The Cookery of the Country
A German housewife who is a good cook can do
1 marvels with a goose, having half-a-dozen stuffings for
it, and she knows many other ways of treating a hare
than roasting it or “ jugging” it. She also is cunning
in the making of the bitter-sweet salads and purees
which are eaten with the more tasteless kinds of meat ;
but, unfortunately, the good German housewife does
not as a rule control the hotel or restaurant that the
travelling gourmet is likely to visit, but rules in her
own comfortable home. The German Delikatessen
which form the “snacks” a Teuton eats at any time
to encourage his thirst, are excellent ; and the smoked
sprats, and smoked and soused herrings, the various
sausages and the pickled gurkins, are the best edible
products of the Fatherland. The German meat, with
the exception of the veal, is as a rule poor. The best
beef and mutton in the north has generally been im-
ported from Holland. A German housewife has soups
in her recipe-book which we Anglo-Saxons have
never tasted. Bier-suppe , in which light beer is one
174
German T*owns 175
of the constituents, is in great favour, and, reversing
its usual place in the menu, chocolate made very
thin is sometimes served in soup-plates. A soup
made of the livers of calves is a popular soup, and the
sentimental side of the German feaster is sometimes
stirred by a “ rose-leaf” soup, in which ripe rose-pips
well boiled float on the surface of a weak consomme ,
flavoured with pounded pips. The German is a great
eater of fresh-water fish — pike, carp, perch, salmon,
and trout all being found on his menus, the trout being
generally cooked au bleu . Zander , the “Giant Perch,”
is esteemed a great delicacy. The crab is better
cooked and served in Germany than anywhere else in
the world. The cooks of Berlin are celebrated for the
crab fricassee which is always a dish at civic banquets ;
and when crabs with parsley sauce and new potatoes
make their appearance on the bill of fare of German
restaurants, summer may be said to have really arrived.
Unfortunately crabs are becoming scarce, and their
price is mounting. Most of the crabs now eaten in
Germany come from Russia. Another dish which
is a sure sign of the coming of sunshine is eels and
cucumber salad. As a vegetable cook the ruler of
the German kitchen does not shine. Potatoes cooked
in their jackets and potatoes cooked with brown sauce
form an occasional change from the eternal puree.
Asparagus heads served with a sweet sauce is a Ger-
man dish which may be commended, but a very usual
manner of serving asparagus in cheap restaurants is to
cut it into inch cubes and send it to table swimming
in butter. Pickled asparagus forms a very popular
dish. Both the potatoes and the asparagus in Ger-
many are excellent, until they are cooked, for they
grow well in the sandy soil. Kompots , sweet and
sour, are served at, to an Englishman, unexpected
periods during the repast ; but the Briton who is
astonished to see a German eat preserved fruits or jams
176 The Gourmets Guide to Europe
Page 96
Presented as published in 1903. Historical recipes may not meet modern food-safety standards. Cook from the modern interpretation, not the original instructions.
AI-modernized reading of the original text
The Cookery of the Country
A German housewife who is a good cook can do 1 marvels with a goose, having half-a-dozen stuffings for it, and she knows many other ways of treating a hare than roasting it or “ jugging” it. She also is cunning in the making of the bitter-sweet salads and purees which are eaten with the more tasteless kinds of meat ; but, unfortunately, the good German housewife does not as a rule control the hotel or restaurant that the travelling gourmet is likely to visit, but rules in her own comfortable home. The German Delikatessen which form the “snacks” a Teuton eats at any time to encourage his thirst, are excellent ; and the smoked sprats, and smoked and soused herrings, the various sausages and the pickled gurkins, are the best edible products of the Fatherland. The German meat, with the exception of the veal, is as a rule poor. The best beef and mutton in the north has generally been imported from Holland. A German housewife has soups in her recipe-book which we Anglo-Saxons have never tasted. Bier-suppe , in which light beer is one
German Towns 175
of the constituents, is in great favour, and, reversing its usual place in the menu, chocolate made very thin is sometimes served in soup-plates. A soup made of the livers of calves is a popular soup, and the sentimental side of the German feaster is sometimes stirred by a “ rose-leaf” soup, in which ripe rose-pips well boiled float on the surface of a weak consomme , flavoured with pounded pips. The German is a great eater of fresh-water fish — pike, carp, perch, salmon, and trout all being found on his menus, the trout being generally cooked au bleu . Zander , the “Giant Perch,” is esteemed a great delicacy. The crab is better cooked and served in Germany than anywhere else in the world. The cooks of Berlin are celebrated for the crab fricassee which is always a dish at civic banquets ; and when crabs with parsley sauce and new potatoes make their appearance on the bill of fare of German restaurants, summer may be said to have really arrived. Unfortunately crabs are becoming scarce, and their price is mounting. Most of the crabs now eaten in Germany come from Russia. Another dish which is a sure sign of the coming of sunshine is eels and cucumber salad. As a vegetable cook the ruler of the German kitchen does not shine. Potatoes cooked in their jackets and potatoes cooked with brown sauce form an occasional change from the eternal puree. Asparagus heads served with a sweet sauce is a German dish which may be commended, but a very usual manner of serving asparagus in cheap restaurants is to cut it into inch cubes and send it to table swimming in butter. Pickled asparagus forms a very popular dish. Both the potatoes and the asparagus in Germany are excellent, until they are cooked, for they grow well in the sandy soil. Kompots , sweet and
sour, are served at, to an Englishman, unexpected periods during the repast ; but the Briton who is astonished to see a German eat preserved fruits or jams
176 The Gourmets Guide to Europe