Text 4. Examples of European cuisine – German cuisine

Scan the following text and find the information about national fish dishes. Speak about the types of seaproducts used in Germany. Compare with Russian variants of cooking fish and seaproducts. Discuss it with your partner.

German cuisine is an example of European cuisine. It varies greatly from region to region. The southern regions of Bavaria and Swabia share many dishes among them and with their neighbours to the south, Switzerland and Austria.

Pork, beef, and poultry are the main varieties of meat consumed in Germany, with pork being the most popular by a substantial amount. The average person in Germany will consume up to 72 pounds of meat in a year. Among poultry, chicken is most common, although duck, goose, and turkey are also enjoyed. Game meats, especially boar, rabbit, and venison are also widely available around the year. Lamb and goat are also available, but are not very popular.

Meat is usually pot-roasted; pan-fried dishes also exist, but these are usually imports from France. Throughout Germany, meat is very often eaten in sausage form. There is said to be more than 1500 different types of sausage in Germany. Certain families may also make their own sausage for personal consumption.

Breakfast (Frühstück) commonly consists of bread, toast, and/or bread rolls (the term for which varies a lot by region, Brötchen, Semmeln, Schrippen, Wecken or Rundstücke being among the most common) with jam ("Marmelade" or "Konfitüre"), marmalade or honey, eggs, and strong coffee or tea (milk, cocoa or juice for children). Deli meats, such as ham, salted meats and salami, are also commonly eaten on bread in the morning, as are various cheeses. A variety of meat-based spreads such as Leberwurst (literally liver-sausage) can be found during breakfast as well.

Traditionally, the main meal of the day has been lunch (Mittagessen), eaten around noon. Dinner (Abendessen or Abendbrot) was always a smaller meal, often consisting only of a variety of breads, meat or sausages, cheese and some kind of vegetables, similar to breakfast, or possibly sandwiches. However, in Germany, as in other parts of Europe, dining habits have changed over the last 50 years.

Trout is the most common freshwater fish on German menu as well as pike, carp which are all enjoyed greatly, and European perch are also frequently served. Seafood was traditionally restricted to the northern coastal areas except for pickled herring. Today many seafish like fresh herring (also as Rollmops), sardine, tuna, mackerel, and salmon are well established throughout the country. Prior to the industrial revolution and the ensuing pollution of the rivers, salmon were common in the rivers Rhine, Elbe, and Oder.

Vegetables are often eaten in stews or vegetable soups, but can also be served as a side dish. Carrots, turnips, spinach, peas, beans, and many types of cabbage are very common. Fried onions are a common addition to many meat dishes throughout the country. Potatoes, while a major part of the diet, are usually not counted among vegetables by Germans. Asparagus, especially white asparagus known in English as spargel (the German name for asparagus), is common as a side dish or as a main meal. Restaurants will sometimes devote an entire menu to nothing but white asparagus when it is in season. Spargel season (German: Spargelzeit or Spargelsaison) traditionally begins in mid-May and ends on St. John's Day (24 June).

Beer is very common throughout all parts of Germany, with many local and regional breweries producing a wide variety of beers. Beer is generally not very expensive and of good quality. The pale lager pilsener is predominant in most parts of the country today, whereas wheat beer (Weissbier) and other types of lager are especially common in the south. A number of regions have local specialties, many of which, like Weissbier, are more traditionally-brewed ales. Among these are Altbier, a dark beer available around the lower Rhine, Kölsch, a similar style in the Cologne area, and the low-alcohol Berliner Weiße, a sour beer made in Berlin that is often mixed with raspberry or woodruff syrup. Since the reunification of 1990, Schwarzbier (black beer), which was common in East Germany but could hardly be found in West Germany, has become increasingly popular in Germany as a whole.

Wine is also popular throughout the country. German wine comes predominantly from the areas along the upper and middle Rhine and its tributaries; the northern half of the country is too cold and flat to grow grape vines. Riesling and Silvaner are among the best-known varieties of white wine, while Spätburgunder and Dornfelder are important German red wines. The sweet German wines sold in English speaking countries seem mostly to cater to the foreign market, as they are quite rare in Germany itself.

A wide variety of cakes and tarts are prepared throughout the country, most commonly made with fresh fruit. Apples, plums, strawberries, and cherries are used regularly on cakes. Cheesecake is also very popular and almost always made with quark. Schwarzwälder Kirschtorte is another very well-known cake. German doughnuts (which have no hole) are usually balls of dough with jam or other fillings inside, and are known as Berliner, Kreppel or Krapfen depending on the region. Eierkuchen are large, relatively thin pancakes, comparable to French Crèpes. They are served covered with sugar, jam, syrup etc.; salty variants with cheese or bacon exist as well (but aren't usually considered desserts). In some regions Eierkuchen are filled and then wrapped, in others they're cut into small pieces and arranged in a heap. The word Pfannkuchen can either mean German doughnuts (see Berliner) or pancakes (see Eierkuchen).

