What to Eat in Germany
Germany has a lot of great dishes. These are some of my favourites “Must try” whenever you are in Germany. What should you eat in Germany? What are the most typical and traditional German dishes? Here is the list of the Best German Food & Cuisine that you should try before you die. You cannot leave Germany without eating these foods!
Written by Vera Lekutanaj, Designer from the city of Freiburg, Germany
19 Best Top Foods You Must Try in Germany
Sauerbraten mit Kartoffelklöße (Roast Beef Stew with Potato Dumplings)
The German pot roast is a deep and delicious hearty stew of tender beef, marinated in tenderising vinegar and various spices. This stew is traditionally served with red cabbage and potato dumplings (Kartoffelklöße) or boiled potatoes. It usually involves days of marinating beef in a wine vinegar mixture over several days. It’s often the main star in restaurants’ menus.
Rinderroulade (Beef Roll)
Thin beef slices are rolled around bacon, onions, pickles, and mustard, and then roasted with red wine to produce a dark rich flavour. The gravy is an absolute requirement to round off the dish and is usually poured over the meat.
Bratwurst (Grilled Sausage)
One of the most popular street foods in Germany is the Bratwurst. These are a type of fresh sausage, typically made with pork and veal, and seasoned with ginger, nutmeg, coriander. It is served grilled with a slightly crispy skin and loaded up with mustard and ketchup. You can also have it with sauerkraut and mustard, or simply in a bread roll.
Knockwurst (Boiled Sausage)
Made from finely ground beef and pork. The pinkish colour comes from a light smoking after the first boiling and the special casing gives the Knockwurst that “snap” when you bite into it.
Currywurst (Sausage with Curry Sauce)
Currywurst is usually made of a pork sausage with a sauce made from ketchup and curry powder.
Weisswurst (Bacon Sausage)
Weisswurst is a traditional Bavarian sausage made from minced veal and pork back bacon. They are served with a pretzel and sweet mustard and a good beer.
Schweinshaxe
The schweinshaxe is a roast pork knuckle typical of German gastronomy and especially popular in Bavaria. Precooked and then roasted until the skin is crunchy and served with mustard, horseradish and pickled chilli pepper.
Maultaschen
Maultaschen is a stuffed pasta specialty, sometimes accompanied by broth, typical of the Swabian region. There are several legends about the origin of this German dish. One of them says that a Cistercian monastery called Monastery of Maulbronn (from here may come Maultasche) hid the meat between layers of pasta during the Lenten season, giving rise to the dish (pockets of Maul). The monks called this dish the colloquial form of Herrgottsbscheißerle (deception to God).
Klöße or Knödel
Knödel is a delicious ball made out of anything. There are different types of Knödel and what they have in common is that they are cooked in water with salt and that they have a rounded shape. Kartoffelklöße or Kartoffelknödel (made of potatoes), Semmelknödel (from bread), Leberknödel (made from meat)...
Bretzel / Pretzel
German pretzels or Brezeln are usually sold lightly salted or with sesame seeds on them. I love to eat them with butter.
Sauerkraut (Fermented Cabbage)
Sauerkraut is fermented sour cabbage. It has a distinctive sour flavour. It’s served alongside many meat dishes.
Kartoffelsalat
It is a dish composed mainly of boiled potatoes accompanied by different ingredients. Everyone has his own style, you can add mayonaise, vinagear, pickled gherkin in strips, apples, pieces of egg, onion... Anyways, it will be delicious :P
Spätzle (Egg Noodles)
Spätzle are handmade noodles with flour, eggs, salt and a drizzle of fizzy water to fluff up the dough. They are served with a large amount of melted cheese, as a side dish to meaty dishes or as a main dish.
German Beer
Pilsner is the most popular beer in Germany. It is a pale lager, with most towns brewing their own version. There are many other varieties of beer including Dusseldorf’s hoppy altbier; the sweet, high alcohol content Maibock and the Malty Marzen. Of all the regions in Germany, Bavaria is the most well-known for the variety of beer due to the various kinds of hops grown in this verdant region. Bavarian beer includes the distinctive cloudy beer called Hefeweizen, or Wheat beer.
Kartoffelpuffer (Potato Pancake)
Kartoffelpuffer is a fried potato pancake. Grated potatoes are mixed with parsley, eggs, onions into a flat circular shape and then deep fried to form a pancake. They are usually served with applesauce.
Kaiserschmarrn (Pancake)
Kaiserschmarren is a sort of traditional German pancake that is made from a sweet batter and then cooked in butter. Traditionally the Kaiserschmarren is then split with two forks into pieces when fried and sprinkled with powdered sugar. The pancakes are also called the “Emperor’s Pancake” as Kaiser Franz Josef was a big fan of these pancakes.
Schwarzwälderkirschtorte (Black Forest Cake)
The Black Forest cake is chock full of cherries, chocolate, liquor and whipped cream.
Lebkuchen (Gingerbread Cookies)
A true German Christmas favourite. These are a version of gingerbread cookies and they are sometimes covered with a dark chocolate coating, nuts or powdered sugar.
Stollen
This German traditional bread is usually served at Christmas. It’s basically a fruit cake chocked full of powdered sugar and candy. Its name in Germany is Christstollen and it’s a must-try if you’re in Germany for Christmas.
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Comments
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