Those in Germany, talk food to me!

[abroadandmisunderstood]

I scour the supermarkets every day for inspiration but I just don't know what people eat here and how.

What is a typical breakfast? What do people do with those rolled up beef escalopes? What cheeses or meats do you recommend?

I adore cooking and trying new foods and I just seem to fall back on recipes from when we were in the uk.DS1 loves his Mittagessen at Kindergarten and I wish I could do some at home for him.

Aaaah.

Breakfast. Get fresh bread rolls and pretzels from the nearest bakery. Eat them with cheese, ham, Wurst, jam, boiled eggs, honey - whatever takes your fancy. A cup of coffee and some o juice.

Beef escalopes - Rouladen - yummy. Need to be braised slowly at low temperature, then eaten with gravy, mashed potatoes or rice and a green salad.

Cheeses. My favourites are Emmentaler, Appenzeller, Gruyere (sometimes spelt Greyerzer), Hoehlenkaese, Bergkaese and Butterkaese. Edamer and Gouda are closest to cheddar and good for cheesy bakes / gratins.

Try Kochschinken and Schwarzwaelder Schinken, Salami, Landjaeger (kind of little, hard salami), Leberwurst and Speck. A good way to get a taste of different varieties of wurst is to ask for 'gemischten Aufschnitt' at the deli counter.

Have you got a German cook book? At the very least you need to learn how to make Schnitzel.

Enjoy

Oh by the way - typically Germans eat a big, warm lunch, maybe cake and coffee in the afternoon, then Abendbrot around 6pm, which is really the same as breakfast: bread, cold meats, cheese, pickles and tomatoes. And a beer.

Just remembered - try Kraeuterquark as well. You'll find it near the cheeses. It's fromage frais mixed with herbs and onions. You eat it with bread, or new potatoes and butter.

And while you're at the baker's, cakes to try: Linzertorte, Streuselkuchen, Bienenstich, Kaesekuchen (quite different to the cheesecakes you can buy in the UK).

IMO the best bakery is Kamps - it's a chain so there should be one near you. They make great Laugenteilchen (made of pretzel dough) with pumpkin seeds etc on top, lovely wholemeal breads and the best ever Streuselkuchen.

Can you tell I miss my German food?

ooooooh thanks for all this info. I have been searching for a good cookbook too but nothing comes very highly recommended.

Evening meals are cold then? I did wonder in the mornings how on earth everyone coming out of the Backerei were going to get through so much bread on a daily basis.

I feel emboldened now and will tackle my Tengelmann tomorrow for some goodies. I am bored to death of cereal and toast so the frühstuck ideas sound yum!!

Ooohhh yummy. Now excuse my spelling. I'm not German.

maueltaschen (like big ravioli)
Cut it up and fry it. Sooo good!

Friend eggs, boiled potatos and (frozen)spinach with butter - It has a name like 'something with blub' I think

oohh and quark and strawberry jam on fresh bread. I can't wait to hit Germany again soon

We always ate our warm meal in the evening, possibly because my mother was working ever since I was little.
Lou, that's the Iglo Rahmspinat mit Blub (Blub being the sound that cream makes when you pour it in). That was our traditional Thursday before Easter dinner, eggs (done which ever way we'd like them), potatoes and spinach.
I know people think of German food as being very heavy and rich in meat but I like all those dishes that were born out of the need to make do with limited resources, such as Kaesspaetzli, or Schinkennudel, or Geroeste, or potatoes with Quark and as a Bavarian (well, Frankonian) I do love a good Mehlspeise. Fridays and sometimes other days of the week, there would be a soup and then something sweet for mains, Apfelstrudel, Scheiterhaufen, Hefekloesse, pancakes with a fruit compote or the best sweet dish ever Zwetschgenkloesse.
Can't think of a good cookbook of the top of my head but there is a cookbook forum on www.chefkoch.de. Actually chefkoch has every recipe you could ever possibly want.

LOLOL at spinach with the Blub being known worldwide, wouldn't Ms Feldbush be proud.

You cannot go wrong with Wiener Schnitzel, as long as you cook them in butter and leave them to sit for 5 or 6 mins after they are done. Either Natur or Paniert (in breadcrumbs). Goes well with mashed potatoes. I do either pork schnitzel or Putenschnitzel, both are yummy.

Browse the Maggi/Knorr shelves for ideas.

Gulash is popular, and Gulash soup.

Schweinebraten with Klösse, you can get the Klossteig in Supermarkets, you just have to make balls out of it, put some chopped up roasted break chunks in the middle and pop them in boiling water, turn heat down, don't boil them, let them just Ziehen.

Nürnberger Bratwurst with Kartoffelsalat. The Aldi Nürnberger are quite good. Bung them on the BBQ. My SIL makes a great potato salad. Boil the potatoes, then put some finely chopped onions in the bottom of a bowl. Slice the potatoes and place on top of the onion. Add a small cup of Fleischbrühe, salt and pepper then let it stand for a while with a lid on. Then add white wine vinegar and oil. She normally puts a couple of slices of hard boiled egg on the top and some chives.

Delicious.

I am getting hungry now.