German Cuisine for Wiesbaden (Part 1)

From an international perspective, German dishes are usually seen as very hearty and meat-heavy. What is evidently typical of us is above all sauerkraut – at any rate, Germans are called the "Krauts" in Anglo-American-speaking regions.

What Is German Cuisine Known For?

One of the first questions when guests from other countries come to Wiesbaden on the Rhine is about the most common German dishes. It is taken for granted that you can reel off at least a few specialities, beyond German cooking in Wiesbaden and beyond the borders of your home state of Hesse, in south-western Germany or, better still, across the whole country.

Beyond sauerkraut, Germany is loved for its many kinds of sausage and bread. Thuringian grilled bratwurst, marzipan from Lübeck, Dresden stollen, German wines and Bavarian pretzels are further export hits.

Germany is certainly one of the countries with a wonderfully rich culinary diversity. German cuisine has plenty to offer for every taste – from east to west, from south to north. Regional specialities stand for this remarkable variety in German cooking, from fish and meat through vegetables and fruit to the many different kinds of bread.

We are setting off on a little tour of the homeland, and in the two parts of this blog post we introduce the specialities characteristic of each region:

Bavaria – Hearty German Cuisine

The Bavarians are known for their robust cooking, with stews such as Pichelsteiner and plenty of meat such as Weißwurst, a white veal sausage, or Schweinshaxe, roast pork knuckle. Bavarian main meals rarely come without meat. So alongside Weißwurst and knuckle, they just as happily appear as crackling roast pork, roast pork or Leberkäse, a baked meat loaf. Noodles, bread dumplings, potato salad or sauerkraut are typical side dishes.

And of course the Bavarians have the Brotzeit, a traditional cold platter that can easily replace a main course. It consists of sausage, cheese, meat, pretzels and bread ... and then there is Obatzda too, a rich Bavarian cheese speciality.

In Bavaria you can go sweet just as well as hearty. Germknödel actually come from Austria, but these hemispherical yeast dough dumplings filled with plum purée are loved here too. Another treat is Prinzregententorte, a cake widely found mainly in Bavaria, made of several layers of thin sponge and chocolate buttercream.

Lower Saxony – Varied German Cuisine

Lower Saxony is a large state, so there are correspondingly many regional differences. In almost every restaurant, though, you will come across Sauerfleisch, a dish of pickled meat, which usually comes with fried potatoes. Heidschnucken meat is especially common in the Lüneburg Heath. This sheep meat is made into a number of products here, such as roasts, goulash or sausages.

Lower Saxony is also known as a stronghold of kale. Depending on the region, it is accompanied by Bregenwurst and Pinkel, two kinds of sausage. Fish is also on offer, since Lower Saxony borders the sea in the north-west – so butt, herring, mackerel or plaice are often eaten here. Smoked eel is above all found inland.

On the sweet side come sweet yeast dough figures, buckwheat cakes, Heidesand biscuits and Eichsfeld Christmas stollen. On the menu, potatoes and asparagus are the preferred side dishes here in Lower Saxony.

North Rhine-Westphalia – Meat-Heavy German Cuisine

One region of Germany where you meet plenty of beef and pork is North Rhine-Westphalia. While the people of the Rhineland prefer Sauerbraten, a marinated pot roast, the Westphalians like ham – a passion for meat unites both. A leading figure from the Rhineland is Rhenish Sauerbraten: the beef is marinated for several days, then seared and cooked.

Westphalia is known for its many different kinds of sausage, for example Westphalian pork Mettwurst or Westphalian ham sausages. In the Ruhr area you also often see pancakes, and potato fritters, known as Reibekuchen, are also very widespread in North Rhine-Westphalia. They are often served with apple sauce and stewed apple.

A true Westphalian speciality is the so-called Pumpernickel, a dark, very hearty rye bread. Aachener Printen are a delicacy from the city of Aachen and are reminiscent of gingerbread. They come in many different varieties, for example with chocolate or in a softer version.

Muzen are an extremely popular dessert, available as small balls of quark dough or as slices of dough.

The Noodle Specialists of German Cuisine: Baden-Württemberg

The people of Baden-Württemberg love to enjoy their Maultaschen, filled pasta parcels. Maultaschen were once born among the monks of Maulbronn Abbey, as a way of eating meat during Lent. They can be boiled in broth, fried or baked and usually come to the plate with potatoes and bread.

In Swabia or Baden, though, the culinary corner of course does not consist of Maultaschen alone. The emphasis is rather on good, hearty, simple food.

Baden cooking is influenced by the French, as the Badisches Schnecken-Süpple, a snail soup, suggests. A Badisches Dreierlei is made of Brägele, Bibbeliskäs and sausage salad. And of course the popular Black Forest gateau cannot be missing here, a large chocolate cake with kirsch, whipped cream and cherries.

The Zwiebelrostbraten, roast beef with crispy onions, on the other hand, is an extremely popular dish in Swabia. Spätzle, egg noodles, are also among the specialities of Swabia.

Another Swabian delicacy is Käsespätzle. These are egg-batter noodles, refined by adding onions and cheese.

Käsespätzle are often served with sauce or as a side to fish or meat dishes.

A popular dessert in Swabia is Kaiserschmarrn, a pancake cut into small pieces, which comes out of the kitchen with plum compote or apple sauce.

Rhineland-Palatinate – German Cuisine with Zing

A German saying goes: "What sounds funny tastes excellent!" Anyone who dares to try the cooking of the Rhineland-Palatinate can see for themselves.

Above all, of course, there is Saumagen, a dish prepared with sauerkraut, sausage and potatoes in a pig's stomach. It became especially well known through the former chancellor from the Palatinate, Helmut Kohl.

Dampfnudeln, steamed yeast dumplings, are also among the most popular Palatinate classics, made from a dough of sugar or vanilla sugar, flour with dried yeast, milk and butter. They are optionally served with vanilla sauce or wine sauce.

A classic autumn dish is Zwiebelkuchen, an onion tart, traditionally eaten during the grape harvest. The new, not yet fully fermented wine known as "Federweißer" goes down superbly with it.

In the northern Rhineland-Palatinate, such as the Westerwald, specialities like Döppekooche are well known. These are flat cakes made from potatoes or pancake strips, dipped in fat. The classic consists of a mixture of grated potatoes, eggs, spices, bacon, cured meat and finely chopped onions.

Spundekäs and Handkäs, two cheese specialities, are also among the Rhineland-Palatinate specialities. They go perfectly with good wines and are accordingly on the menu in wine taverns and seasonal farm taverns, above all in Rheinhessen.

The fine wines to go with the specialities of the Rhineland-Palatinate come, as you would hope, from the wine-growing regions of Rheinhessen, Ahr, Niederrhein, Palatinate or the Moselle – this state can really draw on plenty.

...and Much More from German Cooking

Of course, every federal state and every region has a few more dishes to describe. You could certainly tell more about the local cooking yourself, whether for Wiesbaden or, more broadly, the region of southern Hesse. And of course it is not only the solid delicacies but also their liquid companions, many of which are characteristic of Germany.

In the second chapter on typically German dishes, we then look at Schleswig-Holstein, Thuringia, the Saarland and Hesse for the people of Wiesbaden.