Synopses & Reviews
Thanks to Oktoberfest and the popularity of beer gardens, our thoughts on German food are usually relegated to beer, sausage, pretzels, and limburger cheese. But the inhabitants of modern-day Germany do not live exclusively on bratwurst. Defying popular perception of the meat and potatoes diet, Ursula Heinzelmannand#8217;sand#160;
Beyond Bratwurstand#160;delves into the history of German cuisine and reveals the countryand#8217;s long history of culinary innovation.
and#160;
Surveying the many traditions that make up German food today, Heinzelmann shows that regional variations of the countryand#8217;s food have not only been marked by geographic and climatic differences between north and south, but also by Germanyand#8217;s political, cultural, and socioeconomic history. She explores the nineteenth centuryand#8217;s back-to-the-land movement, which called for people to grow food on their own land for themselves and others, as well as the development of modern mass-market products, rationing and shortages under the Nazis, postwar hunger, and divisions between the East and West. Throughout, she illustrates how Germans have been receptive to influences from the countries around them and frequently reinvented their cuisine, developing a food culture with remarkable flexibility.
and#160;
Telling the story of beer, stollen, rye bread, lebkuchen, and other German favorites, the recipe-packedand#160;Beyond Bratwurstand#160;will find a place on the shelves of food historians, chefs, and spand#228;tzle lovers alike.
Review
andldquo;There is more to German food than sausage, as Heinzelmann explains in her splendid history.andrdquo;and#160;
Synopsis
Offering traditional recipes and stories about the heritage of Berlin food, the cookbook reveals easy-to-follow recipes for schnitzel, currywurst, eisbein, döner kebap, and those jelly donuts known as Berliners. How eisbein got its name, why Friedrich II made Prussian farmers plant potatoes, how meatballs were imported by Huguenots, and how Bismarck got his herring are also inside. This guide proves that Berlin cuisine is simple, wholesome, and down-to-earth.
Synopsis
The Berlin Cookbook reveals how to make Schnitzel, Currywurst, Eisbein, Doner Kebab, and those jelly donuts known as Berliners-and how easy it is, since Berlin cuisine is simple, wholesome, and down-to-earth. This cookbook offers traditional recipes and also tells stories about the heritage and history of Berlin food: how Eisbein got its name, why King Friedrich II made Prussian farmers plant potatoes, how meatballs were imported by French Huguenots, where to find Sauerkraut in Berlin, and how Otto von Bismarck got himself a herring. It is the first English-language Berlin cookbook available, published by Berlinica, the only Berlin-themed publishing house in America.
Synopsis
Beyond Bratwurst traces the many traditions that have combined to form German food today. From the earliest beginnings, food and cooking in Germany have been marked by geographic and climatic differences between north and south, as well as continuous cultural influences from bordering countries. The book shows that the openness and receptiveness Germans have shown towards these influences have resulted in the frequent reinvention of their cuisine, and a food culture with a remarkable flexibility. The regional variations of today are based as much on political, cultural and socioeconomic history as on geography: the story of German food includes the back-to-the-land movement of the late 19th century and the development of modern mass-market products by Justus Liebig and Dr Oetker, as well as rationing and shortages under the Nazis, post-war hunger and divisions between East and West.
Beyond Bratwurst describes who eats what, how, where and when in Germany, telling the stories of many German specialities such as beer, Stollen, rye bread and Lebkuchen, as well as more surprising German favourites. Written in an accessible style, the book will appeal to a wide readership, from food historians, chefs and other professionals to those interested in German history and cuisine.
About the Author
Rose Marie Donhauser is an experienced cook, cookbook author, travel journalist, food critic, and a member of the jury of Berlin’s master chefs, which honors the city’s best restaurants. She lives in Berlin.
Table of Contents
Introduction: German Food: A Complex Dish
1. From Gruel to Sourdough Bread: The Neolithic, Bronze and Iron Ages
2. Fresh Meat and Lac Concretum: The Roman Age, 1st Century BC to 5th Century AD
3. Christianity, Social Stratification and Medicine: The Early Middle Ages, 5th to 11th Century
4. Luxurious Feasts and Terrible Famine: The High Middle Ages, 11th to 14th Century
5. Butterbrot and Saffron: The Late Middle Ages: 14th to 15th Centuries
6. German Food Writing: The Early Modern Period, 1500 to 1648
7. Coffee, Sugar and Potatoes, 1648 to 1815
8. Potatoes without Salt and Soup Kitchens: Pauperism, 1815 to 1871
9. Stock Cubes and Baking Powder: The Industrialization of Food, 1871 to 1914
10. Hope and Hunger, Volkornbrot and Swedes, 1914 to 1949
11. Kasslerrollen and Toast Hawaii: Post-Wart Indulgence, East and West, 1949 to 1990
12. Spaghetti and Rouladen: Regionality in a Globalized World, Reunited Germany since 1990
References
Select Bibliography
Acknowledgements
Photo Acknowledgements
Index