The history and production of sugar are two of the most fascinating topics regarding food culture. We often think of sugar as a basic food commodity that is easy and cheap to produce. Yet, white table sugar is one of the most sophisticated food items in this world. For its production, you need a specific plant with high sucrose content, you need to purify its juice, and then you need to crystallize the syrup in […]
Ham and egg noodles are a simple German dish that can be whipped up in 10 minutes. It’s less refined than the Italian spaghetti carbonara but I wouldn’t say it’s less delicious. The eggs in the German version are usually cooked through but that doesn’t make the dish dry or uncomfortable to eat. If you want to go the extra mile and make your own noodles for this dish, you can follow my guide on […]
The last few decades have given rise to some of the most ridiculous movements regarding human nutrition. According to NYU Langone, one-third of Americans try to avoid gluten in their diet although the great majority of people are neither allergic nor suffer from gluten sensitivity. Gluten is a protein found in grains such as wheat, spelt, rye, and barley. It is what makes doughs elastic and gives them the ability to entrap air bubbles to […]
Obviously, this isn’t a traditional German recipe. Neither bananas nor coconut milk nor limes are native to Germany. What is native to Germany, however, is to eat fruit jellies for dessert. And this banana jelly with coconut sauce is a modern interpretation of jello with vanilla sauce. A lot of people nowadays don’t bother making their own jellies at home. It’s a typical industry product sold under the name “Götterspeise” which literally translates to god’s […]
When we think about illegal trade and black markets we often think of firearms and drugs. But the worldwide market for food fraud is even bigger than these two. The European Commission estimates that the worldwide costs of food fraud to the global food industry and consumers exceed 30 billion euros every year. The illegal market for firearms with a value of 8.5 billion US Dollars is comparatively small while the heroin market with a […]
Strudel doesn’t necessarily have to be a dessert. Just as with pancakes, I prefer the savory variety. There are a million different ways to fill a strudel. This spinach strudel is a popular vegetarian version. The word strudel refers to the shape of the pastry. The thin pastry gets wrapped around the filling by rolling it up. It is the traditional hand-pulled strudel dough that I use for my recipe. However, strudel can also be […]
Every year the Bloomberg Global Health Index ranks the countries of this world in regard to the health of the overall population. There are several factors that make up the final score of a country, for example: Health risks (eg. smoking, obesity, high blood pressure) Availability of clean water Life expectancy Malnutrition Causes of death Every ranked country gets a score between 0 to 100 with 100 being the top score. It is no surprise […]
In German cuisine, duchess potatoes are a traditional way to use up leftover potato puree. I don’t think my mother ever made them with intention. Instead, she just saw a large pot full of leftover potato mash that she thickened with egg yolk and maybe some flour and then piped into small mounds. That being said, I love duchess potatoes. They are lighter in texture than potato puree and go great with anything saucy. But […]
There’s nothing more refreshing than a chilled cucumber salad in summer. There are two ways to prepare this dish in German cuisine: with a traditional oil and vinegar dressing or with schmand. Schmand is a German dairy product that is similar to sour cream and can easily be substituted with crème fraîche or American-style sour cream. The most important thing to pay attention to when making cucumber salad is that the salad doesn’t turn out […]
On May 3rd, 1915, the Canadian officer John MacCrae was looking at the grave of his friend Alexis Helmer. Helmer was killed the day before in a devastating battle in Belgium during World War I. The dead soldiers have been buried in a mass grave on a former battlefield. The soil had been bombed but now blood-red poppies pop up everywhere. Inspired by this picturesque view, he writes down the first lines of his famous […]
You must be logged in to post a comment.