German Cuisine
In this way, it’s easy to dismiss German cuisine as a simple combination
of meat and potatoes. But, of course, there is so much more to the German
people and to their food. Each region in
Germany has its own specialties and variations. The southern region of Germany
share many specialties that reach over to Austria and Switzerland. In the
southwest, cooking is greatly influenced by French cooking. Cooking in the
eastern region has more of an Eastern European flavor. There are also foods
that are shared by all regions, religion in Germany has no effect on the
cuisine but however is prepared differently. Sauerkraut is a good example. Each
region has its own technique and recipe for preparing and cooking this dish.
Traditional foods and customs
Apfelstrudel (apple strudel) is a delicious pastry filled
with apples flavoured with sugar, cinnamon, raisins and breadcrumbs – and has
been popular since the 18th century. The delicate flakey pastry is made from an
elastic dough, which is kneaded and stretched until it’s as thin as phyllo
pastry. The pastry is wrapped round and round the filling building up many
layers, and then baked. It’s served warm in slices sprinkled with powdered or
icing sugar. Kartofelpuffel
are shallow pan-fried pancakes made from grated or ground potatoes mixed with
flour, egg, onion and seasoning. You can enjoy them either salty as a side dish
to a main course of meat or fish, or sweet with apple sauce, blueberries, sugar
and cinnamon. Look out for them in outdoor markets in the winter. Germans
love their meat – and sauerbraten (meaning ‘sour’ or ‘pickled’ roast) is
a pot roast that’s regarded as one of the country’s national dishes. It can be
made from many different meats (originally horse), which are marinated in wine,
vinegar, spices, herbs and seasoning for up to 10 days. Schweinenbraten
is a delicious roast pork dish, usually served with braised cabbage or sauerkraut
and dumplings (knoedel), and washed down with a pilsner beer. You’ll
find lots of cakes and tarts to tempt you in Germany, commonly made with fresh
fruit. Few can resist a huge slice or two of the most famous of them all: the
delicious schwarzwalder kirschtorte – Black Forest cherry cake. The cake
is named after schwarzwalder kirschwasser, which is a liqueur distilled
from tart cherries. Alternating layers of rich chocolate cake, cherries and
whipped cream are topped off with more cream, maraschino cherries and chocolate
shavings. There are more than 1500 different types of wurst (sausage) made
in Germany and you’ll find street stalls selling them everywhere. The most
popular include bratwurst (fried sausage) made of ground pork and
spices, Wiener (Viennese), which is smoked and then boiled, and blutwurst
and schwarzwurst, which are both blood sausages. Look out for regional
specialities like Berlin’s currywurst (sausage with curried ketchup on
the top), Bavaria’s weisswurst, a white sausage that you peel before
eating with a sweet mustard, and Nuremberg's grilled rostbratwurst,
served with fermented shredded cabbage known as sauerkraut.
In addition, the food preparation methods and utensils are exactly the same to us Australians. This is evident because Germany has a close bond with Australia.
the difference in food culture to Australia
There is a high difference
in nutrition intake with Germany and Australia. This is because in the
morning, Germans consume all of their carbohydrates such as breads and possibly
'wurst' which is sausage, then during the middle of the day they would usually
then consume their main meals and then for night a light meal which normally
would be cheese or salami. For Australians, it is quite the opposite, for the
morning, Australians normally consume proteins, fats and carbohydrates. This
means that there is a wide range in choice for the average Australian's
breakfast. In addition, for the middle of the day, it is quite common for
Australian's to then consume their daily carbohydrates like sandwiches, bread
rolls or wraps for example and for the night, Australians then receive their
main meals which also have a wide variety due to all of the cultures that
affect Australian food.
the impact on Australian cuisine
German Culture has greatly
affected Australian Cuisine. This is Because of how popular
German Oktoberfest was when the tradition began. Australia had
influenced this tradition by having another kind of Oktoberfest which is today
a very popular annual tradition and is in the top ten most popular
foreign Oktoberfest's in the world. In this sense it would be clear
that German cuisine would have contributed greatly to this known tradition
in Australia which means that German cuisine has obviously affected
Australian cuisine in many ways.
reference list
- http://www.tasty-german-recipe.com/
- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9peAsDZwiiQ
- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9peAsDZwiiQ