German Food

The Late Night Gourmet said:
I made spaetzle once in a cooking class, and it was much better than the boxed variety (which I still liked, but was a bit gummy by comparison).
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You're right, there's no comparison between the dried Spätlze you can buy and the fresh stuff. Dried Spätlze is a very very poor shadow of the real stuff...so different that sometimes its hard to believe its actually the same dish! But there must be a market for it in Germany because you do see packs of dried Spätzle in supermarkets :scratchhead:
 
Elawin said:
When I was in Germany, I lived just outside Stuttgart. Most of the food was either German, Greek or [then] Yugoslav. I don't remember any of the German food being particularly 'heavy' but it was definitely as case of Spätzle with everything as far as German and Yugoslav food was concerned - good job I'm addicted to them! A lot of meat too including horsemeat (we learnt early on that steak often meant horse and not beef), and salad. The Greek food - mainly peppers, green beans, octopus, or meat - was accompanied by potatoes, rice or pasta more often than not. and salad. Any sort of pita (not just spanakopita) went down well too. Most of the sausage we consumed was there Greek (very spicy), except for Currywurst when we were out and about and needed a snack. It was in Austria that sausage reigned supreme, and cheese and pancakes and sweet or savoury dumplings (Knödel) and sautéed potatoes and apple pie and the most deliciously extravagant creamy cakes you have ever seen. In both countries, vast quantities of beer were drunk. @morning glory I've never eaten Sauerkraut. I don't even know what it tastes like - it doesn't appeal to me at all :D.
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I should have mentioned that my Oma was born in 1893 and the family lived on a farm. So I guess her cooking reflected what was hearty fare for working a farm back then in the early 1900's.

This is probably my favorite meal. I usually make it for my birthday. It is sauerbraten over kartoffelklosse (my Oma's stuffed version of potato dumplings) and red cabbage. Not the prettiest plate.

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morning glory said:
So Oma is grandmother in German? Its great that you are still cooking her recipes.
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Well, the dumplings are her exact recipe. My oldest brother had all her recipes written down, but in 2004 hurricane Charlie destroyed his home and with it her recipes. The red cabbage is a Jeff Smith recipe and the sauerbraten I winged based on some ingredients in one of his books and my memory of the taste.
 
CraigC said:
Well, the dumplings are her exact recipe. My oldest brother had all her recipes written down, but in 2004 hurricane Charlie destroyed his home and with it her recipes. The red cabbage is a Jeff Smith recipe and the sauerbraten I winged based on some ingredients in one of his books and my memory of the taste.
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My friend is translating her Mum's old recipes and storing them online. She has shared some of hers on FB and Wordpress too. They are far too precious to lose.
 
MrsDangermouse said:
You're right, there's no comparison between the dried Spätlze you can buy and the fresh stuff. Dried Spätlze is a very very poor shadow of the real stuff...so different that sometimes its hard to believe its actually the same dish! But there must be a market for it in Germany because you do see packs of dried Spätzle in supermarkets :scratchhead:
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Our nearest Lidl occasionally has German weeks and then sell packs of Spätzle, but I agree they aren't a patch on home made ones. A new Lidl store is being built near where I live; maybe they will have some in there.
 
I'm not that fond of the dumplings, so Craig gets them all to himself. I make spatzle for me and flavor some butter with sage and then brown it to toss with the spatzle.

I also like to make kasespatzle, which is spatzle with caramelized onions, speck or bacon, gruyere and/or emmental cheese. We have a salad with this for a complete meal.

I can't believe they actually make dried spatzle since it's so easy to make. I don't see how it could be that much of a time saver.
 
morning glory said:
Another thing I've never made. Don't you need a special thing with holes to press them through?
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Well there are spatzle makers but you can do it with a colander that has 1/4 to 3/8 inch holes, sorry don't know mm size, and a good size spoon to mash the mixture through. It's kind of in between a dough and a batter. Or use a tin foil disposable pie plate that has had holes punched through it. Just sit that on top of your pan of gently boiling water and push through. The mix is thick enough it won't run right through the holes, though will eventually ooze through so sit your colander or pie pan or spatzle maker over something so you won't have a mess.
 
Oh, there are some spatzle recipes that are actually a dough. I've never made that kind, just have looked at the recipe/technique briefly. I think they kind of rolled into a rough log, then cut with a knife and just rolled them off the board into the water.

We do have a spatzle maker. I don't remember how old it is or even where I found it, but they still sell a very similar design today so I'm guessing it's pretty classic. Basically, it's a flat metal sheet with tracks where a 4 sided box sits. You put your dough/batter in the box, then slide it back and forth in the tracks.
 
[QUOTE="medtran49, post: 107536, member: 2283
We do have a spatzle maker. I don't remember how old it is or even where I found it, but they still sell a very similar design today so I'm guessing it's pretty classic. Basically, it's a flat metal sheet with tracks where a 4 sided box sits. You put your dough/batter in the box, then slide it back and forth in the tracks.[/QUOTE]
That's the type I've just bought, but they are really for the smaller spätzle. I was going to get a decent potato ricer but all the suitable ones were expensive. I never really got the hang of using a board, although I will keep practising :laugh: My colanders are completely unsuitable - one has oblong slots and the other holes like tear drops - no good at all.
 
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