Archive for the ‘Culinary’ Category

When you travel to Germany, you will no doubt notice the bread on your table at breakfast and dinner.

German bread is famous around the world for its flavor and texture, but did you know that there are more than 200 recognized varieties?

Pumpernickel is the most famous internationally, but there is so much more to German bread! Experimenting with flavors and textures will let you move beyond the basic loaf and explore other mouthwatering options in every category.

Weißbrot is the basic white bread, although most Germans prefer the more nutritive darker breads. Weißbrot is often used for rolls, like the popular Käsesemmel, which is baked with cheese on top.

Graubrot, while literally meaning gray bread, refers to the bread that are neither black nor white. Sourdough and rye breads fall into this category, as do the delicious sunflower seed (Sonnenblumenkernbrot) and pumpkin seed (Kürbiskernbrot) breads.

Schwarzbrot is the black bread that has made German bakeries famous. It generally has a 90% rye content with a hard crust hiding a dense, moist center. The super grainy Vollkornbrot is a part of this group, as is the renowned Pumpernickel.

Eat your bread with cheeses, creamy spreads, and sliced meats. A mild cheese with small holes is very popular to go with the bread, as is Hüttenkäse, a seasoned cottage cheese. For using jams many foreigners toast it, although the chewy bread really doesn’t need it.

To learn more about German bread, its history, and its role in daily life in Germany, you can even visit a museum dedicated to bread in Ulm. The Museum of Bread Culture covers 6,000 years of the history of bread. Opened 10 am – 5 pm daily and until 8:30 pm on Wednesdays, it has 18,000 works related to bread in its collection.

It is also conveniently located near some cafes where you can snack after you’ve worked up a bread craving looking at the displays ;-)

—Marcus

Spätlese wines are yet another of German’s happy accidents.

The vintage as a class was born in 1775 at the famous Schloss Johannisberg winery, when the harvest was unfortunately delayed by about two weeks — legend has it the field master had been kidnapped, and they couldn’t start until his release. The grapes were harvested reluctantly, and no one thought the wine would amount to much.

With low expectations, the first wine was tasted… and now they deliberately pick the grapes late!

Spätlese, which simply means “late harvest,” was such an instant hit that just three years later it was being handed out to visiting nobles and royalty as a gift. Thomas Jefferson raved so much about his 1778 bottles that the wine became the new American must-have vintage.

Spätlese, my personal favorite of all German wines, has several specific characteristics that make it unique and pleasant to drink. Since the grapes are fully ripened when they are picked, they give a fuller body and more intense flavor than other German wines like Riesling or Kabinett. The wine is also known for its long finish and pleasant aroma.

Available as semi-sweet, Spätlese wines are forbidden by law from being artificially sweetened. The quality of the vintage depends very much on the soil and the weather of each season. 2007 and 2008 were very good years, and the early tests on the 2009 grapes has vintners very excited about the potential of this year’s harvest.

You should be excited, too. Spätlese wines are excellent food pairings, especially with seafood dishes and spicy dishes. The complexity of the flavors with the long finish of the wine really enriches a meal.

Spätlese wines are meant to be enjoyed, rather than stored away for decades. You age a Spätlese for 3 -10 years, but they do peak at a relatively young age. Therefore, why wait to open a bottle? :-)

If you’d like recommendations, Terry Theise, one of the wine worlds leading sommelier’s, gave the 2008 Müller-Catoir Mandelring Scheurebe Spätlese (~$60 USD) a near perfect score. Other German wine houses making good quality Spätlese include Dönnhoff, Meulenhof Erdener, and Leitz Rüdesheimer.

—Marcus

Let’s face it… German food has a reputation for being rich and meaty. Vegetarian and vegan travelers headed for Germany groan and moan to their companions and post whiny remarks on travel forums. But what’s the real situation on the ground?

There are actually plenty of vegetarian and vegan options available to travelers in Germany. Admittedly, if you go to a traditional German restaurant and look for traditional fare, you will likely be offered a lot of meat dishes. Look beyond the stereotypical stuff, however, and you’ll find a lot of very good food.

In the summer, you will want to eat potato and asparagus, a popular combination plate due to Germany’s status as a leading producer of asparagus. Onion or mushroom stews in winter and crisp spring and fall salads are also on the menu at most restaurants. Going to specialty restaurants focusing on vegan and natural foods will give you an even broader variety.

Don’t be afraid to ask for advice from your hotel, guide or new friends. Just explain that you are vegetarisch (vegetarian) and most people will be able to direct you to a restaurant, even in the smaller towns. In a pinch, go for falafel or to a pizza house.

If you prefer to buy a few things on your own, you should look for a Reformhaus or a Bio Markt. “Bio” is applied to all things organic. Strict vegans should note that it doesn’t always mean purely natural, just that it meet EU organic standards. (Yup, we’re at it again… politics; one of the most beloved hobbies if we trust the TV news and various talkshows.)

Select Top Restaurants In Germany For Vegans

Here are few restaurants you can note down, but remember that there are many, many more! Happy Cow has 253 listings for vegetarian restaurants in Germany. So these are just a few that stand out for quality…

• Berlin: Hans Wurst Vegan Cafe (Dunckerstraße 2a, 10437), Veni Vidi Vegi (Pücklerstraße 32, 10997) and Yellow Sunshine (Wiener Straße 19, 10999)
• Munich: Prinz Myskin (Hackenstraße 2) and Zay Vegetarisch (Occamstraße 13)
• Frankfurt: Naturbar (Oeder Weg 26)

Also, if you read good German, you can visit the discussion boards at www.vegan.de for even more tips.

—Marcus