Main

Aalsuppe

Sweet and sour soup with plums, apples, vegetables, may also contain eel, as aalsuppe sounds like eel soup

Main

Birnen, bohnen und speck

Birnen, bohnen und speck ("pears, beans and bacon") is a north german dish which is especially popular in the states of schleswig-holstein, lower saxony, mecklenburg-vorpommern and hamburg. it also goes under the names of bohnen, birnen und speck and, locally, the low german names of grööner hein and grönen heini (lit: "green harry"). the ingredients required mean that the dish is mainly eaten in the months of august and september. the dish is a type of stew, in which—as the name indicates—the main ingredients are pears, beans and speck (a kind of bacon). in north german country kitchens, potatoes would also be added, even though they are not specifically mentioned.

Dessert, Sweet

Braune kuchen

Molasses and gingerbread cookies, common during christmas

Dessert, Sweet

Buchweizentorte

Buckwheat gateau or buckwheat torte (german: buchweizentorte) is a dessert that is a speciality of the lüneburg heath region of lower saxony in northern germany.the gateau consists of layers of cake made from buckwheat flour and heather honey, separated by a fruit layer using yoghurt and cranberries and topped by whipped cream and chocolate shavings.

Dessert, Sweet

Butterkuchen

Butterkuchen or zuckerkuchen is a simple german butter cake baked on a tray. flakes of butter are distributed on the dough which, after baking, form the characteristic holes. the whole cake is sprinkled with sugar or streusel. after further kneading the butterkuchen is baked. as a variation the dough can be sprinkled with roasted almond flakes. butterkuchen is a favourite element of westphalian and north german coffee tables. it is also served at wedding and funerals and, as a result, is sometimes called freud-und-leid-kuchen ("joy and sorrow cake") or beerdigungskuchen ("funeral cake"). a regional variation is to sprinkle the butterkuchen with a sugar-cinnamon mixture rather than with sugar alone. this is very similar to moravian sugar cake. in germany in the trade, at least 30 parts butter, clarified butter or butterfat must be used to 100 parts of flour.

Main

Buttermilchsuppe

Buttermilk soup with dumplings, potatoes, bacon, green beans, vegetables, chervil

Main

Fischbrötchen

A fischbrötchen (listen ) (pl. "fischbrötchen", lit. fish bun) is a sandwich made with fish and other components such as fresh white or dried onions, pickles, remoulade, creamy horseradish sauce, ketchup, or cocktail sauce. it is commonly eaten in northern germany, due to the region's proximity to the north sea and baltic sea. a common preparation is made with bismarck herring or soused herring. other varieties use brathering, rollmops, european sprat, salmon, smoked atlantic mackerel, fried atlantic cod, and other fish varieties (e.g., fish burgers). prawns are sometimes used, as are various other species of food fish. fischbrötchen are commonly served at fast food stands or take-out restaurants. the hanover fair was initially colloquially known as the "fischbrötchen fair" due to the fish buns served there as a snack.

Main

Fliederbeersuppe

Elderberry soup, often made with semolina dumplings

Dessert, Sweet

Franzbrötchen

A franzbrötchen (german pronunciation: [ˈfʁantsˌbʁøːtçɛn]) is a small, sweet pastry baked with butter and cinnamon, similar to a cinnamon roll. sometimes other ingredients are used as well, such as chocolate or raisins. it is a type of pastry commonly found in northern germany, especially hamburg, and it is usually served for breakfast, but is also enjoyed along with coffee and cake. as its name indicates, the franzbrötchen was probably inspired by french pastries. originally, it could be found only in the region of hamburg, but now franzbrötchen are also sold in bremen, berlin, and other german cities.

Dessert, Sweet

Großer hans

Bread pudding with fruit such as cherries, plums, raisins, apples, berries, commonly cooked in a round cake mold

