German settlement. Recipes of Berlin cuisine.
Royal battle.
“Once in the Berlin Cafe Royal I heard Monsieur Michel
Martina spoke French and understood every word, although
there was little sense in these words”...
Heinrich Heine
If Heine were transported to the 13th century, he would hardly understand a word, even if there was a lot of wisdom in these words. After all, then, in the place of Berlin, there were two Slavic, if you believe our historians, villages - Cologne and Berlin (translated as “Free Place”). They lived for themselves, did not grieve, developed well thanks to the profitable geographical location and in 1307 merged into one city - Berlin. They ate simply, but heartily, since there was plenty of meat in the forests and fish in the rivers; in addition, they grew turnips, cabbage, peas, and apples.
The Free Place defended its liberties and products very successfully until 1422, when the Brandenburg Electors of Hohenzollern extended their greedy paws to it, suppressing all liberties and taking away a fair portion of the products.
But the status of the city rose noticeably - in 1486 it even managed to become the capital of Brandenburg. Here you have a court, and an aristocracy, and, naturally, the best cooks, and the fruits of their culinary labors. The burghers, keeping their nose to the wind, also tried, at least by smell and hearsay, to reproduce something similar in their kitchens...
As a matter of fact, this could have been an end to the history of the development of Berlin cuisine, if not for the two kings. The first is Louis XIV. It’s truly “there would be no happiness, but misfortune would help.” King Sun began to restrict the rights of French Calvinists - Huguenots more and more harshly, it came to forced conversion to Catholicism and the abolition of the Edict of Nantes in 1685 (adopted in 1598 and guaranteeing freedom of religion). There was nothing to do, the Huguenots had to flee to the “brotherly” Protestant countries.
By 1701, the date of the formation of the Kingdom of Prussia, 6 thousand French (25% of the population) lived in Berlin, which became its capital. It was they who turned the exhausted and devastated land of the Thirty Years' War into a flourishing land. Hitherto unknown vegetables appeared on the table of Berliners - cauliflower, green beans, spinach, lettuce, cucumbers, artichokes, cherries. Cheese making and white bread are also their merit. And culinary technology has undergone a noticeable French influence...
The second king who greatly influenced Berlin cooking was Frederick the Great. He, however, was distinguished not by his gourmetism, but by his voracious appetite for foreign territories. To implement plans for large-scale seizures, a special circular dated March 24, 1756 ordered citizens to plant potatoes everywhere. As a result, the “second bread of the people” began a victorious march across Prussia.
In the building of the oldest inn in the city (1410) at Karolinenstrabe 12 there is a restaurant named after Frederick the Great Alter Fritz, where, in addition to international cuisine, they serve old Berlin dishes Oh'p Fetzn(Roast drunk bull) Rind auf Reisen(Cow Traveler) and a dessert with an all-conciliating name Suedes Ende(Sweet demise). Simple folk potato ventures are still alive in Berlin, for example Kartoffel mit Beamtenstippe- potatoes with “Poor Official” sauce.
But, really, in a modern version, this dish of the urban poor of the 19th century would be more suitable for a mid-ranking official, since the flour sauce is now prepared with minced meat or fried bacon.
POTATOES WITH “POOR OFFICIAL” SAUCE
We will need:
300 g minced meat;
2 onions, cut into small cubes;
4 tbsp flour;
2 bay leaves;
50 g butter;
0.6 l hot water;
Salt, pepper - to taste;
Potatoes - according to appetite;
Parsley;
Pickled cucumber.
Stirring, fry the minced meat for 10 minutes, add the onion and fry for another 5 minutes. Add flour, mix thoroughly, pour in boiling water, add bay leaf, salt and pepper and simmer for another 15 minutes. Serve with pickled cucumber and boiled potatoes sprinkled with parsley.
To be honest, it turns out quite tasty, although the recipe seems simpler than steamed turnips... Speaking of turnips. The Germans, as well as many other peoples, have been growing this vegetable for a long time. The roots of the turnip can also be traced back to German folklore. The Brothers Grimm have a cautionary tale called “The Turnip,” which tells the story of a poor man who grows an unusually huge turnip. He pulled it out without difficulty, not like our unlucky family (the Germans have always been distinguished by their thorough approach to technical problems), but he didn’t eat it! Don't be a fool, our hero, on a cart drawn by two oxen, took the turnips as a gift to the king and became fabulously rich...
But in Berlin it was not famous for being huge, but even small, the size of chicken egg, a slightly elongated turnip from the Teltov capital parish. It has a very pleasant taste - delicate and sweet. Teltower Rübchen, stewed in butter with white meat sauce, sugar and vinegar, was very popular with Goethe and Kant. Once upon a time, this root vegetable was prepared for ceremonial dinners and even exported abroad. Today, the Teltov turnip is found much less frequently (potatoes planted by order have filled everything), and, nevertheless, they still try to treat important and honored guests from foreign countries with it. Just know this: if Teltower Rübchen is on the Berlin table, you are a VIP!
But the non-VIP players also need to reinforce themselves. Paying tribute to the Huguenots and their leader Henry IV (smart enough to change religion in time), let's remember his historical phrase: “Paris is worth mass,” rephrase it in an earthly German way: “Berlin is worth lunch,” and go to dinner. After all, we are in the capital of modern, well-fed and abundant Germany.
