Culinaria Germany- the Ultimate Guide to German Cuisine

Culinaria Germany might be stored on my cookbook shelf, but it is not a standard Cookbook. This encyclopedia of German food and food history contains more than just recipes. The book covers each German state, and the foods each region specializes in ( and why). This is the type of book you can read cover to cover, or you can just open it anywhere in the book to read a few pages. As a reference, it’s invaluable. For food history lovers (me) it’s fascinating. And for those of you who just love good German food, it contains all those regional recipes that you thought you’d never find again.

Culinaria Germany: A Celebration of Food and Tradition

Culinaria Germany

How thorough is Culinaria Germany?

The book contains everything you EVER wanted to know about Potatoes… along with photos and descriptions of different varieties, different types of potato dishes, and recipes. (German cuisine does use a LOT of potatoes!) But you will also find an equally deep look at other food topics. Naturally, sausages, cabbages and bread, but also fish, eel, seasonal and root vegetables, fruits and mushrooms. All the important food stuffs that fill German stomachs. There are sections on meats, beef, pork and wild game. Naturally, the topic of Klöße (dumplings) is covered in detail. I read with great interest about wine growing in the Rhine and Mosel River Valleys. And of course, many pages are devoted to beer (liquid bread).

Interspersed are pages about food in German history. The Roman influences on the Germanic people’s diet, how people in Germany ate during the Middle Ages, how the fork/knife/spoon came into use, how Germans survived during the years between the Wars, and how the Berlin Airlift kept an entire city from starving. What foods did coal miners typically take into the mines with them… and how the Schultüte come to be.

But, my favorite parts are descriptions of foods made for specific German holidays. Traditional Roast Goose for Christmas Day. Fish, like carp or cod, is traditionally eaten on Christmas Eve, and if you’re interested in trying out some delicious varieties, you might want to try these three cod fish recipes. (My mom likes to tell a story about how a neighbor would let the cod fish swim in the bathtub for a few days before cooking it, to “clean it out”… naturally, this meant the family couldn’t use the bathtub…). Easter, Silvester, Fasching and Erntedankfest are all celebrated with FOOD, and the traditional recipes found between the covers of Culinaria Germany.

Then there are sweets; Cakes, cookies, candies, chocolate and marzipan. Every region has a specialty. The Hanseatic League cities bake with lots of imported spices … the farming regions bake with fruits. It all looks so good.

Culinaria Germany is a fabulous recipe book for anyone who is at all curious about German food or German History. Because it is divided into simple sections, you can just open up at any point and learn something new. There are a few editions, with small updates each time. For those who want to try out both languages, there is an English/German edition.