Tagged: germany
Currywurst – Berlin
Currywurst is a fast-food specialty found all over Germany. According to some (ie Wikipedia), currywurst was invented by Herta Heuwer in Berlin in 1949, and has been popular with locals and tourists alike ever since. The sausage is covered in curry flavoured ketchup (yum…) and is often served with french fries. Currywurst is often served in stalls on the street (on little pieces of card like in the photo below). Currywurst is obviously rather popular – 800 million servings are sold in Germany each year… So, even though currywurst is a stereotypical food associated with Germany, there’s some truth behind is as it’s such a popular street snack.
#4
Europe used to be 80% – 90% covered in forest. Nowadays, this is more like 3%.
Glühwein and Lebkuchen – Germany
Glühwein – mulled wine
Served by most German families around Christmas time, Glühwein is the German version of mulled wine famous worldwide. There are many different varieties: ingredients range from from cinnamon sticks and vanilla pods to cloves and oranges. German Glühwein is normally mixed in with rum or brandy. So children don’t get left out, there are many recipes for a non-alcoholic type – apple juice is used as the base for this. Here’s a recipe that everyone can enjoy as a winter warmer during the Christmas season:
4 cups of apple juice (best not from concentrate)
2 cups of black tea
2 tablespoons of sugar
The peel and juice of 1 lemon
The peel and juice of 1 orange
1 cinnamon stick
2 cloves
Heat the apple juice and black tea in a pan, then add the other ingredients slowly, stirring all the time.
Strain the Glühwein through a sieve, then pour into mugs for serving.
Lebkuchen – German gingerbread
Often in the shape of Lebkuchen Herzen – gingerbread hearts – you can find these German biscuits in many other countries around Christmas time. In London, they are sold at market stalls, hanging on colourful strings. The Lebkuchen usually feature Christmas messages written in icing writing, or winter-related pictures like Santa, reindeer or snowmen. You can also buy plain hearts to decorate yourself at home. Although in Germany Lebkucken are eaten all year round, the Christmas type is normally softer and sweeter, spiced with cinnamon.
A German Christmas
German Christmas does not start on Christmas Eve but starts at Advent. There are four Advent Sundays before Christmas when Germans light a candle on each Sunday on beautiful wreaths. There are sometimes also small presents given on those evenings. On 6th December it is St Nicholas day where the children put a plate under their beds in the night before and tradition says that St Nicholas comes and brings presents if the children have been good and sticks and coal if they were not. However the biggest difference between an English and a German Christmas is that the Germans celebrate on Christmas Eve. The presents are opened then, followed by a family meal. In Germany they do not have a single dominant Christmas meal like turkey, but instead eat goose or carp. Often Father Christmas visits the family on Christmas Eve and children play their instruments or recite poems. Christmas Day and Boxing Day mean further family meals but do not have any special traditions, unlike in other countries.
– Olli
Lederhosen and dirndl dresses set to become ‘fashionable’ again?
In Austria and Germany, the traditional costume known as Tracht always used to be the preserve of the ultra-conservative. But these traditional clothes – lederhosen for men and dirndl dresses for women – have recently become rather fashionable.
So says the BBC.co.uk article http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-19976271. Apparently, not only is the typical Austrian outfit seen on people in the countryside, it’s also everywhere in the big cities like Vienna (although in a less obvious form: the traditional green-collared jackets are an example). And it’s not only the locals who are falling back in love with the lederhosen and dirndls – when the fashion designer Vivienne Westwood visited Austria about 10 years ago, she said:
‘I do not understand you Austrians. If every woman wore a dirndl, there would not be any more ugliness’
The people of Austria seem to have taken note: recently, the shops that sell the ‘Tracht’ have been reporting big profits, and you can buy the outfits all over – not just in specialist shops. Maybe Londoners will catch on and start walking round dressed as Beefeaters.
European breakfasts: explained
Breakfast is, as we all know, the most important meal of the day, so it’s no wonder that it’s taken very seriously in countries across Europe. The northern Europeans such as the Germans and scandis love their salami and ham on massive rolls (no stereotyping here), while the French like their own delicacy – the croissant.
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Spaniards like to go crazy with the garlic on their pan con tomate – toasted bread rubbed in garlic with tomato paste and olive oil. Especially in southern Spain the Moroccan influence is obvious – after all, north Africa is just across the med. Arabic-style breakfast favorites include raisin bread and honey glazed pastries.
And although they’re not restricted to breakfast time, many spaniards like some churros con chocolate on the side: rectangular donut things dipped in melted chocolate.*
And of course, who doesn’t love a greasy, calorific English fry-up? The eggs, bacon, sausage and baked beans aren’t complete without some lovely black pudding (congealed pigs blood for those of you who don’t know – mmm)…
* it’s surprising Spain has a low obesity rate compared with the rest of Europe, to be honest
** it’s not surprising Britain has one of the highest obesity rates in Europe
the europhiles 
