Reflecting on food
German food proves satisfying
Jessie Bjorkland, for The Mirror
Issue date: 11/4/09 Section: Perspectives
German chocolate, beer and currywurst…These are some of the German foods/drinks that came to my mind this past summer as I was preparing for my semester in Lüneburg, Germany. I found myself wondering if I could survive four months of eating chocolate and drinking beer. Hmm, not bad...Concerned, some of my friends said to me, "Do you think you will like the food?" or, "We can ship food to you if all of the food is bad there." Well, let me tell you, I have not needed anyone to ship me food. In fact, I may need to go on a diet once I arrive back in the United States…
Having lived in Germany for almost two months now, I feel like I have had enough time to get a good idea of what kinds of foods are common here, and from my understanding, traditional German food varies from region to region. A common dish here in Northern Germany may be completely unheard of in Southern Germany, aka Bavaria, and vice versa. Here in Lüneburg, a traditional German meal is built around two main staples: meat and potatoes.
Potatoes are inexpensive and are easy to grow. I have had potatoes prepared in many different ways: mashed, fried, baked and in pancakes, to name a few. As far as meat goes, schnitzel, currywurst, bratwurst are all very common. Schnitzel is a thin slice of veal or pork that is coated in breadcrumbs and fried. Wurst means sausage in German, so a currywurst or a bratwurst is a sausage made with a specific type of meat and seasoning. When eating the traditional German food, those that know me would not be surprised to know that I have invested in some Tabasco sauce to spice things up a little bit…
Aside from the German food, Lüneburg has a wide variety of restaurants. Chinese, Indian, Japanese, Brazilian, American, Spanish, Italian, and Turkish restaurants are some of the few that I have tried or seen around town. I like the diversity and the many options that I have. I am definitely not going hungry in Germany.
One of my favorite places to visit is "Die Bäckerei". Yes, this word may look similar to bacteria, but do not let this scare you. Bäckerei is German for bakery, and the bakeries are amazing here. There are many Bäckerei around town and it is hard not to visit each one I pass. Everything one could ever want can be found in a German bakery. Croissants, Brezel (pretzels), cakes, sandwiches, cookies, donuts, pastries, and a huge variety of breads are all freshly made and in abundance.
Having lived in Germany for almost two months now, I feel like I have had enough time to get a good idea of what kinds of foods are common here, and from my understanding, traditional German food varies from region to region. A common dish here in Northern Germany may be completely unheard of in Southern Germany, aka Bavaria, and vice versa. Here in Lüneburg, a traditional German meal is built around two main staples: meat and potatoes.
Potatoes are inexpensive and are easy to grow. I have had potatoes prepared in many different ways: mashed, fried, baked and in pancakes, to name a few. As far as meat goes, schnitzel, currywurst, bratwurst are all very common. Schnitzel is a thin slice of veal or pork that is coated in breadcrumbs and fried. Wurst means sausage in German, so a currywurst or a bratwurst is a sausage made with a specific type of meat and seasoning. When eating the traditional German food, those that know me would not be surprised to know that I have invested in some Tabasco sauce to spice things up a little bit…
Aside from the German food, Lüneburg has a wide variety of restaurants. Chinese, Indian, Japanese, Brazilian, American, Spanish, Italian, and Turkish restaurants are some of the few that I have tried or seen around town. I like the diversity and the many options that I have. I am definitely not going hungry in Germany.
One of my favorite places to visit is "Die Bäckerei". Yes, this word may look similar to bacteria, but do not let this scare you. Bäckerei is German for bakery, and the bakeries are amazing here. There are many Bäckerei around town and it is hard not to visit each one I pass. Everything one could ever want can be found in a German bakery. Croissants, Brezel (pretzels), cakes, sandwiches, cookies, donuts, pastries, and a huge variety of breads are all freshly made and in abundance.
Article last update: 11/3/09 at 8:21 PM CST
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