Main

Grünkohlessen

Grünkohlessen (danish: grønlangkål, dutch: boerenkool) is an old wintertime custom in north germany, and parts of scandinavia (denmark and scania), involving drinking, games, and a feast of regional dishes, typically featuring kale, potatoes, and sausages. it is practised in the free hanseatic city of bremen and its surrounding districts of osterholz, diepholz, verden and rotenburg, in oldenburg land, the county of bentheim, emsland, osnabrück land and east frisia, in the middle weser region, and also in hamburg, cuxhaven, in the hanover region, brunswick land, in the magdeburg region, in westphalia and schleswig-holstein. grünkohl (similar to braunkohl and the dutch boerenkool but with curly cale instead of cabbage, and creamed) is curly-leafed kale, a type of cabbage, traditionally harvested after the first autumn frost. the late harvest of kale ensures that its bitter-tasting constituents have disappeared, although modern kale varieties are generally low on bitter components and are harvested as early as in september. the participants in a kohlfahrt ("cabbage walk") arrange a walk through the countryside to a village pub, usually in mid-winter. often this walk is linked with cross-country games such as boßeln. as fortification against the frosty weather and in preparation for the hearty meal, an ample supply of alcoholic beverages, such as korn, or, for sailors, sherry, is taken in a shopping trolley or handcart, and is handed out as part of the games or at points along the walk (e.g. at crossroads or pylons). at the village pub the merry walkers are served with grünkohl and, depending on the region, with sweet baked potatoes or boiled potatoes and kassler, bregenwurst, pinkel or kohlwurst. in addition there is also a lot to drink: (beer and/or korn) allegedly to aid the digestion. in many areas there is also music and dancing after the meal. the grünkohlessen reaches its climax in the proclamation of the kohlkönig ("cabbage king") or the kohlkönigspaar ("royal cabbage couple"). various methods are used to award the royal title. either the number of portions consumed is added up, the weight of the participants before and after the meal is measured or the results of the games during the walk are used. the kohlkönig is singled out as the last to leave the table. this excludes visits to the toilet and dancing breaks. as a visible sign of royalty, chains with the history of the kohlkönigs of this group or a pig's jawbone with an appropriate inscription are worn. the king or royal couple have the responsibility of organising the following year's grünkohlessen. because many firms, street communities and clubs organise grünkohlessen in the winter months, at popular times (saturdays in january and february) village inns are often fully booked several weeks in advance. one of the biggest grünkohlessen events has taken place since 2007 in hamburg. in the fish auction hall near the st pauli landungsbrücken several regional companies together with the food and drink industry organise a joint event, the grünkohl-schlemmerfest, in which more than 1500 paying guests take part. the defftig ollnborger gröönkohl-äten ("hearty oldenburg kale feast") in berlin, by contrast, is an event run by the political rural conservation group from oldenburg land in the capital city.

Drink

Heidegeist

Heidegeist (also: guter heidegeist) is a herbal liqueur that is sold especially in the area of the lüneburg heath in northern germany. the name means "heath spirit" or "heath ghost". heidegeist contains a total of 31 heather ingredients and has an alcohol content of 50%. it is clear in colour and has a strong, minty taste.originally manufactured by c.w. baland & langebartels from celle, heidegeist is now produced, like its sister spirit, ratzeputz, by schwarz & schlichte in oelde. it is sold in five different bottle sizes and is available in chocolate form with a liquid centre.the schnaps is drunk well-chilled and neat or is used in cocktails and for cooking. in the lüneburg heath, it is often mixed with the ginger flavoured schnaps, ratzeputz, the resulting drink going by the name of 108er; being derived from the addition of the alcohol content of the two spirits: 50% and 58%.

Dessert, Sweet

Heißwecke

Currant bun, a yeast roll made with currants, raisins

Dessert, Sweet

Klöben

Fruit bread with candied/dried fruit, nuts and spices

Side, Snack, Appetizer

Kohlwurst

Kohlwurst, lungenwurst or lungwurst is a simple, fresh, strongly smoked sausage (rohwurst) made of lights, pork and fat, which is mostly eaten cooked with kale (cabbage) dishes such as knieperkohl. it is mainly used in northeast and northwest german and silesian cuisine, as well as in southwestern parts of denmark, where it is called "kålpølse" (kale sausage). to make kohlwurst, pork (often the remains of the carcass) and fat are minced; then a similar amount of raw, cleaned lights is also minced. it is then all mixed together and, depending on the specific recipe, seasoned with onions, salt, pepper, marjoram, thyme, mustard seeds and allspice. finally the sausage meat is loosely filled in casings of natural intestine and smoked for one to two weeks. kohlwurst is not fried or boiled, but is gently poached with cooked vegetables. comparable sausage types are bregenwurst and pinkel.

Dessert, Sweet

Kopenhagener

Danish pastry

Main

Krabbensuppe

Shrimp soup

Main

Labskaus

Lobscouse or (lapskaus) is a thick norwegian stew made of meat and potatoes. in northern germany, labskaus (listen ) is a culinary speciality, in particular from the cities of bremen, hamburg, and lübeck. the main ingredients are salted meat or corned beef, potatoes, and onion. some recipes put beetroot, pickled gherkin, or even herring into it, while others have these ingredients as side dishes.

