The Food of Germany

Welcome to the first of (hopefully) many seemingly random posts on various aspects of life in Europe, as I reflect on the last seven years overseas.  Today: the food of Germany.  Mind, this will not be a comprehensive, structured, or even valuable post; it's more of a quick reflection of the foods we enjoyed (and miss) the most.

Our four years in Germany found us indulging early and often in the local cuisine.  It wasn't uncommon for newly-arrived Americans to put on 10 or 20 lbs in the few years they resided there, and I did my part to maintain the trend.  Read on to find out which foods are most responsible for my ample waistline.

1. Pig Products

Germans love their pig meat, and when in Rome (or Berlin, as it were) . . . hey, you gotta fit in.  My favorite foods here were schnitzel, weißwurst, and currywurst.  The first- a breaded "escalope" of fried pork- is best served with sauce on it; personal favorites were rahmsoße (cream sauce) from the Tannenburg restaurant and jägersoße (a darker cream sauce with mushrooms).  The second- a sausage generally served for breakfast with a soft pretzel and a delightful mustard- always hits the spot.  The third- a sliced sausage covered with sauce that's either ketchup or ketchup/bbq and dusted with curry powder- is a staple at fests.  Both are wonderful, though after "schnitzeling" I often required several gallons of water in an often-vain attempt to counteract the salt consumed therewith.

jägerschnitzel

weißwurst

currywurst

2. Italian

Yes, you read that correctly.  I loved the Italian food we had in Germany.  I'm a big fan of stateside Italian, too, but the European take is generally much better- and better for you.  The pizza, for example, has much thinner crust, and much less cheese/sauce.  Speaking of pizza- in addition to excellent eateries in every city, the Germans have mastered the frozen pizza.  Dr. Oetker brand was my personal favorite- pretty much any variety they produce hit the spot.  They do have this in the States, but like many products, it's different at home- unfortunately, much fattier, and not nearly as tasty.

this is obviously a pizza box

3. Grains

German breads are fantastic; our weekly trip to the bakery was a much-welcomed endeavor.  They seem, in general, to have "meatier" breads- breads that are less airy than our US mainstays.  They have an expression in Germany- "bread good enough to lose your teeth in"- which my friend unexpectedly demonstrated by losing his front four teeth in a loaf while traveling in the area (he had a bridge across those teeth).

such selection!

I can't forget the müsli, either.  A bit like our granola, but not really, it was a staple to us.  Again, Dr. Oetker provided when necessary.

muesli with bits of chocolate?  yes please!

4. Sweets

Of course, the Germans know their sweets.   One thinks of chocolate in Germany, but hold up- most of the chocolate we enjoyed the most was Belgian or Swiss, not German (though the Deutsche certainly can make a good bar).  What the Germans did have, though, that is unparalleled is Nutella. [UPDATE: I've since learned that Nutella is Italian.  Oops.]  Put it on bread or eat it right out of the jar- it's awesome.  Along with it, there are these things called Happy Hippos, which are effectively a bit of nutella stuffed inside a crispy shell.

Apple strudel (apfelstrudel) was also a personal favorite.  Warm apples, sometimes with raisins, in pastry and ice cream . . . . mmmmmmmm.

apfelstrudel

Rounding out the sweets, we have gummy bears.  The most famous German brand is Haribo, but our favorites are those made by Bären-treff.  They  have many good assortments, but the best was the sour currant gummies.  A quick aside: Europe enjoys currants, and uses them in many products.  I don't know why we don't in the USA, but we should.

just some of the gummy bear selection in a Baeren-treff store

5. Drinks

I'm not a beer drinker, and no, Germany didn't change that.  I tried to like beer- really.  But it just wasn't to be.  That's okay, though- the Germans introduced me to this wonderful concept called "schorle."  Here's what you do: take any fruit juice, mix it with sparkling mineral water, and you have schorle.  Apple juice + sparkling water = apfelschorle, cherry juice + sparkling water = kirschschorle, etc.  What a great way to enjoy (somewhat-healthy) fruit juice, but feel like you're drinking soda!

6. Sauce/condiments

I loved the mustard served with weißwurst, as previously mentioned.  A very grainy, somewhat "powerful" variety, it was great.  Something I enjoyed with raclette is honey-mustard-dill sauce, as pictured below.  

Final Thoughts

As I said at the beginning- this is not a comprehensive list; we'd be here all day.  But when I think of Germany, and the food I enjoyed, or I look at my waist, I think of the above.