German cuisine

German cuisine is not only Frankfurt sausages and Bavarian beer, but also a variety of vegetable soups, aromatic breads and a rich selection of baked, fried, stewed, smoked and dried dishes from all possible types of meat. There are also regional variations of traditional dishes, more than 1400 breweries, about 15 varieties of wine and unique Christmas sweets. And although German cuisine is considered one of the highest in calories in Europe, the food-savvy traveler can find a large number of world-class restaurants in Germany, and those who travel on a budget will be delighted by the numerous southern European, Eastern and traditional German places offering delicious lunches for a reasonable price.

Peculiarities of German сuisine

Like the language, German cuisine varies greatly depending on the region and the crops available there. The north of Germany is a region of seafood and multigrain dark bread. The dishes here are close to Scandinavian cuisine. A lot of potatoes, green cabbage and berries are used in their preparation, and the combinations of ingredients may seem exotic for some. South German cuisine, especially in Bavaria, is more floury, rich in dairy products, wheat products and, of course, a wide selection of beers.

The West Rhine lands are distinguished by their winemaking traditions, known here since Roman times. Vast vineyards are found in Rhineland-Palatinate, North Rhine-Westphalia and Hesse. White wine accounts for 65% of all wine produced in Germany (mainly Riesling and Müller-Thurgau), while Pinot Noir and Dornfelder are the most popular red varieties.

Aromatic gingerbread and other sweets are no less popular in western Germany. Interestingly, the Rhine region is sometimes not limited exclusively to Germany, since neighboring Belgium, Luxembourg and France have similar dishes and culinary traditions.

In eastern Germany, some dishes created during the GDR era are still in use (and are back in style in some regions): Ketwurst — ketchup plus sausage, Krusta — the East German analogue of pizza, only square, baked on a baking sheet. Also in the east, you can taste traditional dishes of the already defunct German eastern lands, for example, Königsberger Klopse (meatballs in white sauce).

Regional dishes of Germany

The table is made in such a way that one city represents one region and only the most classic traditional dishes are mentioned in it, so that when traveling to Germany one knows what he has to try. Hovering the cursor over the question mark near the name of the dish, displays the German name.

Regional desserts and drinks in Germany

German sweets are distinguished by an abundance of flour and berries, which is also due to the geographical location and traditions of agriculture. As for beer, a separate chapter of this article is devoted to it.

History — what influenced German cuisine?

For a long time, there was no unified Germany, and individual regions honed their culinary skills in close connection alongside the non-German people. So, Bavarian cuisine is close to Austrian cuisine, and that, in turn, borrowed a lot from the Balkans. Gulasch-Suppe, popular in the south, is only an adaptation of Hungarian goulash, and bean soup came to Germany from Serbia.

In the western regions, on the Rhine, onion soup (Zwiebelsuppe) is quite popular due to French influences. It is not known for certain who first came up with the idea to mix potato starch with red berries, but the specialty of northern Germany, Rote Grütze (or as they say in northern Germany, Rode Grütt) is known in Denmark as Rødgrød and literally translated as red porridge

The situation is even more complicated in the east, because for a long time the Polish Silesia and Russian Kaliningrad (Königsberg) regions were inhabited mainly by German-speaking residents, and the regions themselves had long-standing culinary traditions closely intertwined with Polish and Baltic cuisine. Often, the same dishes have two names, and disputes about the origin of individual dishes between Germans and Poles are still ongoing. For example, the meat delicacy Rouladen (oven-baked smoked bacon with pickles wrapped in a thin piece of veal or beef) in Poland has been known as rolada śląska. In addition, in the lands that were a part of the GDR, dishes from Russian and Ukrainian cuisines, for example, solyanka, are still popular.

Popular foreign cuisine in Germany

There are numerous fast food places in major German cities: from the usual chain restaurants to small oriental eateries. As a multicultural country with a large number of immigrants, Germany has many restaurants serving Middle Eastern, Asian, South and Eastern European cuisine.

It should be noted that the quality control of food and catering in Germany is at the highest level, so you can safely have a snack right on the street or dine in a cafe in chinatown.

Foreign dishes are most prevalent in fast food — today almost 75% of all street food consists of the most famous dishes of Turkish, American and Italian cuisine.

Restaurants serving Italian, Greek and Spanish cuisine are the most popular. This is not solely because a fairly large number of immigrants from these countries are in Germany, but due to the countries being the main travel destinations of Germans themselves.