Growing up, I was not a big fan of German cuisine. On average, Germans eat almost 60 pounds of potatoes, 20 pounds of carrot or beets, and 20 pounds of onions, per year. Delicious to some, but not my top choices. I can still remember by family’s visit to Epcot and the German Pavilion. Everything was white and covered in some gelatinous gravy. After Epcot, I did not expect to think of German food again.
But fate would have it another way. My father’s family is German and my mother’s family is from Gelsenkirchen, Germany. My husband’s family has many German connections, and his uncle was stationed in Germany multiple times. Several years ago, I met a new friend who had moved to Jackson to work. Her husband lives in Germany and she commutes to Mississippi. What?? I consider a trip above County Line Road to be a long commute and this woman travels to Germany, frequently.
Mississippi is a long way from Germany but amazing German influences kept coming my way. My previous neighbor was best friends with a man originally from Germany. He came to Mississippi for work and never left our state. They often celebrated “Octoberfest” regardless of the calendar with the appropriate beer. Both were engineers and solved every problem “the German way:” organized and efficient. Unfortunately, we lost Ron several years ago, but he remains my inspiration to discover delicious German food. Ron loved German food and was always promoting the food.
Our state is no stranger to German influence. Right here in the metro area Gluckstadt continues to celebrate its German heritage. My friend from Gluckstadt, John Taylor, was kind enough to share some history of Saint Josephs’ Parish Church, and he sent me several of his family’s recipes and some from the parish’s big celebration, Germanfest.
I have encountered so many people who are not only excited about German cuisine, but skilled and willing to share their recipes. Collins Wohner is from Mississippi but speaks fluent German and has recently been appointed as German honorary consul in Mississippi. He admitted to me that his title does not come with complete diplomatic immunity (too bad) or a car with those cool little flags on the front, but he does actively promote German-U.S. relations.
With so many German connections, I started planning a dinner with help from our local honorary consul, Collins. This was my chance to discover good German food.
After our delicious dinner, I realized that I had clearly misunderstood German cuisine. I learned that German food can be creative and delicious. Just like the German people, it is flavorful and comforting. Like my German grandmother who loved being in the kitchen and frying up latkes (German potato pancakes). Always comforting and always delicious. Enjoy some of these favorites from our German dinner.
Mohnstollen
(Poppy Seed Bread)
This bread is one of my most distinct food memories. Each time we visited my mom’s family in Illinois, the house would always smell of freshly baked poppy seed bread. When I got older, my aunt taught me how to make it. Just like many family recipes, there are several steps that could be done an easier or more efficient manner, but no chance am I changing it. Such is the way with “family recipes.” We continue to do them just the way we were taught, all the time thinking of loved ones and food memories from our past. That is part of the fun.
We normally make a huge batch of this bread and store it in the freezer. It is absolutely delicious, sliced and toasted with a little fresh butter on top.
To prepare the poppy seeds:
Soak two pounds of poppy seeds in boiling water overnight or at least eight hours. Drain and grind the poppy seed in a fine meat grinder two times.
My grandmother always used a hand crank meat grinder for this. Later, my aunt transferred to an electric grinder connected to her mixer, and I do the same. I have never tried to do this in the food processor, so I do not know if that would work. Also, I have seen poppyseed paste in the grocery store near the pie filling section but I have never tried that. I cannot imagine why either of those methods would not work, but just as I said, I like to do it just the way my grandmother and aunt did it.
Once poppy seeds are ground, add:
4 cups of sugar
6 large eggs, beaten
1/2 cup melted butter
Set aside.
To make the dough:
Scald 1 quart or 4 cups of whole milk
Mix in:
4 cups of sugar
2 tablespoons regular table salt
6 large eggs, beaten
1 stick butter
1/2 cup to 1 cup vegetable shorting such as Crisco
2 tablespoons vanilla
Mix all and stir until butter and shortening has melted and the temperature of the milk has become warm.
In a separate bowl add:
3 packages of yeast
3 teaspoon sugar
1/4 cup very warm water
Allow to bloom.
Meanwhile in a very large mixing bowl or bowl of large mixer, mix milk mixture and yeast mixture. Begin slowly adding five pounds of all-purpose flour. Add a little bit at a time until you get a good firm consistency. You may need to remove the dough from the mixer bowl and add in remaining flour by hand.
Cover dough and allow to rise, until doubled.
