Food and Drink

The story of food in Germany begins, as one might expect, with beer. Medieval monasteries housed some of Germany's first kitchens. The monks cultivated gardens and livestock, ran dairies, gathered fruit, herbs and wildflowers to distill distinctive brandies, or schnapps, and grew hops to brew the country's first beer. The oldest brewery in Germany, Weihenstephan in Freising, in Bavaria, is documented as early as AD 1040.

Beer and bread

For over 500 years Germany was proud of the fact that its 1,400-odd breweries were still bound by the "purity laws" (Reinheitsgebot) of 1516, which stipulate that only hops, malt, yeast and water may be used. But the lobby of beer drinkers and breweries could not prevent the abolition of the old laws to allow free movement of goods within a single European market. Germans claim their country's beers - Helles, or blond beer; Dunkles, dark beer; Pils, thinner and slightly bitter; Weissbier, a yeasty, cloudy brew; and legion other local variants - are especially flavorsome. Beer was truly a food in the Middle Ages, particularly during Lent, when monks could drink but were limited as to their food intake. As a result, they brewed their beer with an extra kick; this Starkbier (strong beer) is still a Bavarian tradition.

The other staff of life in Germany is bread. Few countries offer such a range and selection of this staple. The rolls (Brötchen or Semmel) served with hotel breakfasts are well and good, but to understand the appeal of German bread you have to go into a traditional bakery and examine the array of sourdough and rye loaves: big flour-dusted wheels of Bauernbrot (farmer's bread); the firm compact bodies of Vollkorn- and Sonnenblumenbrot (whole-wheat or sunflower-seed bread), filled with grains that crunch between your teeth; Pumpernickel, dark chocolate brown in color, or thick, chewy Brezeln (pretzels), warm out of the oven, studded with chunks of salt.

Like bread and beer, most of the signature elements of German cuisine have developed out of basic ingredients and bear traces of a peasant origin. As in many other countries of central and eastern Europe, Germany's cooking rests on a meat-and-potatoes foundation. People ate what they could cultivate themselves and the relatively cold climate didn't allow for many green vegetables: potatoes (Kartoffeln) and cabbage (Kohl or Kraut) dominated. Apart from various kinds of game (Wild) such as Reh (venison), Wildschwein (wild boar), Kaninchen or Hase (rabbit), or fowl such as Fasan (pheasant), beef (Rind) and pork (Schwein) dominate, not forgetting the numerous offal dishes which are very popular in the south.

Some Local Specialities

A “typical” German dining experience remains roast pork, red cabbage and a dumpling: Schweinebraten, Blaukraut and Knödel. Local specialities along these lines include Bavaria’s Schweinshax’n, a roasted pork knuckle served encased in a crispy layer of bubbling fat; Berlin’s Eisbein, the same portion of the pig’s anatomy, but pickled; or Spanferkel (suckling pig). More generally appealing is the Rhineland’s Sauerbraten, a kind of pot roast of marinated beef. As for the dumplings, called Knödel in the south and Klösse in the north, the choice tends to be between Kartoffelknödel (potato dumpling) a rather rubbery globe; and the Bavarian Semmelknödel, a bread dumpling that more readily absorbs the meat’s sauce. Knödel are also the centerpieces of local ragouts: Rahmpilze or Rahmschwammerl, fresh mushrooms in a thick cream sauce, might have greater appeal than similar concoctions of Lüngerl (lung), which are eaten only in southern Bavaria. Then there are Leberknödel, liver dumplings, presented in plain beef broth as a first course of Leberknödelsuppe.

Other Local Specialities:

Spearheading the growth of Germany's culinary culture is the southern part of the country, perhaps because leading chefs prefer to open up shop in some picturesque Alpine village than in a busy city. Michelin stars are clustered in Munich but twinkle also in Düsseldorf and, increasingly, in Berlin. But whether the meal is in a gourmet temple or a simple inn, the best way to round it off is wit a shot of schnapps - from Enzian to Kirschwasser - to settle the stomach and make a gesture to the monks who launched the adventure of German cooking.

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