German Cookbooks

[gfron1]

I've been perusing the Cookbooks & References topics from years past and didn't see anything on German Cooking. What are your favorites?

BTW, any mention of German food leads me into my story of being 18 and in Bavaria for the first time. I refused to translate menus since I eat anything, and after 10 days of eating way too much meat, when I sat at a certain restaurant and saw "Wurst Salat" I was overjoyed at the chance to get a salad with a bit of meat on top. What came to my table 30 minutes later was a massive bowl of shredded bologna marinated in some dressing. No ruffage at all - none! Mmmmm...I ate 3 bites and was done.

Now back to the books!

[tim]

Rob,

This is really a tough question since there has never been a cookbook that really "taught" the art of German cooking.

Mimi Sheraton's book "The German Cookbook" is filled with good recipes. Nevertheless, there is no information about history, techniques, ingredients, recipe development or changes to the cuisine.

German cuisine deserves better! Where is the German Julia Child?

Tim

[Kent D]

My very German grandparents bought me "The New German Cookbook" by Jean Anderson (available pretty much anywhere). I need to dig it out and find something interesting for Oktoberfest -- I've grown tired of the same brats & saurkraut meal. Sometimes I'm a disgrace to my good peasant ancestry.

[ludja]

In addition to those already mentioned, I'll add two other favorites for German cooking:

"The Cuisines of Germany" by Horst Scharfenberg (very nice selection of recipes for all the regions in Germany; nice background on the dishes and ingredients as well)

"Culinaria Germany" from the wonderful Culinaria series. The photos and detailed background on ingredients, wines, beers, other beverages, dairy products, breads, sausages, breads etc are very extensive and help put the whole cuisine in context. There are lots of recipes as well. Good description of the wines, ingredients and dishes of the various regions as well. This is probably the best book I've seen that really describes all aspects of the cuisine.

I have lots of Austrian cookbooks as well but that is really a different cuisine although there is some overlap.

edited to add: Here is a thread dedicated to books on German baking and pastries: click

Edited September 14, 2007 by ludja (log)

[Honkman]

As a German I can only say that I haven't seen a reasonable good German cookbook here in the US. If you want to read good German recepies I recommend buying a German cookbook written in German. It is not that difficult to understand German recipes especially if you use one of the German online dictionaries (e.g. www.leo.org is one of the best). A good German cookbook would be then "Die echte deutsche Kueche" http://www.amazon.com/echte-deutsche-K%C3%...9972505&sr=11-1 (I always have problems to get the links correct in eG). It covers a lot of recipes from the different regions in Germany and is pretty authentic. In addition the publisher Graeve & Unzer puts a lot of thoughts in their cookbook and has also very good pictures for each dish (something I really miss with American cookbook which often look very cheap).

Edited September 16, 2007 by Honkman (log)

[budrichard]

I'll second "The Cuisines of Germany" by Horst Scharfenberg ". I have been using this book for almost 20 years. Today, roast suckling pig, German potato salad and red cabbage are being cooked with the book as a guide.

My college German is not very good anymore so a book in German is out. -Dick

[doughgirl]

I like Dr. Oetker German Baking Today, Dr. Oetker German Cooking Today and The Best of My Grandmother's German Cookery.

I bought them all from germandeli.com. They have a whole series of the Dr. Oetker baking cookbooks as well, that I hope to get some day. I think there is 10 volumes in all.

[ChefJohnny]

Im not sure what level of cuisine you are looking for, but for the high end stuff check out books by Juan Amador and Deiter Muller. Amador's restaurant is in Frankfurt and is amazing! I spent 4 months in Germany working in various Michelin restaurants and ended my time with Amador. Just incredible.

-Chef Johnny

[Terrasanct]

That's interesting--I just sold German Cooking Today on Amazon and wonder if one of you bought it.

Are German recipes a lot different from the German-American ones that immigrants brought with them?

[adey73]

Chef Johnny,

Did you pick up any bilingual high-end German cookbooks, if so which?

The ones you mention are German only, is it pretty easy to work out what's going on in the recipes?

The only one I have found is by Bernd Siefert his Sweet Gold.

Thanks in advance.

[gfron1]

I hadn't thanked everyone yet - so thanks! Coming from a very German family (Okenfuss) its funny that the only German food my family prepares is liver dumplings - blech! And we get them every single family get together.

[weinoo]

I have a pretty good book called German Traditional Cooking, by Tony Schmaeling, published in 1984. Not a lot of history, but a good book none the less.

The seminal Time-Life Food of the World series has one (actually two, if you include the recipe book) as well - The Cooking of Germany, which will undoubtedly have lots history, techniques, stories, etc.

[johung]

Hi all,

I'm trying to locate some good and comprehensive German cookbooks in English. I looked up at amazon.com and it appears a lot are rather old and seems to omit dishes from the former East Germany (GDR). I have Konemann's Culinaria Germany but obviously it can't attempt to cover everything.

Does anyone have good suggestions in addition to Mimi Sheraton's The German Cookbook or Nadia Hassini's Spoonfuls of Germany? It needs not be confined to homestyle cooking only, any good book covering dishes that are more restaurant, or bakery/cafe type would be welcome.

