Global Gourmet/Germany

Germany

have similar dishes to their neighbors to the south, Switzerland and Austria. In the West, French influences are more pronounced, while the eastern parts of the country have much in common with Eastern European cuisine and there are marked Scandinavian influences in the northern coastal regions.

WeiBwurst

Weißwurst, or “white sausage”, is a traditional Bavarian sausage made from delicately crushed veal and pork bacon. It is usually flavored with parsley, lemon, mace, onions, ginger and cardamom, though there are some variations. The mixture is then stuffed into fresh, clean pork guts and separated into individual sausages about four to five inches in length and a bit less than an inch in thickness. As it is very perishable, weißwurst is traditionally prepared early in the morning and eaten for first or second breakfast - there is a saying that the sausages should not be allowed to hear the church bells' noon chime. The sausages are heated in water just short of boiling for about ten minutes, which will turn them greyish-white because no color-preserving nitrite is used in Weißwurst preparation. Weißwurst is brought to table in a big bowl together with the water used for preparation (so it doesn't cool down too much), then eaten without the skin.

LoBe

Klöße are dumplings made from grated raw and mashed potatoes or dried bread with milk and egg yolks. They are cooked similarly to pasta. Klöße are served as a side dish, instead of potatoes. They belong specially to the Austrian, Czech and southern German cuisine.

Bratwurst

A bratwurst is made of pork, beef, and sometimes veal. The name bratwurst came form the derivative of the German verb "braten" which means to pan fry or roast and wurst is the typical name for a sausage . A "Bratwurst" meal is usually consumed with sauerkraut, mashed potatoes and sometimes roasted onions. The sausage is typically eaten with a hot or sweet German mustard or sliced into many parts and eaten as another type of susage called Currywurst. Bratwurst is almost always served with a hard German roll and usually accompanied by a beer. It is a well-liked snack in German-speaking countries, where it is sold at different fast food places and is often eaten while standing.This type of food is typically compared to the hotdog in the United States is is also eaten with bread (a hot dog bun or a hardroll, for example) and topped with mustard and/or many of the other condiments often eaten with hot dogs, including onions (grilled and/or raw), relish, sauerkraut, etc. The spices used to make bratwurst can also be used to prepare vegetarian dishes such as tofu and gluten which do not have a strong taste of their own.

Lebkuchen

Lebkuchen are cookies served traditionally during German Christmas, similar to gingerbread in the West. The ingredients consist of honey, spices and nuts, almonds or candied fruit. Sometimes Lebkuchen are packaged in decorated tins and boxes which have become collectors' items. Lebkuchen varies in taste, from spicy to sweet, and come in a variety of shapes with round being the most common. They were probably invented by medieval monks in Franconia, Germany in the 13th century.