Germany (Lonely Planet, 6th Edition) - Andrea Schulte-Peevers [56]
Dumplings are another menu staple, from potato-based Klösse and Leberknödel (liver dumplings) to sweet Senfknödel, which is made from Quark, flour and eggs, then dunked in milk. Dumplings also make a major appearance in the Franconian favourite of Hochszeitsuppe (wedding soup) – a clear meat broth garnished with bread dumplings, liver dumplings and pancakes.
BADEN-WÜRTTEMBERG
Neighbouring influences are evident in Baden-Württemberg. Snail soup (Schneckensuppe) crosses the border with Alsace, while locals also enjoy Geschnetzeltes (veal slices in a white wine and cream sauce) as much as the Swiss.
Pasta is another recurrent theme, with Spätzle (literally ‘little sparrows’), a type of egg-based noodle, served as a main meal or used to dress meat or fish. The ravioli-like Maultaschen are stuffed with ground meat, onion and spinach.
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Cooking the German Way by Helga Parnell is one of the simpler German cookbooks on the market, ideal for those seeking a basic culinary background of the region. It includes a history as well as recipes for basic German dishes.
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SAARLAND
Just as in Baden-Württemberg, the food here shows many French influences. Fried goose liver and coq au vin are common on menus, as is Budeng mit Gellenewemutsch, a boudin (hot black pudding) served with a German mash of carrots and potatoes.
When it comes to the crunch, though, Saarlanders revert to true German form, and Schwenkbraten (marinated pork grilled on a spit) is probably their most popular dish.
RHINELAND-PALATINATE
Two former chancellors named dishes from this region as their favourite, selecting two meals as different as the men themselves. Helmut Kohl nominated Saumagen, a stuffed pork belly with pickled cabbage that’s the German equivalent to Scottish haggis, while postwar chancellor Konrad Adenauer preferred Reibekuchen, small potato pancakes served with blueberry or apple sauce.
Despite all this, Rheinischer Sauerbraten (roast beef marinated in spiced vinegar and braised) is the region’s signature dish.
HESSE & WESTPHALIA
Neighbouring Hesse and Westphalia produce outstanding cured and smoked hams (typically smoking them over juniper berries). In Hesse, they like pig in the form of Sulperknochen, a dish from trotters, ears and tails, served with mushy peas and pickled cabbage. Westphalians prefer Pfefferpotthast, a meat stew spiced with capers, lemon juice and beer.
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When Lübeck started producing marzipan in the Middle Ages, the almond paste was considered a medicine not a sweet. We want to know: can we get it on prescription?
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HAMBURG & AROUND
No two dishes better sum up northern Germany’s warming, seafaring fodder than Labskaus and Grünkohl mit Pinkel. There are variations, but traditional Labskaus from Hamburg is a minced dish of salt herring, corned beef, pig lard, potato and beetroot, topped with gherkins and a fried egg. It’s a sailor’s favourite and, some locals claim, brilliant hangover food – plenty of salt, plenty of fat and not too hard to chew. Grünkohl mit Pinkel combines steamed kale with pork belly, bacon and Pinkelwurst (a spicy pork, beef, oat and onion sausage from Bremen).
Eel soup (Aalsuppe) is sweet-and-sour – it’s garnished with bacon and vegetables, and spiced with apricots, pears or prunes.
As you move towards Scandinavia, the German diet begins to encompass Nordic staples such as rollmops and herring (Hering) in all its other guises (raw, smoked, pickled or rolled in sour cream).
MECKLENBURG–WESTERN POMERANIA
This northeastern state shares Hamburg’s obsession with herring, eel and other types of seafood, throwing in a propensity to smoke its fish and a penchant for Baltic cod. Otherwise, it has a quite distinctive cuisine, with locals famed for liking things sweet and sour.
Take Mecklenburger Rippenbraten (rolled pork stuffed with lemons, apples, plums, and raisins), for example; or Mecklenburgische