German food is often caricatured as just being made up of sauerkraut, sausages and schnitzel. While indeed many Germans do like their pickled cabbage and bratwurst, but German food is much more than just that.

Germany was split into many different states until the revolution in the mid 19th Century. This resulted in a variety of cooking styles developing in the various regions of the country.

The cuisine in the north of the country is generally thought to be healthier with the emphasis being on fish from the North Sea and the Baltic, which includes pickled roll mop herrings as well as fresh herrings, cooked whole, served with potatoes and bacon dip. The other specialties of the northern region are, Leipziger allerlei, which is a stewed vegetable dish with crayfish, which is served with cabbage rolls that are filled with minced meat, and Hamburg labskaus, or sailor’s hash, which is made with corned beef, gherkins and potatoes.

The food in the southern region has a tendency of being higher in carbohydrates, with dumplings, spatzle, which is a thick German noodle, potatoes, creamy sauces and meat featuring heavily, including the nation’s favorite meat – pork. In Germany, they like their pfalzer saumagen, or stuffed pig’s stomach, succulent roast pork, roast knuckle of veal, and saddle of venison.

Street Treats
If you visit Germany, you will soon run across street vendors baking fresh pretzels or frying sausages. Street food has always been popular with the Germans and you will often find nattily attired business men happily tucking into large sized frankfurters wrapped in bread rolls, perched outside wooden cabins, the air redolent with the rich smells of sausages roasting or the sweet aroma of aniseed, liquorice, or doughnuts frying.

The regional influences exist even in the street food of Germany. While in some areas sauerkraut is served with sausages, in others they come with onions or sweet and grainy mustard.

Throngs of people head for German Christmas markets just for the scrumptious street food. Market squares are lined by rows of stalls where fresh produce is sold. One of Germany’s oldest and best known Christmas markets, the Gendarmenmarket, is especially stunning, where you get traditional foods like potato cakes with apple sauce, salmon, quark, or onion.

You also get huge varieties of succulent fried sausages served up with bread rolls, and curry sauce or mustard. You can bite into the giant pretzels that you’ll find hanging from hooks, covered with salt – they go very well with a glass of gluwein or beer.

The huge selections of chocolates and sweets, wrapped in foil and shaped like Father Christmas or any other seasonal shapes, will tempt your taste buds. You can marvel at the painted marzipan figurines that line confectionary stands, and watch almonds and chestnuts being roasted.

Delicious Delicatessens
The key to German food is the huge varieties of cheeses, which include tangy and hard cow’s milk cheeses like emmentaler and tilsiter, which are especially good for melting and grilling. Brie with added green peppercorns or mushrooms or velvet-textured Bavarian Blue Brie are some of the softer German cheeses.

Pickles are either mixed into a dish or accompany sandwiches and sausages. The Germans love pickling carrots, cucumbers, cauliflower, pepper, and of course cabbage, for their famous sauerkraut. Black Forest ham, schnicken, chicken in aspic, tongue and liver pate are just a few of the huge variety of cold meats you get in Germany.

Decadent Desserts
The Germans make some of the best of cakes and gateaux, with oodles of whipped cream which are great with strong coffee. You get lots of variety, from apple cakes, cheesecakes, butter crumble cakes to the famous Black Forest Gateau.

Here are a few delicious and easy German recipes:

Sauerbraten

4 lb lean beef roast, preferably eye of round rump
To be mixed together in a saucepan:
2 C. red wine
2 C. red wine vinegar
2 C. water
1 large sized onion, sliced
3 cloves, 2 bay leaves, 10 peppercorns

You will require:
A large sized bowl or crock to marinate the roast
A Dutch Oven or a large sized, tightly covered kettle for cooking

Heat the marinating mixture until it begins simmering, then turn off the heat. Pour this mixture over the meat, placed in a large bowl, and let it cool. Cover this and refrigerate for 3 to 5 days. Next, remove the meat from the marinade, draining it out completely. Strain the marinade and keep it aside. Put enough oil