worscht un Woi.

The traditional way of eating the dish is with your hands and using only a knife to remove the skin from the sausages.

31. Black Forest Ham

The alpine environment of the Black Forest, in the German southwest, favors the curing of this ham, which is another icon of German cuisine, just as the Iberian ham is of Spanish cuisine. It initially receives a raw smoked over a wood fire from Black Forest fir trees.

For salting, a mixture of salt, pepper, garlic, juniper berries and coriander is used, which is rubbed with the hands on the piece, leaving it to rest for 2 weeks.

The curing process is carried out in cold smoking chambers where the hams are hung for a further 2 weeks.

Selva Negra ham is coated with calf’s blood to give it a darker color, a darkening method replaced by many producers by mixing spices. The product has designation of origin in Europe.

32. Schupfnudeln

Schupfnudeln are a kind of gnocchi or potato fingers that are very popular in southern Germany, especially in Baden, Swabia, Bavaria and the Oden Forest.

They are prepared with a dough of Salzkartoffeln, typical German potatoes peeled and boiled in brine, which also contain butter, egg, salt and nutmeg.

They are eaten as a side dish and main dish. They are traditional at the wine festivals that take place in Baden between summer and autumn and are accompanied by sauerkraut, strips of speck (bacon) and a regional wine.

In some recipes, the potato is boiled in the skin and peeled to make dough, with all-purpose flour added as a topping. Bavarian blue cheese can also be added to intensify the flavor.

With the dough made with potato, butter, egg and other ingredients, the fingers or gnocchi that boil are formed. When they float, they will be ready to eat.

33. Maultaschen

Typical meat-filled pastries from the historic region of Swabia in southern Germany.

The filling is made of beef or sausage, bread and vegetables such as spinach and onion. Other variants are made with cooked ham, smoked ham and leftover roasts.

The onions are cooked with hydrated bread and the spinach and the meat component are added. The preparation is passed through the meat grinder to homogenize. A portion of the mixture is spread on a sheet of wet pasta, covering with another sheet and sealing with egg. Finally they are cooked in meat broth or fried.

The dish is believed to have been invented at the Maulbronn Monastery as a ploy by the monks to eat meat behind the back of the abbot, calling the dish, “Deceive God”.

Another version indicates that the recipe was created by Protestant families in Swabia during Lent, adding meat to make the fasting period more bearable.

34. Kartoffelsuppe

It is a potato soup enhanced with Vienna-type sausages that is part of the typical German meals in winter. It is one of those succulent stews that every German ate in childhood.

For a soup with ¾ kilo of potatoes, 2 carrots, an onion, a clove of garlic, a leek, a liter of vegetable broth, 4 sausages, a little oil and parsley and pepper to taste are required.

Peel and chop the potatoes and carrots and finely chop the leek and onion. Put a little oil in a saucepan and brown the onion a little.

Add the crushed garlic clove, carrot and pepper and fry for 2 minutes. Add the potatoes and broth and cook over low heat for 20 minutes.

Process in the hand blender so that it has a rustic and non-creamy texture. Return to the saucepan to heat with the sausages cut into pieces, without letting it boil. Serve with chopped parsley on top.

35. Hochzeitsuppe

It is a traditional soup from northern Germany, particularly from Lower Saxony. It translates as bridal soup since it was customary to serve it at weddings in the region, a tradition that continues. Locals call it the “queen of soups”.

Chopped cuts of a whole ox are cooked in large pots. Apart from the meat and lots of water, the soup contains leeks, celery, carrots and ginger. During the last phase of cooking, meatballs 1 to 1.5 cm in diameter made with the same beef, egg, butter, breadcrumbs, pepper and salt are added.

36. Rheinischer Sauerbraten

Typical roast from the historic region of Franconia, in central-southern Germany, prepared with meat marinated in vinegar, water, peppercorns, mustard seeds, juniper berries and vegetable broth, which is left to marinate for several days for the cut to smooth.

A piece of regular meat (veal or beef) is enough as the marinade will give it a tender texture.

The meat is sauced with a sweet and sour dressing made up of raisins, sugar beet molasses and some sweet from traditional pastries to bind the sauce together, omitting the use of flour.

Among the most used binding elements for the sauce are Lebkuchen, a typical Nuremberg cookie; Printen, traditional sweet from Aachen; Soßenkuchen or gingerbread and Pumpernickel, whole grain bread widely consumed in Westphalia.

The most common side dishes are Kartoffelkloß (Klöße of boiled potatoes), applesauce and Nudeln (noodles).

37. Nurnberger Rostbratwurst

The Nuremberg sausage is the sausage that symbolizes the gastronomy of the beautiful medieval town. It is 7 to 9 cm long and weighs between 20 and 25 grams. It is made with minced pork stuffed in fine lamb casings and its characteristic flavor is given by marjoram.

It is believed that its thickness served to pass through the gaps in the old locks of the city jail and thus feed the prisoners a little better.

Another version suggests that it was the restaurant waiters who introduced the sausages through the holes in the locks, to feed travelers who broke the nightly curfews.

When the 16th century aristocrat, Hans IV. Stormer, was sentenced to a lengthy prison term for obscenity offences, he was granted the privilege of requesting a daily snack. The man asked for a Nürnberger Rostbratwurst to be brought to him every day and ate it during the 33 years he was imprisoned.