Side, Snack, Appetizer

Matjes

Soused herring is raw herring soaked in a mild preserving liquid. it can be raw herring in a mild vinegar pickle or dutch brined herring. as well as vinegar, the marinade might contain cider, wine or tea, sugar, herbs (usually bay leaf), spices (usually mace), and chopped onion. the word 'soused' can also describe a marinated herring that has been cooked. the herring is usually baked in the (vinegar) marinade (but can be fried and then soaked in the marinade). it is served cold. this is usual in scotland, wales and ireland.the soused herring (maatjesharing or just maatjes in dutch, or matjes/matjes in german and swedish respectively) is an especially mild salt herring, which is made from young immature herrings. the herrings are ripened for a couple of days in oak barrels in a salty solution, or brine. the pancreatic enzymes which support the ripening make this version of salt herring especially mild and soft. raw herring pickled in vinegar are called rollmops. as of 2015, within the eu, dutch made hollandse nieuwe, holländischer matjes and hollandse maatjesharing have tsg certification and german produced glückstädter matjes, produced in schleswig-holstein has pgi certification. as a pickled herring it can form one course of the traditional twelve-dish christmas eve supper in poland.

Main

Mehlbeutel

Very large dumpling cooked in a cloth bag and sliced, serve with, for example, ham, sausage, bacon, sweet fruit sauce

Main

Pannfisch

Pan-fried fish with potatoes in a mustard sauce

Drink

Ratzeputz

Ratzeputz is a schnaps, a type of spirit popular in germany, which contains extracts and distillates of root ginger. the fresh ginger it contains is said to be beneficial to the stomach. ratzeputz today (2006) only contains 58% alcohol; whereas higher proportions of alcohol used to be common. the ingredients, which are found by most consumers to be sharp, are intended to leave a long aftertaste in the mouth and throat. ratzeputz was first created in 1877 by peter weidmann, a distiller in celle. in that town, the lüneburg heath region and its surrounding area, ratzeputz is a well-known, high-alcohol spirit-based speciality. its strong but delicate ginger flavour has helped it gain considerable international attention as well. originally bottled by c.w. baland & langebartels in celle, it is now made under licence by schwarze and schlichte in oelde.until several years ago ratzeputz was distilled in the centre of celle. the reason why the strong smell in the town at weekends has gone is due to the transfer of its production to an industrial estate in westercelle. the sales outlet immediately next to the distillery (between neuer straße and zöllnerstraße) in the town centre has also been closed and the number of different bottle sizes has been reduced. the original products are still easy to obtain, however, at least in celle. a mix of ratzeputz with the herb-based spirit heidegeist under the name 108er is especially common in the lüneburg heath, its name being derived by adding their alcohol contents of 58% and 50% together.there are several bars in germany which specialize in serving ratzeputz, the most notable of which is 'ratzeputz bar' on weserstrasse, neukölln, berlin.

Side, Snack, Appetizer

Räucheraal

Smoked eel, used in soups, salads, sandwiches

Main

Rundstück warm

The rundstück warm (english: "round piece warm") is a hot dish consisting of a slice of warm roast beef or pork served between the slices of a halved round wheat roll, which is then doused with hot gravy. it is sometimes served with mustard and side dishes such as pickles or aspic from the roast stock.

Main

Schnüüsch

Creamy vegetable soup with ham, potatoes, schnüsch is also made into a gratin

Main

Schwarzsauer

Soup made with blood or blood pudding, vinegar, vegetables, dried fruit, meat, spices

Main

Steckrübeneintopf

Steckrübeneintopf (listen ) is a german dish that, today, is especially common in north germany. it generally consists of a stew made from swede, carrots and potatoes in varying proportions and diverse, usually smoked or pickled, types of meat or sausage. occasionally special cooking pears used as well. the stew may be seasoned and refined with salt, pepper, mustard, horseradish, celery, leeks or parsley, etc., according to taste.

Dessert, Sweet

Welf pudding

Welf pudding or guelph pudding (german: welfenspeise or welfenpudding), also known as hock pudding, is a two-layered pudding from germany. the white bottom layer is made from a cooked milk and vanilla sauce on a base of very stiffly whipped egg white. after being chilled it is then covered with a yellow layer of wine sauce made of beaten egg yolk, white wine and a little lemon juice.welf pudding gets its name from the colours of the house of welf (also known as the house of guelph), a german aristocratic family that ruled the principality of lüneburg in medieval times. the pudding is a culinary specialty from lower saxony in north germany. it was created by a hanoverian chef and served for the first time at the 200th anniversary of the rule of the house of welf. it is said that it became the favourite dessert of ernest augustus, elector of hanover.

Dessert, Sweet

Zuckerei

Kogel mogel (yiddish: גאָגל-מאָגל gogl-mogl; polish: kogel-mogel; norwegian: eggedosis; german: zuckerei; russian: гоголь-моголь gogol-mogol) is an egg-based homemade dessert once popular in parts of europe and the caucasus. it is made from egg yolks, sugar, and flavourings such as honey, vanilla, cocoa or rum, similar to eggnog or zabaione. in its classic form it is served slightly chilled or at room temperature. served warm or hot, it is considered a home remedy for sore throats. variations include milk, honey and soda.