When ready to prepare the bread, roll out a piece of dough about the size of the palm of your hand. The size of the dough will depend on the size of your loaf pans. Roll out into a large rectangle on a well-floured surface. Spread a little softened butter on the dough, and then spread about a half a cup of the ground poppyseed paste.
Roll up pinwheel style and place, seam-side down in a well-greased loaf pan. Cover and allow to rise again until doubled. Bake in a preheated 350° oven for 30 to 45 minutes until bread is lightly brown and sounds hollow when tapped.
Continue to do this until all the dough and poppy seeds are used.
If you have extra dough, feel free to make a mixture of cinnamon, sugar, and butter and spread on roll dough. Roll up and slice into pinwheel rounds to make homemade cinnamon rolls.
Allow loaves to cool for a few minutes and then move to a wire rack until cooled completely.
Serve bread sliced and slightly toasted spread warm with butter.
When bread has completely cooled, wrap tightly in foil, and then store in the freezer wrapped tightly in foil and freezer bags.
Schneckensuppe
(Black Forest Snail Soup)
The Black Forest is a mountainous region in the southwest of Germany that was the setting for many of the Brothers Grimm’s fairy tales. I realize that few readers will choose to make this dish but it was my favorite item served at our German dinner. Collins made it, and the soup had a great earthiness and interesting flavor. You would never know that you were eating snails unless you were told. It was full of complex flavors, and when I read the recipe, I realized that it is not difficult to make. Collins said he ordered his snails from Amazon and I found a 7.2 ounce can of premium wild Burgundy snails for about $15.
4 tablespoons stick butter, divided
2 tablespoons finally minced shallot
3 medium size cloves of garlic, minced
1/2-pound mushrooms, wiped clean and minced
1 cup Riesling wine
1 cup rich beef broth
1 cup rich chicken broth
1 cup crème fraîche or 1/2 cup sour cream and half and half mixed
1/4 teaspoon ground anise seeds
1 - 7 1/2 ounce can escargot, drained, and mined, reserving the liquid
1 tablespoon minced chives
1 tablespoon minced parsley
1 tablespoon flour
2 extra large egg yolks, beaten
2 tablespoons Pernod
Mix three tablespoons of the butter in a large heavy saucepan over low heat. Add the shallots and sauté five minutes, add the garlic and sauté one minute longer. Do not burn the garlic. Add the mushrooms and stir fry about 15 minutes over low heat.
Mix in the wine, the beef and chicken broth, and the crème fraîche or sour cream. Simmer uncovered for about 10 minutes. Do not allow mixture to come to a hard boil or it may curdle. Add the anise seeds, escargot, and their liquid, the chives, and the parsley.
In a separate bowl, kneed together one tablespoon of butter with the flour to form a paste. Pinch off small bits of it and whisk it into the simmering soup, a little at a time, so that the mixture thickens slowly and evenly.
Beat about two tablespoons of a hot soup mixture into the egg. Then add about three additional tablespoons of a hot soup, one at a time, whisking constantly to the eggs. You were tempering the mixture, so the eggs do not curdle. Pour the egg mixture back into the soup.
Mix in the Pernod and let the soup mellow for a few minutes over low heat. Again, do not allow to boil.
Serve warm.
Rinderrouladen
(Beef Rolls)
These beef rolls were so intriguing that we had to try them. Growing up, my mom made a beef roll-up but it did not include a pickle in the middle. We are big pickle fans at our house, so this was a must to try. They were a delicious new discovery. I got the recipe from the St. Joseph Gluckstadt Germanfest recipes. It was attributed to a lady name Margaret Jones, but there are several versions on the Internet and all are similar.
4 pieces of steak roll or sandwich stakes, about 6 ounces each (I used tenderized round steak pounded flat and relatively thin)
2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
2 large pickles, cut into long, thin strips
2 ounces of salt, pork or two strips of bacon cut into thin strips
1large onion, chopped
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1 1/2 cups hot beef broth
4 peppercorns
1 bay leaf
1 tablespoon cornstarch
Lay steaks on a flat surface. Spread with mustard, sprinkle with salt and pepper. Divide the pickles, bacon, and onion between the four steaks. Roll up steaks Jelly Roll fashion and secure with toothpicks or kitchen twine.
Heat oil and a heavy sauce pan, add the steak rolls and brown well on all sides, about 15 minutes. Pour in hot beef broth, peppercorns, and bay leave. Cover and simmer one hour and 20 minutes. Remove beef rolls and arrange on a preheated platter. Blend cornstarch with a small amount of cold water and stir into the hot gravy. Bring to a boil, until thick and bubbly. Slice steaks like pinwheels and serve with gravy.
