Traditional North German Food: Rich Sweet Dishes

Traditional North German Food

Introduction
Lobscouse - Labskaus | Green Eel Soup 

Pears, French Beans and Bacon | Rich Sweet Dishes

Published: 24th April 2009

The traditional cuisine of northern Germany is renowned for its richness, and the sweet dishes are no exception. Although you'll find some light desserts such as the famous red fruit jelly¹, or just some fresh strawberries with milk or cream to be enjoyed on a hot summer day, there are those sweet dishes which are rich enough to be had as the main dish. The following recipes reflect the north German preference of combining sweet with salty.

Traditional North German Food: Pears, French Beans and Bacon

Traditional North German Food

Introduction
Lobscouse - Labskaus | Green Eel Soup 

Pears, French Beans and Bacon | Rich Sweet Dishes

Published: 24th April 2009

If ever you should get to spend some time in Germany's north, you're likely to find some weird and wonderful dishes on the menu. Those living near the shores of the North Sea or the Baltic Sea seem to have a liking for odd combinations of sweet and salty food, as you'll see when you try the following recipe.

Traditional North German Food: Green Eel Soup

Traditional North German Food

Introduction
Lobscouse - Labskaus | Green Eel Soup 

Pears, French Beans and Bacon | Rich Sweet Dishes

Published: 24th April 2009

Much of Germany's northern coast borders on either the North Sea or the Baltic, with the northernmost state of Schleswig-Holstein lying directly between the two. It therefore doesn't come as a surprise that seafood features quite high on the list of popular dishes. The importance of agriculture and fishing (traditionally the main sources of income in the north) is even reflected in heraldry: for instance, the coat of arms of the Kreis Nordfriesland (a 'Kreis' being an administrative district) features three ships; one bearing a plough, one bearing a fish (the Sylter herring, to be precise), and one bearing an ox.

Traditional North German Food: Lobscouse - Labskaus

Traditional North German Food

Introduction
Lobscouse - Labskaus | Green Eel Soup 

Pears, French Beans and Bacon | Rich Sweet Dishes

Published: 24th April 2009

Lobscouse, or labskaus as it is known in Germany, is a stew mainly eaten in the coastal regions of Germany, Denmark and Sweden. Originally made of salted meat, potatoes, bacon and onions, there are now many variations of this simple meal, with added fish, beetroot and pickled cucumbers, and the whole thing being topped with a fried egg or two.

Traditional North German Food

Traditional North German Food

Introduction
Lobscouse - Labskaus | Green Eel Soup 

Pears, French Beans and Bacon | Rich Sweet Dishes

Published: 24th April 2009

It's always interesting to think about the various foods countries are associated with. For England, it's probably fish and chips. Almost everything else save the curries gets drowned in ketchup or HP Sauce, but then the English do have tea and toast, ham, eggs and baked beans, all of which are well-known abroad. Italy has its pizza and pasta, there's doner kebab for Turkey and haggis for Scotland. Sometimes, a country's preference for a certain food has even resulted in its inhabitants being named after it, and not in a positive sense. When not being descibed as 'cheese-eating surrender monkeys', the French are associated with frog's legs, and the 'krauts', are - you guessed it - Germans.

Traditional Pumpernickel

Published: 18th August 2008

Ingredients for Pumpernickel; Photo by Bel

I've only had pumpernickel once - at the time I described it as corkboard soaked in treacle¹. But that was half a lifetime ago. I might like it now².
- an h2g2 Researcher

Pharisee - a Coffee with Spirit

Published: 21st February 2008

High up in the north of Germany, on the west coast of Schleswig-Holstein, Germany's most northern federal state, there is a small island called Nordstrand¹. It's what was left of the large island Strand after De grote Manndränke², a huge storm surge in 1362, when great parts of the island were lost and 50,000 people died, and the next huge storm tide on 12 October, 1634, where another 6,123 people died and the whole Strand was destroyed.