Well, sauerkraut is not the best in Germany, but a regional specialty across the Rhine in Alsace. Nothing has more cholesterol than a delicious choucroute royale prepared by a chef with all its sausages and bacon on top.
The consumption of potatoes, the staple food in my youth, is steadily declining in Germany. Only my grandchildren's eating tons of pommes frites* with lots of ketchup make it possible for German potato farmers to stay afloat and Italian tomato growers to help keep their country creditworthy.
*Pommes frites are a Belgian specialty not to be confused with French fries
Finally, critics of German cooking never say what kind of wurst they mean. Who dares throw a Bavarian Weißwurst and a Frankfurter—we Germans call it a Wiener—into the same kettle and place a Thüringer Bratwurst and a Freiburger Rote on the same grill, not to mention the genuine German invention, the Currywurst?
Cooking and eating in Germany are not national but international or regional. Nowadays, instead of potatoes, Germans eat lots of Pasta from Italy, Döner from Turkey, Sushi from Japan, Borsht from Russia, Matjes herrings from Holland, Feta cheese from Greece, Rösti from Switzerland, and ... Hamburgers from the States.
When I travel, I prefer regional cooking. A few weeks ago in Palatinate, I ate Pfälzer Saumagen (stuffed pig's stomach).
Last weekend, attending my yearly class reunion in Hamburg, I had Labskaus (lobscouse). The high point, however, was the Finkenwerder* Speckscholle. A combination of healthy fish and bad cholesterol, i.e., a European plaice crisply fried in bacon, is just delicious.
*Finkenwerder, once a picturesque fishing village opposite the city of Hamburg on the other side of the Elbe river, is now overgrown by Airbus Industries
A Hamburg potato salad and a draft beer accompany the fish. The dessert that naturally goes with it is another Hamburg specialty: the rote Grütt (red fruit slightly stewed and thickened) with vanilla sauce.
*Finkenwerder, once a picturesque fishing village opposite the city of Hamburg on the other side of the Elbe river, is now overgrown by Airbus Industries
A Hamburg potato salad and a draft beer accompany the fish. The dessert that naturally goes with it is another Hamburg specialty: the rote Grütt (red fruit slightly stewed and thickened) with vanilla sauce.
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