About.com German Food

Try a Digestif after the Turkey

Wed, 25 Nov 2009 00:07:23 +0000

We are told over and over not to eat too much on Thanksgiving but what do we usually do? Eat too much on Thanksgiving! To help with the aftermath of the laden table, here are tips direct from Germany to make you feel better.

Bitters are mostly used in cocktails in the US, but Germans have traditionally drunk them as a digestive aid (a "Digestif") after a hearty meal. Common ones there are Underberg, Fernet Branca or J�germeister and are made following secret recipes of herbs in alcohol. Germans see these more as medicine than alcohol, indeed I could buy them at the university's cafeteria checkout.

Doppelkorn and Korn, which are fermented grain liquors, are often drunk as well to soothe the stomach. The thought is that a light layer of alcohol atop the stomach contents will stop - ahem- any repercussions, shall we say? It works pretty well, too, as long as you stop at one.

You might want to try "K�mmel", a sweet liqueur flavored with caraway, cumin and fennel, herbs thought to help digestion. Aquavit uses the same herbs and also thought to be good for you.

For tea-totalers, you might buy some whole fennel (Natural Grocers or Whole Foods) and brew some fennel tea or just chew on a few seeds. It's very likely that the essential oils in the seeds will make your tummy feel better.

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Try a Digestif after the Turkey originally appeared on About.com German Food on Wednesday, November 25th, 2009 at 00:07:23.

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Dense Bread at Whole Foods

Tue, 24 Nov 2009 17:51:33 +0000

When I first started shopping at Whole Foods grocery their bakery consisted mostly of white flour artisan bread like you find in France and Italy. Yummy, but not dense, dark or German by any stretch of the imagination. Now, though, they are selling several different kinds of freshly baked, German-style whole grain breads. Both regular yeast and sourdough. At the Whole Foods I was in, a loaf cost $3.99. It was covered with sunflower seeds, made with sourdough and was just delicious. I never expected such a large change in bread from a supermarket.

So if you live near a Whole Foods, you might put their bakery on your shopping list and try a loaf. Or take a look at these recipes to make your own dense, German bread.

_{Photo: Homemade sourdough bread � J.McGavin}

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Dense Bread at Whole Foods originally appeared on About.com German Food on Tuesday, November 24th, 2009 at 17:51:33.

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Bohemian-Czech Dumplings

Mon, 23 Nov 2009 17:34:58 +0000

My friend, Barbara, writes about Eastern European food here at About.com. Normally I would say that the cuisine is close to German food, but there are a couple of variations. I encountered one this weekend as a matter of fact. I went out to the "Bohemian Brewery" in Midvale, Utah (south Salt Lake area) and had their Old World Pork Roast with sauerkraut and homemade bread dumplings. Little did I know that the bread dumplings they were talking about were what looked like large pieces of steamed white bread. Barbara makes these to serve with Chicken Paprikash and makes sure there's plenty of gravy to go over them.

Now, German bread dumplings are quite different. Dense, chewy and round, they taste more like Thanksgiving stuffing and, while they like gravy, don't mush up in it. You don't remove the bread crusts, which gives them more color, too. The Czech dumplings were OK, though unexpected, but I still prefer the German ones for now. Maybe if Barbara made me dinner...

_{Photo of Czech dumplings Flickr user Daniel Spils, photo of German bread dumplings � J.McGavin}

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Bohemian-Czech Dumplings originally appeared on About.com German Food on Monday, November 23rd, 2009 at 17:34:58.

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Dumplings for Dinner

Fri, 13 Nov 2009 19:03:38 +0000

German food sure has a lot of recipes for dumplings. They wind up in the soup, to soak up gravy or to use up leftovers. Butternocken are a common add-in for soups, and a nice change from noodles or rice. Potato dumplings come in several forms. There's Kartoffelkl��e (round) and Schupfnudeln (long), to name just two. Both recipes call for cooked potatoes.

On the bread/flour side of dumplings, there's Sp�tzle, a cross between a noodle and a tiny dumpling. And we don't want to forget the Semmelkn�del, a type of bread pudding that is simmered in hot water, instead of steamed or baked.

Whatever you decide to make, you will find out that these are all simple recipes with inexpensive ingredients. They make home cooked meals special. Guten Appetit!

_{Photo � J.McGavin}

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Dumplings for Dinner originally appeared on About.com German Food on Friday, November 13th, 2009 at 19:03:38.

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"Schrippe Gefaellig?"

Thu, 12 Nov 2009 00:42:50 +0000

"Kipfen - Wecken - Semmel - Weggli - Schrippe - Feierabend Br�tchen - Rundst�ck". These are all words for the very normal, white, small, round roll that you see in the breakfast bread baskets in Germany or Austria. A lean dough and steam in the oven help create the special taste of the crisp roll, an overnight sponge gives you a deeper dimension.