38. Semmelknodel

They are small balls of bread from southern German cuisine, also popular in the Czech Republic and Austria. They are eaten accompanying Schweinebraten (pork roast), mushroom and lentil dishes with sour cream.

The remaining loaves are used, cut into slices and soaked in hot milk. The bread and milk dough is mixed with an egg (approximately one for each bun), chopped onion and parsley and seasoned with lemon shavings and other ingredients to the chef’s taste.

Knead and form balls. If necessary, add wheat flour to thicken. The balls are cooked in salted water and when they float and start to spin slowly, they are ready. The leftover semmelknödel are cut into slices and fried to eat with egg.

Semmelknödel are available in German supermarkets prepackaged and ready to cook.

39. White Sausage

The sausage is an icon of Germany and the white one (Weißwurst) represents a national symbol. It is also called “Bavarian sausage” because it was accidentally invented in Munich in 1857.

The story says that being Carnival Sunday, the chef at the restaurant Gasthaus zum Ewigen Licht (Inn of Eternal Light) ran out of the usual casings for stuffing sausages, so he decided to use finer pork by boiling the pieces and not roasting them. or frying them

Customers were pleasantly surprised by an unusually off-white delicious delicacy.

They are prepared with finely minced pork and spices and eaten without the skin with sweet mustard and bretzel (bread).

40. Salzgurken

Salzgurken, called Saure Gurken by Berliners, is a sour, salted gherkin typical of German cuisine.

The popular cucurbit fruit, rich in vitamins and mineral salts, generates lactic acid during fermentation, acquiring its characteristic flavor that is reinforced by the added spices.

The chosen cucumbers must be of medium size, firm, clean and healthy. They are put in a brine made with hot water for at least 24 hours and then spices and ingredients such as black pepper, allspice, dill, cloves, bay leaf, basil, vine leaves, radish, cherry leaves and sugar are added. .

This preparation is placed in a clay container (Steinguttöpfen) or in a wooden barrel, vinegar is added and left to ferment for 6 weeks. The fermentation container should be covered but not hermetically sealed and located in a cool place.

What is the breakfast of the Germans?

Germans usually have breakfast between 6 am and 9 am The components of the frühstück (breakfast) depend on the region of the country, although it is generally a powerful meal that can include eggs, some pork component and potatoes.

The following video is of a typical German breakfast based on fried potatoes and fried bacon, mixed with eggs beaten with milk, salt and pepper. It is seasoned with oregano and green onion. And of course, some of the more than 300 types of bread that the Germans have.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=puOWO1j2gWw

What is the typical drink in Germany?

When we are asked about a typical German drink, we immediately think of beer. In the country there are about 5 thousand types of beer and it is the first European producer of sparkling beer.

Each German drinks 101 liters a year, only surpassed by the Czechs (138) and the Austrians (105).

Another popular typical German drink is Apfelwein, similar to cider and obtained by fermentation of apple juice.

The Killepitsch is a red liqueur with a sweet flavor made from a mixture of more than 80 fruits and herbs.

What are the traditions of Germany?

The largest and most well-known traditional festival in Germany, celebrated throughout the nation and in many cities around the world, is the Oktoberfest or October Festival.

It has its main stage in Munich, the Bavarian capital, and runs for 16 to 18 days from the first Saturday after September 15.

The main protagonist of the festival is beer, followed by clothing, food and traditional German music.

Other important traditions in Germany are its wine festivals and Christmas fairs.

german fast food

In German cities there are many street food stalls to eat a Döner, a Schnitzelbrötchen, a Pommes Rot-Weiß or a Bratwurst.

The Döner is one of the most popular street dishes that consists of an Arabic bread stuffed with meat or chicken with vegetables.

Schnitzelbrötchen is a breaded schnitzel inside a bun with lettuce, tomato and tartar sauce.

Pommes Rot-Weiß are fries with mayonnaise and ketchup, while Bratwurst is a grilled or fried sausage in a bun, dressed with mustard or ketchup.

traditional german food

The Germans lead, together with Spain, the European production of pork and they are great pork eaters, having popular recipes for each part of the animal.

Two of these typical dishes are pork sausage and Kassler, a salty and smoked cut, especially rib.

Among the most consumed breads are the Brezel, which they eat with butter, and the Brötchen, a roll made with wheat flour and other ingredients. Sauerkraut or sour cabbage is another classic of German cuisine.

Typical German desserts

Apfelstrudel is one of the most delicious desserts in Germany. It is an apple pie with cinnamon and raisins served with a scoop of vanilla ice cream.

The Rote Grütze is another popular German sweet that consists of a compote of red fruits, especially raspberries and currants, although it can also contain blackberries, strawberries and murtillas, with the accompaniment of Chantilly cream or vanilla ice cream.

The Kalter Hund is a delicious German dessert based on shortbread cookies with chocolate cream.

Typical German foods: interesting data

Typical German Food Sausage: A very German way of eating sausage is curried, a dish on the menu of almost every German fast food stall. Its unmistakable dressing is a tomato and curry based sauce.

Typical food from Germany in English and Spanish: Some German foods are difficult to associate with their equivalents in Spanish or English. For example, “kartoffelbrei” means “mashed potato” (“mashed potato” in English). “Cerveza”, on the other hand, is very similar in English and German: “beer” in English and “Bier” in German.

Which of these German dishes do you find most appetizing? Share this article with your friends so they can also give their opinion about the best typical German foods.