A Guide to Traditional German Food • FamilySearch (2024)

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A Guide to Traditional German Food • FamilySearch? ›

The traditional German diet is hearty and heavy, with potatoes, meats, breads and beer as its focal point. While every region of the country puts its own spin on the classic dishes, a focus on potatoes, serving meat with fruits instead of vegetables and drinking locally crafted beers are hallmarks of this diet.

The traditional German diet is hearty and heavy, with potatoes, meats, breads and beer as its focal point. While every region of the country puts its own spin on the classic dishes, a focus on potatoes, serving meat with fruits instead of vegetables and drinking locally crafted beers are hallmarks of this diet.

This may have been true of the early Germanic tribes, who mostly ate barley, wheat, dairy products, various meats. However, over time, the German diet became more diverse and began to include more ingredients. These included things like grapes, which were used to make wine, and other fruits and vegetables.

But the Germans like to pull out the stops at breakfast (especially weekend breakfasts). Lots of different cheeses, meats, multiple jams and honey, boiled eggs, fruit and vegetables, smoked fish and of course, every kind of roll or hearty, seeded bread your heart could desire.

Sauerbraten (pronounced [ˈzaʊ̯ɐˌbʁaːtn̩]) is a traditional German roast of heavily marinated meat. It is regarded as a national dish of Germany, and is frequently served in German-style restaurants internationally.

In Germany, the most consumed meat is pork. Germans are known for their love of pork, and it is a staple in many traditional dishes. Some popular examples of pork dishes in Germany include schnitzel, which is a breaded and fried pork cutlet, and bratwurst, a type of sausage made from pork, veal, or beef.

Lunch is commonly the biggest meal of the day. Normally, a meal will include a type of meat served with vegetables or salad and noodles, rice, potatoes, or bread rolls. Some common home-cooked meals that Germans enjoy for lunch include Schnitzel or Wurst. These are served with a salad and bread or potatoes.

First of all, we'll take a look at Germany's three main meals in the day: breakfast, lunch and dinner.

At home, some families drink herb tea with a cold supper. Sometimes for dinner, people drink beer or a beer mixed with lemonade (Radler, Alsterwasser) to reduce the amount of alcohol. With special meals, we drink wine. For breakfast, most drink coffee, some drink tea.

The typical German version of a sandwich is called a „Butterbrot“ and is made of darker bread (no toast!), butter and cheese or any kind of sausage/Salami; sometimes people add cucumbers, sliced hardboiled eggs or even salad for beauty and taste.

What do Germans traditionally eat for lunch? ›

Lunch foods

The main meal of the day is das Mittagessen, or lunch. The tradition is to have a hot meal during lunch. Sauerbraten, snitzels, Frikadellen (German meatballs), potatoes (such as Kartoffelsalat), green beans, soups, and stews are frequently served for lunch.

Among the favorites in German cooking are potatoes, various types of cabbage, carrots, spinach, peas, asparagus, beans, tomatoes, cucumbers, and various types of salads. Onions are mainly served with meat dishes or as ingredients in many recipes. Sauerkraut is also a favorite throughout Germany.

Sauerbraten is regarded as one Germany's national dishes and there are several regional variations in Franconia, Thuringia, Rhineland, Saarland, Silesia and Swabia. This pot roast takes quite a while to prepare, but the results, often served as Sunday family dinner, are truly worth the work.

Darker, rye-dominated breads, such as Vollkornbrot or Schwarzbrot, are typical of German cuisine. Pumpernickel, a steamed, sweet-tasting bread, is internationally well known, although not representative of German black bread as a whole. Most German breads are made with sourdough.

But in Germany, the traditional dinner time is much earlier: you'll find many German households having their evening meal between 5 and 7 pm.

But in Germany, the traditional dinner time is much earlier: you'll find many German households having their evening meal between 5 and 7 pm.

The heraldic animal of the Federal Republic of Germany is the eagle. As a symbol of the sun, the life-force and the highest deity, the eagle was already revered in the highly developed civilizations of the Orient and in antiquity by the Greeks and the Germanic tribes.

Currywurst (German: [ˈkœʁiˌvʊɐ̯st]) is a fast food dish of German origin consisting of steamed, fried sausage, usually pork (German: Bratwurst), typically cut into bite-sized chunks and seasoned with curry ketchup, a sauce based on spiced ketchup or tomato paste topped with curry powder, or a ready-made ketchup ...