Tips for Traditional German Cuisine in Speyer

Germany is a country with a rich and diverse culinary heritage, and that's certainly not just evident in Speyer am Rhein. Every hearty home-style dish has its own flavour and its own story. Across the country's regional borders, this diversity is reflected—and enjoyed—in the most delicious of ways.

Hearty German home cooking has a reputation abroad for being very meat-heavy and filling, and the cuisine of Rhineland-Palatinate is no exception. In this blog article, we'll take a closer look at some of the most popular regional dishes from Northern, Eastern, Western and Southern Germany. Together, we'll find out what makes these dishes—like those served in Speyer at the Weinstube Rabennest, for example—so special and so well-loved. So, let's get started!

Hearty home-style cooking from the North

Fish and seafood such as herring, flounder, prawns, mussels, mackerel, plaice, pike-perch and cod are, unsurprisingly, an integral part of Northern German food culture. This has given rise to particular specialities such as Finkenwerder Scholle, Kieler Sprotten, smoked eel and the herring salad that's been popular for decades. For Finkenwerder Scholle, plaice fillets are fried in a pan and served with boiled or parsley potatoes.

In Germany's coastal region, Kieler Sprotten (Kiel sprats) are a popular finger food. These small fish taste best smoked, though they're also often enjoyed with fresh tomatoes and plenty of chives in scrambled eggs.

Other hearty dishes deserve a mention here too. Northern Germans love their soups and stews, such as Schnüüsch, eel soup, savoy cabbage stew and swede stew, just as much as they love their seafood specialities.

Schnüüsch is a fairly simple vegetable soup cooked in milk, traditionally enjoyed in summer. For eel soup, a fragrant, subtly smoky broth is made from a ham bone and plenty of soup vegetables, though Northern Germans themselves aren't always sure whether eel fillets belong in it or not. Northern German home cooking has plenty more to offer too, such as Labskaus. Labskaus is a mash made from corned beef, beetroot and potatoes, with pickled gherkins, rollmops and fried eggs as classic accompaniments.

A wonderful traditional winter dish, Labskaus pairs beautifully with Pinkel sausage and kale, which is popular everywhere. It's especially delicious with fried bacon, sausages and boiled potatoes. In Northern German cuisine, elderberry soup belongs among the sweet dishes, alongside Friesian cake and Franzbrötchen pastries.

Hearty dishes from the East

Königsberger Klopse are perhaps the most popular dish in Eastern German cuisine. These meatball-like dumplings are typically served with green beans and potatoes in a creamy caper sauce. Harzer cheese salad also deserves a place on our list. This East German dish is—as the name suggests—made with apples, onions and Harzer cheese.

We're all familiar with Jägerschnitzel, in which pork chops are served with a sauce of mushrooms and onions.

Of course, the grilled specialities Rostbrätel and Rostbratwurst, as well as the well-known mustard eggs, are also part of Eastern Germany's hearty cuisine. Thuringian Rostbrätel is a slice of pork neck marinated in mustard and onions, then grilled over charcoal together with onions.

Another hearty classic is “Tote Oma” (literally “dead grandma”), which gets its name from the black pudding mash that forms the main component of this traditional dish. Traditional boiled potatoes and tasty sauerkraut are well-known accompaniments. East German home cooking has sweet treats to offer too, such as Quarkkäulchen. These are made from low-fat quark, flour, eggs and potatoes, fried in a pan and served with apple sauce. Baumkuchen is a layered cake, usually coated in chocolate, and is a sweet treat from Eastern German cuisine.

Germany's South - its hearty home cooking

Traditional German cuisine in the south of the country is a little lighter than in other regions. Aside from Black Forest gateau, the most famous speciality is probably Black Forest ham. The gateau consists primarily of chocolate sponge on a shortcrust base, layered with cream and morello cherries, and beautifully decorated with candied cherries. That said, there are still plenty of hearty dishes in southern cuisine, such as Franconian lentil soup with frankfurters or Mettwurst, Swabian Maultaschen, or Bavarian pork knuckle.

Also not to be forgotten: Spätzle, Schupfnudeln—made from rye or wheat flour or boiled potatoes—pretzel-style baked goods, and potato salad in various forms. Sauerkraut plays an important role in southern German home cooking too—cabbage leaves fermented in brine make an excellent accompaniment to both hearty and milder dishes. One thing you simply must try is Bavarian crackling roast with dark beer sauce and bread dumplings.

Hearty dishes from the West

Palatinate Saumagen and Rhenish Sauerbraten are just two of the many well-known traditional dishes from Western Germany's hearty cuisine. You may have already heard of “Himmel und Erde”, sometimes also called “Himmel und Ääd” (“Heaven and Earth”). The name comes from the fact that potatoes grow in the earth, while apples grow up towards the sky.

For us, this hearty dish is definitely one of the culinary secrets of Western Germany. It consists of rich apple sauce with roughly mashed potatoes and slices of spiced black pudding or liver sausage. It used to be considered a poor man's dish, but today it's a classic that's especially popular in Rhineland brewhouses.

Potatoes and onions are generally popular in Western German cuisine, with potatoes appearing in all sorts of forms—you'll find them on many menus as spiced fried potatoes, traditional potato dumplings or simple boiled potatoes.

Onions are frequently used in marinades and seasoning too. Reibekuchen (potato pancakes) are a potato-heavy dish from Western Germany's hearty cuisine. A batter is made from nutmeg, grated potatoes, flour, egg and salt, then fried into small patties in hot fat in a pan. They're enjoyed by young and old alike with apple sauce, apple butter or jam.

Palatinate Dampfnudeln also deserve a mention here—they're eaten either sweet, with wine cream sauce, or savoury, alongside potato soup. Aachener Printen also need to be mentioned at this point. These appetising baked goods resemble gingerbread in both taste and appearance. Only a special Printen rolling pin can roll out this dough.

Only Printen produced in Aachen or certain surrounding areas may be called “Aachener Printen”. The term is protected by the EU. Another sweet speciality from the West is “Bergische Waffeln”. These waffles are made from a yeast dough and baked in an oven using special moulds.

The waffles are often served with fruit or ice cream and have a very distinctive flavour.

Hearty home-style cooking in Speyer - vote now!

Now you've seen just how different German cuisine can be from region to region, even within a single federal state like Rhineland-Palatinate in south-west Germany. So if you find yourself in one of these regions, it's definitely worth seeking out a local inn serving hearty, home-style cooking nearby—like the Restaurant & Biergarten Alter Hammer in Speyer, for example.