A popular dessert in northern Germany is "Rote Grütze", red fruit pudding, which is made from black and red currants, raspberries and sometimes strawberries or cherries cooked in juice with cornstarch as a thickener. It is traditionally served with cream, but also common with vanilla sauce, milk or whipped cream. "Rhabarbergrütze" (rhubarb pudding) and "Grüne Grütze" (gooseberry fruit pudding) are variations of the "Rote Grütze". A similar dish, Obstkaltschale, may also be found all around Germany.

Ice cream and sorbets are also very popular. Italian-run ice cream parlours were the first large wave of foreign-run eateries in Germany, becoming widespread in the 1920s. A popular ice cream treat is called Spaghettieis.

 

Vocabulary

1 poultry – домашняя птица

2 game meat – мясо животных, добытых на охоте

3 boar – кабан

4 venison – оленина

5 pot-roasted – тушеное мясо

6 deli meat – деликатесное мясо

7 stew - блюдо из тушеного мяса или рыбы

8 brewery – пивоваренный завод

9 woodruff – ясменник (душистый)

10 tributary – дополнительный, второстепенный

 

Text work

1. Skim the text and find the information about the following things. Retell it to your partner:

a) German breakfast

b) German dinner

c) Original types of German beer

 

2. Translate the given phrases from the text:

1 the main varieties of meat consumed in Germany

2 widely available around the year

3 pan-fried dishes also exist

4 for personal consumption

5 the most common freshwater fish

6 a common addition to many meat dishes

7 local and regional breweries producing a wide variety of beers

8 to cater to the foreign market

9 balls of dough with jam

10 strawberries or cherries cooked in juice with cornstarch as a thickener

 

3. Answer the following questions on the text:

1 German cuisine does not differ from region to region, does it?

2 How much meat do people consume per year in Germany?

3 What are the main kinds of meat consumed in Germany?

4 How is meat cooked?

5 What dishes do German people have for breakfast?

6 What is more popular in Germany: meat of fish?

7 What are the traditional types of beer?

8 Is wine also popular in Germany? What sorts of grapes are spread in Germany?

9 What sweet dishes are popular in this country?

10 What German dish would you like to taste? Why?

 

4. Each country has its national dishes. For example, Switzerland is famous world-wide for its chocolate. Read the following information about Swiss chocolate and note down the main characteristics of its production and the main historical dates.

A chocolate display in Neuchâtel, Many Swiss supermarkets, like this one

In Switzerland Interlaken, have an entire aisle dedicated

solely to Swiss chocolate.

 

Switzerland's chocolates, together with its timepieces and machinery, have earned an international reputation for high quality.

Chocolate came to Europe in the 16th century. By the 17th century it was produced in Switzerland. In the 18th century chocolate was only produced in a few areas, such as the Ticino.

In the second half of the 19th century Swiss Chocolate started to spread abroad. Closely linked to this was the invention of Milk Chocolate by Daniel Peter and the invention of Conchierens by Rodolphe Lindt.

Today most Swiss chocolate is consumed by the Swiss themselves (54% in 2000), and Switzerland has the highest per capita rate of chocolate consumption world wide (11.6 kg per capita per annum).

In 2004 148,270 tonnes of chocolate were produced in Switzerland. 53% of this was exported (20% to Germany, 11% to France and Great Britain and 13% to North America). The gross income of the Swiss chocolate industry in 2004 was 1,365 million CHF (814 million from the local market, 551 million from exports).

In 1901 Swiss chocolate producers created the Union libre des fabricants suisses de chocolat. In 1916, this was divided into the Chambre syndicale des fabricants suisses de chocolat and the Convention chocolatière suisse. The former "Chambre syndicale" (today the Chocosuisse) protects the interests of Swiss chocolate producers. The "Convention chocolatière" focused on the quality of the chocolate and sought a uniform price stratergy. In 1994 the Convention was disbanded.

In the 17th century the following chocolate factories were founded:

1819 - Cailler in Vevey (today Nestlé)

1826 - Suchard in Serrières (today Kraft Foods)

1826 - Favarger in Geneva

1830 - Kohler in Lausanne (today Nestlé)

1899 - Tobler in Berne (today Kraft Foods), among other things with the mark Toblerone

 

5. Project work. Choose any country of the world you like most of all. Find the information about its national cuisine, traditional meals, beverages and some kinds of dishes it is famous for. Make a presentation of it and prepare an example of menu served in this country’s restaurants. Don’t forget about the following points:

a) countries that influenced its traditional cuisine;

b) the main products consumed in this country (meat, fish, vegetables, fruit, etc.);

c) traditional meals of the day;

d) national beverages (alcoholic and non-alcoholic);

e) traditional dish;

f) sweets and desserts;

g) traditional menu;