Choucroute Alsacienne (Sauerkraut Garnished with Meat)
My husband’s cousin brought a version of this to one of our Christmas Eve celebrations and she stole the show with this delicious mixture of smoked German meats and sauerkraut.
1/3 cup vegetable oil or bacon grease if you have it
2 large onions, finely diced
2 large peeled garlic cloves
4 (14.5 oz) cans of sauerkraut, washed and well drained
1 pound thick sliced bacon, cubed
20 juniper berries
2 bay leaves
Salt and pepper to taste
4 cups water, chicken stock or vegetable stock
1-2 garlic flavored Polish sausage
4 smoked pork chops, boneless if possible
4 frankfurters or knackwurst (knackwurst can be found in most large grocery stores in or near the deli department.)
Preheat oven to 400°. Melt fat or oil in a heavy eight-quart Dutch oven or deep roasting pan. Sauté onions until golden, remove and set aside. Place 1/2 of sauerkraut in the pan. Layer with 1/2 each of the bacon, garlic, and onions, smoked pork chops and garlic sausage.
Combine 10 juniper berries and one bay leaf in cheese cloth bag, place on top mixture. Add salt and pepper to taste.
Repeat layers and seasonings topping with remaining sauerkraut and ingredients. Add water or stock, and cover and bake for three hours.
After about two hours, add Knackwurst on top of sauerkraut. Cover and continue cooking 30 - 45 minutes. Taste for seasoning.
To serve, arrange sauerkraut discarding the seasoning bags and place meat on top of the sauerkraut. Serve with a strong mustard.
Mittelscharf (Homemade German Mustard)
This recipe is not difficult but you have to plan ahead as the flavors develop over time and the mustard need to “cure” about a week.
1/4 cup, yellow mustard seed
2 tablespoons black or brown mustard seed
1/4 cup yellow mustard powder
1/2 cup water
1 1/2 cups cider vinegar
1 small onion
2 tablespoons brown sugar
1 teaspoon salt
2 cloves of garlic, pressed
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground allspice
1/4 teaspoon tarragon
1/8 teaspoon turmeric
Combine the mustard seeds and mustard powder in a bowl.
In a nonreactive pan, combine remaining ingredients and simmer uncovered for about 10 to 15 minutes to reduce by about a third.
Pour hot liquid into the bowl with mustard seeds in allow to sit for at least 24 hours at room temperature. Make sure the seeds are covered and add more vinegar if needed.
After 24 hours, process or pulse all ingredients to get the consistency that you would like. Cover in store in the refrigerator for at least five days before using.
Serve at room temperature.
Collins’ German Goulash
It is my understanding that goulash gets better with time so this dish can be made several days in advance. Collins’ recipe came from his uncle, Sam Olden. A very well-traveled man who served, among other adventures, with the CIA in post-war Vienna. Collins cooked the goulash in his Uncle Sam’s “goulash pot.”
2 1/4 pounds boneless beef shank or shoulder or chuck roast
3 yellow onions
1/2 tablespoons dried marjoram
1/2 tablespoon caraway seeds or ground caraway
1 tablespoon tomato paste
4 tablespoons sweet Hungarian paprika
1 teaspoon hot paprika, or a pinch of cayenne
1/2 tablespoon vinegar
3/4 teaspoon table salt
2 bay leaves
2 cups water
Vegetable oil
Cut beef into 2-inch cubes. Peel onions and cut them in half lengthwise and then into thin half-moon slices. Sauté beef in oil about 5 to 10 minutes and set aside.
Sauté onions 8 to 10 minutes over high heat, stirring frequently, reduce heat to medium low and cook onions until golden brown and soft, stirring often for about 15 minutes. Add marjoram and caraway seeds to the onions along with the tomato paste. Stir for about one minute. Add vinegar, a cup of water and paprika. Stir and let mixture cook until almost all the liquids have evaporated or about 15 minutes.
Add another cup of cold water and blend with an immersion blender. Add salt, bay leaves, and beef with any of the accumulated juices and combine. Cover and return to a simmer over low heat. Cook on low until beef is tender or about three hours.
This is better the next day so you can reheat slowly over low heat.
Spaetzle
This is a type of German butter noodle or quick German pasta that is delicious and very easy to make. One stipulation: I have found that you must have a special spaetzle maker to properly prepare this dish. I have tried several other cooking methods including using a colander to push batter into water and even tried drizzling the batter into boiling water. Nothing worked until, I took the “big” plunge and ordered a spaetzle maker form Amazon for $15. It was well worth the money and I am more than happy to share mine if you want to check it out.
