GEOGRAPHY AND HISTORY:
Germany is a Western European country with a landscape of forests, rivers, mountain ranges and North Sea beaches. It has over 2 millennia of history. Berlin, its capital, is home to art and nightlife scenes, the Brandenburg Gate and many sites relating to WWII. Munich is known for its Oktoberfest and beer halls, including the 16th-century Hofbräuhaus. Frankfurt, with its skyscrapers, houses the European Central Bank.
Germany is a nation that until a few years ago was divided in two parts, West and East Germany. Typical German cuisine varies according to each German states culinary tradition, to its regional agriculture, and to the new tastes of new German who have settled in the reunited Germany. Nordrhein Westfalen, Rheinland – Pfalz, Saarland, and Baden – Wuertenburg’s traditional specialities, for e.g. include ingredients typified in the agriculture around the black forest and the Rhein river and by a wine tradition, influenced by Belgium, France and Switzerland.
STAPLE FOOD:
- Pork Meat: it is the most popular source of meat in German cuisine. Cured pork meat sausages from Germany are renowned all over the world. They come packed in cans, glass jars, or vaccum packed. There are about 1500 kinds of sausages on the German sausage market. German also like to prepare dishes with veal (Kalb), beef (Rind), chicken (Hunn), and venison (Wild).
- Fish: the small silvery fish (Herring), are fished in the North and Baltic seas. They are eaten raw, pickled and smoked, canned.
- German cottage cheese: Quark is a popular cheese from Germany which is similar to cream cheese but has a mild yoghurt flavor, softer and creamier.
- Wines, sparkling wine and brandies: wine and sparkling wine are known as “SEKT”, and brandies are usually first quality in Germany where stringent production, labeling and denomination laws regulate the making and distribution of these alcoholic beverages. The “Weinbrand”, is the legal German term for brandy distilled from grape products. Wine growing regions are: Ahr, Mittelrhein, Musel Saar Ruwer, Rheingau, Nahe, Rheinhessen, Pfalz, Franken, Baden and Sachen etc.
SPICES:
- Caraway (Kuemmel): small seeds, causally sold dry, that look almost like celery seeds or cumin seeds, which are vital in German cuisine. Use in rye bread, cabbage and sauerkraut (sausage) specialities.
- Juniper (Wacholder): dark blue juniper berries grow in stout prickly bushes and found in wooded areas in Germany. Uses – in bouquet garni (substitute of bayleaf), marinades, game meats, sausages and transparent distilled spirit called “Steinhaeger”.
- Black and white pepper corns (Schwarzer und Weisser Pfeffer): the corns are native to Asia and are an imported product in Germany. They are small berries of a plant called “Piper Nigrum”. Black peppercorns are fully matured, white are not fully matured. Black peppercorns have a strong flavor and white ones have a milder aroma.
HERBS:
- Dill (Dille): it has a pungent and unique flavor. Uses – potato salad, pickled cucumber and seafood dishes like Northern shrimp cocktail, bread and soups etc.
- Marjoram (Majaran): it is similar in flavor to oregano but tastes milder. It has a slightly bitter savory flavor and is added frequently to meat dishes and butter.
- Parsley (Petersilie): it has fresh, curly and flat leaves and dried everywhere in Germany. Rich in vitamin C, has mild pleasant flavor, goes with minced garlic and onion mixtures.
POPULAR/FAMOUS DISHES:
- Schwarzwalder Kirschtorte: it means Black forest cake which is a dessert.
- Rheinischer Sauerbraten: it is a roasted beef stewed with wine.
- Badener: a snail chowder flavored with herbs.
- Spannferkel: spit roasted baby pig.
- Handkes: a small type of cheese mixture made with sour cream.
- Schwaebische Kasespaetzle: small drop shaped flour dumplings topped with cheese and butter.
- Dresdner Stollen: a holiday fruit cake shaped like a wrapped infant and covered with confectioner’s sugar.
- Blechkuchen: a simple flat layer of cake dough covered with seasonal fruits.
- Welfenspeise: vanilla flavored dessert made with wine.
- Helgolander Krabbensalat: Helgoland shrimp salad
- Soeier: pickled eggs
- Sauerfleish: meat in aspic made with fish geleation.