Cookbook:Cuisine of Germany

Cookbook | Ingredients | Cuisines | European cuisines

German cooking is considered rather heavy. Depending on season and region it uses pork, beef, sausages, game and fish. Vegetables used include especially potatoes, peas and carrots, cauliflower, string beans, pickled cabbage (sauerkraut), kale (Grünkohl), and asparagus. There's a variety of stews. Surely not everything is Sauerkraut. Germany has various regional cuisines and specialities, and many real "haute cuisine" meals.

Bavarian recipes and dishes

• Kalbshaxe mit Sauerkraut (veal shank with sauerkraut)
• Semmelknödel (bread dumpling)
• Leberknödel (liver dumplings)
• Weißwurst mit süßem Senf (white sausage with sweet mustard)
• Leberkäse
• Schweinsbraten mit Kartoffelknödel (pork roast with potato dumpling)
• Spätzle

Franconian recipes and dishes

• Zwiebelkuchen (onion tart, served especially in autumn with new wine or "Federweisser" - fermented grape juice that has not yet turned into wine)
• Fränkischer Sauerbraten (beef stewed in a sauce made of vinegar, gingerbread and spices)
• Rindfleisch mit Kren (beef with horseradish mash)
• Blaue Zipfel ("Bratwürste" - typical sausages - cooked in vinegar with onions, carrots and spices)
• Karpfen (carp - to be eaten only September to April)

Frisian and North German recipes and dishes

• Grünkohl mit Pinkel (curly kale with smoked sausage)
• Grünkohl mit Kassler (curly kale with smoked pork chop)
• Grützwurst ("grits sausage")
• Kopfwurst ("head sausage" or head cheese)
• Bregenwurst ("brain sausage")
• Strammer Max (a slice of bread with butter, ham or Mettwurst and fried eggs)
• Holsteiner Pfanne ("Holsteinian pan", roasted potatoes with tomatoes)
• Bauernfrühstück ("farmer's breakfast", roasted potatoes with scrambled eggs)
• Bohnen, Birnen und Speck (stew of string "beans, pears and bacon" and potatoes)
• Niedersächsische Hochzeitssuppe ("Lower Saxon wedding soup", usually beef broth with meat balls, royale, asparagus, parsley etc.)
• Pfannkuchen, Eierkuchen, Plinsen ("pan cake" traditionally eaten with sugar and apple butter or gooseberry compote, it can be prepared sweet or savory)
• Kartoffelpuffer (fried rasped potatoes)
• Spargel (aspargus with ham, potatoes and either molten butter or Sauce Hollandaise)
• Labskaus (corned beef, potatoes, onions, red beets, marinated herring, fried egg and pickle)
• Rote Grütze (dessert of a variety of red berries with vanilla sauce)
• Königsberger Klopse (veal meatballs with an anchovies-caper sauce)

Beverages

• East Frisian Tea

Hesse recipes and dishes

• Ahle Worscht ("Old Sausage", dried sausage)
• Grüne Soße ("Green Sauce", potatoes + herb/sour cream sauce)

Rhineland recipes and dishes

• De halve Hahn (rye bap (Röggelchen) with butter, 2 slices of Gouda, 1 small sour cucumber and mustard)
• Sauerbraten (sour roast - red meat marinated in vinegar for several days)

Swabian recipes and dishes

• Spätzle (noodles made with a liquid dough)
• Maultaschen
• Nockerln
• "Schäufele" (Pigs shoulder, scapula)
• Linsen Eintopf (English: Lentil stew) - part of a traditional Swabian meal.

Poultry

• Weihnachtsgans ("Christmas goose")
• Broiler (roasted chicken)

Fish and seafood

• Forelle blau ("trout blue")
• Forelle Müllerin Art ("trout à la wife of the miller" or "trout meunière")
• Hummer (Helgoland, North Sea lobster)
• Neujahrs- or Silvesterkarpfen ("New Year's Eve carp")
• Heringssalat ("herring salad", pieces of herring and beetroot)
• Rollmops ("rollmop", pickled herring)
• Matjes (marinated herring)
• Räucheraal (smoked eel)

Game

• Rehrücken (roast saddles of venison)
• Wildschweinbraten (wild boar)

often with Preiselbeeren (mountain/lowbush cranberry)

• Wildleber (fried liver with mashed potatoes, onions and apples)

Sausages

• Wiener Würstchen
• Frankfurter Würstchen
• Bratwurst
• Currywurst
• Thüringer Rostbratwurst
• Schinkenwurst
• Mettwurst
• Leberwurst
• Blutwurst

Stews

• Erbseneintopf ("pea stew" usually with sausages)
• Linseneintopf
• Gulasch

Side dishes

• Salzkartoffeln (potatoes boiled in saltwater)
• Petersilienkartoffeln (unpeeled potatoes are boiled and then fried in butter with parsley)
• Pellkartoffeln (potatoes that are peeled after boiling)
• Kartoffelbrei (mashed potatoes)
• Kartoffelsalat (potato salad)
• Leipziger Allerlei (cauliflower, peas, carrots, asparagus)

Bakery

• Berliner, Pfannkuchen, Krapfen (jam-filled donut glazed or dusted with powdered sugar)
• Schwarzbrot ("black bread", rye, brown bread)
• Pumpernickel
• Vollkornbrot ("whole grain bread", whole meal, whole wheat, bread)
• Graubrot ("gray bread", rye, brown bread)
• Brötchen, Semmel ("little bread", dinner rolls)
• Brezeln (pretzels)
• Zwieback
• Windbeutel
• Butterkuchen
• Schwarzwälder Kirschtorte ("Black Forest Cake")
• Bienenstich
• Donauwellen Cake, also known as Schneewittchen (Snow White) cake
• Lebkuchen (gingerbread, served at Christmas time)
• Marzipan
• Spekulatius (spicy biscuits, available at Christmas)
• Stollen (a type of fruitcake with many variations)
• Streuselkuchen
• Spritzgeback

Further Reading

• New German Cooking: Recipes for Classics Revisited by Jeremy and Jessica Nolen (2015)
• Spoonfuls of Germany: Culinary Delights of the German Regions in 170 Recipes by Nadia Hassani (2004)