A month of German food

Kicking this off close to home

I’m half German. Though I’ve never been to Germany, I don’t speak German, and I wouldn’t say I feel a deep connection to the culture, I do have fond memories growing up eating my grandma’s pot roast at New Years, helping my mom make homemade spaetzle, and nibbling on the occasional bratwurst with sauerkraut.

My grandfather in Germany

When my parents got married my grandma was quick to teach my mom how to make all the German dishes my dad loved. Spaetzle was by far the family favorite, and even to this day, though my parents have separated, we continue to make it for holidays and special occasions. Even in college, when I’d come home for breaks, my mom would make sure we had spaetzle on the table for dinner. Top it off with some gravy and it is perfection.

It only made sense to start this year here. By sticking close to home for this first month, I’ll have some authentic recipes to test out, I’ll learn more about where my ancestors came from, and in-turn learn more about myself.

What do you think of when you think of German food?

When most people think of German food, they probably think of meat and potatoes, bratwurst, sauerkraut, and not much else, but I’d like to know what German people eat day to day. In the US, we don’t eat burgers and pizza and french fries everyday (well, most of us…maybe). Surely, no one can survive on sausages and potatoes alone (though I’m sure some do). What vegetables do they eat? How often do they eat sauerkraut? What’s a typical breakfast? Lunch?

I did not outline this in the rules, but each month, I’m going to try to cook what the average person eats day to day in whatever region I choose. This doesn’t mean I won’t make a country’s national dish or I won’t make the stereotypical meals, but hopefully by the end of month I’ll build a collection of recipes that will break those stereotypes, recipes you’ve likely never heard of, recipes that may make you rethink what you know about that region.

That’s the goal. Stay tuned for another post tomorrow on the ingredients you’ll need to jump start a German kitchen.