German cuisine

German cooking is regional to the last detail: potato salad is made with stock in the south and mayonnaise in the north, and each side considers the other a mistake.

German cooking is often reduced to sausage, but what actually holds it together is a sweet-sour balance. Vinegar in a meat gravy, sugar in cabbage, apple in a side dish: these are not stray additions but the way richness is kept in check.

The second thing is time. Rouladen, Black Forest ham, sauerkraut — nearly everything good here takes hours or weeks, and shortcuts produce a different dish.

4 dishes

  • Käsespätzle

    Swabian egg noodles layered with cheese and buried under fried onion.

    55 min · Medium · Main course

  • Rinderrouladen

    Thin slices of beef rolled around mustard, bacon and gherkin and braised until they give way.

    130 min · Medium · Main course

  • Sauerbraten

    Beef steeped for days in a vinegar marinade and braised in it, with a gravy thickened on gingerbread.

    180 min · Medium · Main course

  • Swabian potato salad

    Potato dressed in warm stock with vinegar and oil. No mayonnaise — southern Germany does not admit it here.

    40 min · Easy · Salad