Thanks,

[Nayan Gowda]

I can't help, but I will follow this thread with interest because I'd love to know too.

Had a lot of great food when I worked out there a couple of years ago; turned my (prejudiced) view of German food completely on its head. I still dream about Saumagen mit Castagnien from the Pfalz.

[Honkman]

Most likely not the answer you are looking for but even if you don't speak German it is not that hard to translate recipes (which are normally quite short )with the help from online dictonaries (e.g. leo.org). Based on this I would recommend to buy a German cookbook written in German. One of the best to cover all regions of Germany might be "Die echte deutsche Kueche" (The real German Cuisine) which is a quite popular book in German.

http://www.amazon.de/echte-deutsche-K%C3%BCche-Sabine-S%C3%A4lzer/dp/3774215383

If you have problems to get the book in the US I recommend ordering it through amazon.de which I do on a regular basis (see link). Shipping is not that expensive if you take the slowest one.

Edited March 13, 2010 by Honkman (log)

[barolo]

Reviving this old topic to note there’s a new German cookbook out now (in the UK and Canada) Strudel, Noodles and Dumplings, Anja Dunk

[kayb]

I picked this one up on sale on Kindle a few weeks back, and note it's stll 2.99. Das German Cookbook: Schnitzel, Bratwurst, Strudel and other German Classics. Looks pretty good, certainly worth $2.99.

 

[TdeV]

I recommend THE SWISS COOKBOOK by Betty Bossi, also printed in German as SCHWIIZER CHUCHI. The page numbers and photos match. It is an updated version of old Swiss recipes by canton in 4 regions. The index is truly appalling. According to Wikipedia, Betty Bossi is a fictional creation by a margarine manufacturer but I have found their recipes quite interesting. 

 

My Swiss friend subscribes to two bimonthly Swiss cooking magazines: one from Betty Bossi and the better one called KOCHEN by Annemarie Wildeisen. I've been reading these recipes (in German) for years. I don't speak German, but I can identify an onion, garlic, etc. As a matter of fact, I rarely am able to have the directions translated, relying instead on the ingredient list and the photos. Once my friend and I both cooked the same recipe and they were totally different dishes! Though, other than baking, I rarely follow recipes exactly.

 

One interesting recipe from KOCHEN is called Cholera Pie which, if I remember correctly, dates from the time people were forbidden from leaving their valley for fear of catching the disease. So, over the winter, supplies got meagre. Inside top and bottom pastry, the pie is made of cooked potatoes, onions, leeks, sour apple, and cheese. Yum!

Edited October 10, 2018 by TdeV
clarity (log)

[JoNorvelleWalker]

1 hour ago, TdeV said:

I recommend THE SWISS COOKBOOK by Betty Bossi, also printed in German as SCHWIIZER CHUCHI. The page numbers match. It is an updated version of old Swiss recipes by canton in 4 regions. The index is truly appalling. According to Wikipedia, Betty Bossi is a fictional creation by a margarine manufacturer but I have found their recipes quite interesting. 

 

My Swiss friend subscribes to two bimonthly Swiss cooking magazines: one from Betty Bossi and the better one called KOCHEN by Annemarie Wildeisen. I've been reading these recipes (in German) for years. I don't speak German, but I can identify an onion, garlic, etc. As a matter of fact, I rarely am able to have the directions translated, relying instead on the ingredient list and the photos. Once my friend and I both cooked the same recipe and they were totally different dishes! Though, other than baking, I rarely follow recipes exactly.

 

One interesting recipe from KOCHEN is called Cholera Pie which, if I remember correctly, dates from the time people were forbidden from leaving their valley for fear of catching the disease. Inside top and bottom pastry, the pie is made of cooked potatoes, onions, leeks, sour apple, and cheese. Yum!

 

 

Is your Betty any relation to Betty Crocker in the US?  Though Betty Crocker was the brainchild of a flour company.  When I read Cholera Pie I envisioned double chocolate cornstarch pudding for the filling.

 

Never mind...Wikipedia assures me that she is.

[gfweb]

Cholera pie? 

Makes Frito pie sound appetizing. 

[Duvel]

1 hour ago, gfweb said:

Cholera pie? 

Makes Frito pie sound appetizing. 

 

If you like this, you will love the "Mettigel" (raw pork hedgehog) ...

 

 

[JoNorvelleWalker]

44 minutes ago, Duvel said:

 

If you like this, you will love the "Mettigel" (raw pork hedgehog) ...

 

 

 

I particularly liked this one...

 

https://neversocial.wordpress.com/2012/02/24/ritter-sport-the-other-collection/neversocial-ritter-sport-mettigel/

 

[Duvel]

10 minutes ago, JoNorvelleWalker said:

 

I particularly liked this one...

 

https://neversocial.wordpress.com/2012/02/24/ritter-sport-the-other-collection/neversocial-ritter-sport-mettigel/

 

 

It goes in the right direction. However, for me - as a proud son of Lower Saxony - making Mett with "halb & halb" (half pork, half beef) is an abomination. Mett must be made from fatty pork & heavily spiced and so fresh, that you still can hear the pig squealing ...