DINE&WINE
FROM SAUERKRAUT TO WURST Sausages as the queen of the banquet
Bratwurst When you say German sausage, this is almost certainly the one you mean. The name comes from the Old German word “brät”, meaning minced meat. Made from pork, beef or a combina- tion of meats, it has mild seasoning and can sometimes include only marjoram, while it is most often grilled or pan- fried. The bratwurst is a symbol of Ger- man fairs and beer gardens – served in a bread bun, with just a little mustard, it was fast food before there was even such a thing. Currywurst This sausage is entirely a Berlin story. It was back in 1949 that Berlin-based food vendor Herta Heuwer experiment- ed with spices that she’d received from British soldiers. She took a classic roast- ed sausage and added ketchup, tomato and curry powder – and thus the curry- wurst was born. It is today among the most famous German street food dish- es. The sausage is sliced into rings, cov- ered with the red, slightly spicy sauce and served with fries. Berlin and Ham- burg still argue over which city has the better version, but one thing that’s for certain is that this wurst has become an iconic dish, with more than 800 million portions consumed annually. Weißwurst Unlike the curried version that Ber- liners boast of, the Weisswurst is the pride of Bavaria. A light, boiled sausage made of beef and pork, it is seasoned with parsley, lemon and onion. It is tra- ditionally eaten before noon – there’s even a rule in Munich that you mustn’t eat one if you’ve “heard the mid- day church bell”, which means it’s eat- en exclusively for breakfast or brunch. Served with sweet mustard and pret- zels, it’s almost mandatory to eat this wurst with light beer. Any other würste? Other popular types include the Nürn- berger rostbratwurst – a small, thin sausage that’s specific to Nuremberg and is often served as a portion of six or twelve, accompanied by sauerkraut. There’s also the Bockwurst, which is typically poached and served with mustard.
German cuisine might not have aspirations to be considered the most refined, but it is certainly among the sincerest, never shying away from the fact that it was created to both feed and please
I f we imagine the Italians tucking in- to a bowl of pasta, the French enjoy- ing cheeses and a croissant and the Spanish nibbling on tapas, then it is almost inevitable for us to imagine the Germans with a sausage in one hand and a pint of beer in the other. German cuisine is based on simple and hearty dishes that don’t have much of a philosophy – meat, potatoes, cabbage and, of course, sausages. All seasoned with traditions that vary from region to region. That’s because sausages aren’t just a meal for Germans – they form part of the culture. From Bavarian beer festivals and the fast-food kiosks of Berlin, to fam- ily gatherings nationwide, the humble wurst is ever-present as a bridge between the traditional and the modern, between the home table and the street stall. Cuisine characteristics Sausages are not all German cuisine has to offer, of course. There are also famous dishes like the schnitzel, pork knuckle (Schweinshaxe) and renowned dumplings (Knödel), as well as a variety of pastries – ranging from rye bread to legendary
pretzels. And the sweet part of this sto- ry doesn’t lag far behind: Black Forest ga- teau (Schwarzwälder Kirschtorte), plum cake, gingerbread from Nuremberg... All of which taste best with beer. German gastronomy is certainly distin- guished by its wealth of meat products – roasts, schnitzels, sausages, cured meat specialities – served with obligatory ac- companiments like sauerkraut, pota- toes (in all possible forms: boiled, fried, mashed, dumplings) and black bread. Un- like Mediterranean cuisines, spices don’t dominate the German palate, where they rely more on the strength of ingredients and on the meal being filling. Queens of the table: würste And now for the stars of the show – sau- sages or, as they’re called in German, würste. There are said to be more than 1,500 different types in Germany, which means the average tourist could try a new one every single day and not get bored for almost five years! However, to avoid getting lost in that forest of German sau- sages, we’ll stick to a few of the most fa- mous varieties.
90 | Nemačka » Germany
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