If you are having a brunch, these rolls can easily be ready by 10 or 11 am. If you are an early riser, they can be coming out of the oven at 8 am. Of course, you can always freeze them and re-crisp in the oven.

For a passionate discourse on this recipe, go to this "The Easy Garden" forum thread.

"Schrippe gef�llig?" - "Would you like a roll?"

_{Photo � J.McGavin}

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"Schrippe Gefaellig?" originally appeared on About.com German Food on Thursday, November 12th, 2009 at 00:42:50.

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Mushrooms in Garlic Sauce

Wed, 11 Nov 2009 13:49:45 +0000

Mushrooms in Garlic Sauce is such a simple recipe that you have to try it. Just like the mushrooms you buy at the German market stands, these little treats are often served as a snack. The fragrance of mushrooms and garlic can be smelled even before you enter the "Markt" (market). When you buy a portion, take it to one of their "Stehtische" or standing height tables. I find them so much handier than the picnic tables they have for all the county fairs in the US. They take up very little space and you will never sit in mustard!

_{Photo � J.McGavin}

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Mushrooms in Garlic Sauce originally appeared on About.com German Food on Wednesday, November 11th, 2009 at 13:49:45.

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Whole Grain Gingerbread

Fri, 06 Nov 2009 00:31:55 +0000

We've talked a lot about gingerbread and "Lebkuchen" as it's a perennial favorite this time of year. For you who are looking for a special brunch or tea time treat, try this cake warm from the oven with some whipped cream, or spoon the batter over applesauce in a Dutch oven and steam it like a pudding cake. This whole grain cake has no refined sugar but lots of flavor.

This would be a good cake to whip up for guests over Thanksgiving, too. It is a different flavor and texture from all the pies and other fare served on Thursday and Friday, plus the whole grains will make up for the indulgences to come.

_{Photo � J.McGavin}

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Whole Grain Gingerbread originally appeared on About.com German Food on Friday, November 6th, 2009 at 00:31:55.

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WW - Zimtsterne

Wed, 04 Nov 2009 00:21:24 +0000

Wordless Wednesdays

Here are more Wordless Wednesdays on About.com and other Wordless Wednesday Blogs...

_{Photo � J.McGavin}

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WW - Zimtsterne originally appeared on About.com German Food on Wednesday, November 4th, 2009 at 00:21:24.

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North or South?

Mon, 02 Nov 2009 17:11:52 +0000

Is Frankfurt in the north of Germany or the south? Where is the Weiswurst Equator? Do they say "Moin moin" or "Gruess Gott"?
Answers:

Frankfurt am Main is in the south-west, but considered more north than south.
Along the Main river, so Frankurt is just on the border. The Weiswurstgrenze or border is a fictitious division of Prussia from the Deep South (where they eat Weiswurst).
Neither, they say "Guude!" ("Guten Tag", hello) in Hessian dialect.

They also eat well, as this blog entry about food in Frankfurt (great pictures) shows, and have many food specialties.
Here is a description of typical dishes in Frankfurt and other tidbits. For instance, did you know that Frankfurt's main street is called "Fressgass" (Glutton Alley)?

For more on regional specialties in German-speaking countries, check out this page.

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North or South? originally appeared on About.com German Food on Monday, November 2nd, 2009 at 17:11:52.

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Bake Some Basler Laeckerli Today!

Sat, 31 Oct 2009 00:54:59 +0000

Basel is a quaint town on the border of Switzerland to Germany. In addition to speaking Schwyzerd�tsch (Swiss German), being home to many pharmaceutical companies such as Novartis and Hoffman-LaRoche and holding "Basler Fasnacht", the largest Carnival celebration in Switzerland, every year (where I forgot my passport and was almost detained once!), it has a famous Lebkuchen (gingerbread) specialty, the Basler L�ckerli (or Leckerli, both spellings are correct). These cookies were developed in the mid-1400s for a bishop's conference, as something even more special than the other towns could provide (show offs!).

Of course, like Coca Cola, the recipe is a strict secret. We who cannot afford the seventy Swiss franc shipping charges for a kilogram of cookies must improvise. And so we come to the (knock-off) recipe for "Basler L�ckerli". Made with the traditional potash and hartshorn as leavening agents and filled with cinnamon, candied lemon peel and nuts, these are a great holiday cookie. One batch makes 3-4 dozen dense bar cookies which just get better with age.

_{Photo � J.McGavin}

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Bake Some Basler Laeckerli Today! originally appeared on About.com German Food on Saturday, October 31st, 2009 at 00:54:59.

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