Guten Appetit! Part I

Bratwurst, beer, potatoes, and bread. What do all of these quintessential German foods have in common? Lots of carbs! While everything I eat isn't totally "German", all of it is delicious! I hope you enjoy my photos and descriptions of some of the wonderful food my host family has been feeding me.

This dinner is pretty typical of Germany. If cabbage is an option for Germans, no further discussion is needed. The amount of ways that cabbage can be served was unknown to me before I came to Germany. Boiled potato dumplings are also pretty common.  

Rinderrouladen mit Rotkohl und Knödel (a sort of meat roll with veggies inside, red cabbage, and potato dumpling with gravy).

Tortellini. Soooo good. I think this has been my favorite meal so far. 

AMAZING tortellini. 

Another pretty typical German meal. Schnitzel is breaded meat (can be anything from chicken to veal). Potatoes are always a given. My host family has a garden in their backyard so lots of our meals include something from it. This time, it was tomatoes.

Schnitzel, Kartoffeln, und Tomaten mit Käse (Schnitzel, Potatoes, and tomatoes with cheese).

Zwiebelkuchen is a great idea if you're having lots of people over. My host mom made two pans of this when we had company.

Zwiebelkuchen (onion cake).

Flammkuchen is a German food that I had never heard of before exchange. It's like a flatbread pizza but with sour cream on the bottom instead of marinara sauce. Common toppings are bacon pieces and onions.

This meal is about as stereotypically German as you can get. Although sauerkraut is often looked down on, I've learned that when prepared by the right person, I don't mind it. 

Döner kebab's are basically huge sandwiches. They were brought to Germany by Turkish guest workers in the 1900's. A typical döner kebab includes either seasoned shaved lamb or chicken meat, onions, lettuce, tomato, cucumber, and special sauces enveloped between a pita bread. I've come to realize that there is no easy and clean way to eat one. Half of it ends up falling out and my hands get sticky, but they're worth it.

French fries are a popular German "fast food." You're not allowed to eat them with your fingers. Instead, you use a little wooden fork that has two prongs. When you order curry wurst with french fries, the curry wurst goes on the bottom and the fries on top. 

Curry Wurst mit Pommes Frites und Mayo (Curry wurst with fries and mayo).

Pfannekuchen is like a crêpe. There are a wide variety of toppings acceptable to eat on Pfannekuchen. You can make it savory by adding meets and cheeses or make it sweet by adding maple syrup, nutella, chocolate sprinkles, powdered sugar, or a combination. It can also be rolled up or just cut into long flat strips. 

 Pfannekuchen.

Schnitzel is probably one of my favorite German foods. When combined with these yummy little egg noodles, it's even better.

To me, it's hilarious how other countries think that American portions are outrageous. Look at this. How could someone finish it?! The meat was the size of my head! 

Putenschnitzel mit Pommes (breaded turkey cutlet topped with melted cheese and hollandaise sauce and french fries).