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 -2 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon black pepper
1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
4 large eggs
½ cup milk
3 - 4 Tablespoons butter, melted
2 tablespoons fresh chopped chives or 2 teaspoons dried
In a large bowl combine flour, salt, pepper, and nutmeg. In a separate bowl mix milk and eggs until well-combined. Make a well in the center of the flour mixture and add milk and eggs. Gradually draw in the flour from the sides of the bowl until dough is thoroughly combined. Dough will be thick and smooth. Allow to rest while you bring a very large pot of salted water to a boil.
When water is at a rolling boil, follow spaetzle maker instructions and drops batter in allowing spaetzle to cook 3-4 minutes or until it floats to the top. Remove with a slotted spoon or drain in a colander. Pour melted butter over and toss. Top with chives.
Apfelstrudel (Apple Strudel)
This was another recipe that comes from the Saint Joseph Parish Cookbook. We all agreed that this Strudel is delicious. It is not too sweet so the flavor of the apples comes through. I did not make the glaze for the top but instead gave the Strudel a dusting of powdered sugar.
1/2-pound butter, softened
8 ounces sour cream
1/2 cup flour
A dash of salt
1/2 cup of applesauce
2 apples, peeled, cored, and thinly sliced
1 cup sugar
1 teaspoon apple pie, spice or combination of cinnamon, nutmeg and allspice
3 tablespoons flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
4 ounces cream cheese
1 cup, chopped walnuts, optional
2 tablespoons half-and-half
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
Powdered sugar
Cream butter until light and fluffy. Add sour cream, and a dash of salt and mix well. Mix in flour. Shape dough ball and cover with plastic wrap. Refrigerate overnight.
Mix applesauce, apples, sugar, apple pie spice, flour, salt, and cream cheese. Cook in the microwave, stirring every five minutes, until mixture has thickened, and the apples are cooked through. Cool completely.
Divide the dough into four parts. On a floured surface, roll out each part of the dough in a 12 x 15“rectangle. Spread with 1/4 of the cold apple mixture and sprinkle with nuts. Roll as for jelly rolls and place on ungreased cookie sheet.
Bake at 350° for 30 to 40 minutes or until golden brown. Cool.
In a separate bowl mix together half-and-half and vanilla. Mix in enough powdered sugar to make a glaze. Spoon into a pastry bag or a Ziploc bag. Cover strudel in a zigzag pattern.
This recipe is from the Saint Joseph Germanfest recipe book.
HeiBe Schokolade (German Hot Chocolate)
Of course, we had plenty of good beer and even some Riesling, but if your German celebration includes non-drinkers or children, you can always make some delicious German hot chocolate.
2 cups water to cups whole milk
6-8 ounces dark or bittersweet chocolate
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon vanilla
Heat water, milk, and vanilla in a sauce pan. Stir until all ingredients are mixed and boil on high heat for about five minutes. Remove from the heat and immediately add the chopped chocolate and the cinnamon.
Stir or whisk constantly until you have a smooth consistency. Serve with a dollop, a fresh whipped cream on top.
Please note that this is not a particularly sweet drink so feel free to add a couple of tablespoons of sugar to the water mixture to suit your taste.
Mom's Bread
This bread recipe came from long time Gluckstadt resident John Taylor and has been passed down on his side of the family since the mid 1800's. John’s grandmother, whom they all referred to as “Bubba,” got the recipe from her great, great, German aunt, named Hohenstatt Langjahr.
8 cups of flour
2 packs of yeast
1 cup of warm water, plus 1-1.5cups more (as needed)
1 teaspoon of sugar
1 Tablespoon salt
shortening size of egg
Put sugar in bowl, add 1 cup warm water and dissolve sugar. Sprinkle yeast on top.
Let yeast mixture rise to top of bowl.
Sift flour and salt in large mixing bowl. Make a well in the middle of the flour. Add an egg-sized amount of shortening in the well, and then pour yeast mixture, and extra 1- 1.5 cups water on top. Knead well. If it is too soft, add more flour.
Smooth over top with shortening, let rise to top of bowl for about 1 hour or longer.
Grease 2 loaf pans and put divided dough into pans. Grease top of loaf and cover.
Let rise to top of pan (1-2 hours) and then bake at 357 for 1 hour.