And therefore, as Heine wrote: “We will not lack Göttingen sausages, Hamburg ham, Pomeranian goose breast, ox tongues, steamed veal brains, lamb heads, dried cod, different types jellies and Berlin crumpets "... Therefore, forget about the diet (you will sit at home), work up an appetite (with your legs, legs, without any taxis), loosen your belts and go ahead - to storm the bastions of grub! Let’s start, as is customary these days, with “fast food”...
To outsiders B
In modern Berlin there are Italian pizzerias, Irish pubs, French bistros, Japanese sushi bars, Chinese restaurants, and even Georgian ones - for example, "Genazvale"(knowing about our partiality for good barbecue and khachapuri, we will provide the address: Windscheidstrasse 14).
There are, of course, Russian establishments with inescapable borscht and dumplings. One of the Russian bars worth visiting is located on Steinstrasse 12 and has a Winnie the Pooh name "To Outsiders B"
(in German "Trespassers-W"), which already testifies in favor of its owners: a sense of humor is an indispensable attribute of an epicurean gastronome.
And the range of drinks will give odds to the most fashionable bar - from caipirinha (the favorite drink of Brazilian villagers and, they say, German burghers) to Bloody Mary, from all kinds of homemade liqueurs and vodkas to very interesting wines. Borscht and dumplings are not canceled... However, we would not recommend confining yourself to your “original” - in Berlin there is what there is, and there is where there is. There are over 11 thousand catering establishments here. I don’t want to choose...
Hertha Heuwer's sausages
Toropyzhki can eat quite satisfyingly and cheaply (!) at the kiosks Schnellimbiss(“quick, in one bite”), which offer typical Berlin sausages Currywurst - cut into pieces, generously sprinkled with ketchup and dusted with “Indian” curry powder, unknown to real Indians.
Berliners loved this “uncrowned queen of fried sausages” so much that in June 2003, a memorial plaque was hung on the wall of house 101 Kantstrasse in memory of Hertha Heuwer, who ran a snack bar here and invented the “food” back in 1949. And who after this will dare to try not to try the “memorial” sausages! One can imagine what the quality of sausages was like in hungry post-war Berlin, cut off from the rest of West Germany, if they had to be drowned in hot spicy sauce. However, to hungry Berliners, this simple food seemed the height of culinary perfection; more than one generation grew up on it, poems and songs were written about it, and little by little it became a cult. Sausages can be ordered with or without casing, and in addition (for spicy lovers) you can get chili pepper, red onion flavored with chili, or Worcestershire sauce.
However, fast-food is not suitable for true gourmets, so let’s better start with classic snacks...
Curled up pug.
In the Berlin appetizer category, there's one we just can't help but say a few words of praise about. German Rollmops- this is a marinated roll of fresh herring fillet (this is a classic, although a well-soaked salted fillet will work), wrapped around some savory tidbit, such as a pickled or pickled cucumber. Historians believe that this dish appeared in Berlin somewhere in the middle of the 19th century, when a developed network railways made it possible to quickly deliver herring from the North Sea coast. Today, rollomps are widespread in the cuisines of the Scandinavian and Baltic countries, and the term itself has long been the property of international cuisine (although now rollomps are sometimes called meat rolls).
ROLMOPS
We will need:
4 herring fillets, cut crosswise into halves;
2 gherkins (or 1 tsp capers);
1 tbsp. mustard;
1 finely chopped onion;
For the marinade:
250 ml 3% vinegar;
125 ml water;
2 onions, cut into half rings;
8 black peppercorns;
1 tsp mustard seeds.
For the marinade, boil water with vinegar, add chopped onions with spices and let cool to 40°C. Coat the pieces of herring with mustard, add chopped onion and a quarter of a cucumber, and roll up tightly. secure closer to the center with two wooden toothpicks and place in a jar with marinade. Marinate for 5 days, although if guests unexpectedly show up, you can put it on the table already on the third day.
Naturally, rollomps are eaten cold with various sauces based on sour cream, horseradish, dill and onions, and sometimes with mashed potatoes, sprinkled with parsley.
Do you want to be accepted as one of their own in any Berlin eatery? Unite with local proletarians! They eat the rollomps in three bites, pushing the forks and spoons to the side. First, the rollpug bites off to one toothpick, then turns the other side and to the second. Down with her! In the end, there is only one left - and on it the last, most delicious piece of cake goes into her mouth.
The topic of snacks could have been completed at this point, if not for Mikhail Bulgakov: “Note, Ivan Arnoldovich, cold snacks... are only eaten by landowners who were undercut by the Bolsheviks. A more or less self-respecting person handles hot snacks.” The right direction has been outlined - forward!
Hypocritical slob
For a hot appetizer, we will not order warm German potato salad, but will choose the typical Berlin hard-boiled eggs in mustard sauce with mashed potatoes ( Senfeier mit Kartoffelpuree). This simple dish fully reflected the taste of Berliners and the slightly arrogant irony of the residents of the “big city”. Berliners dubbed the dish - Senfeier mit Tarttiffelpampe, inserting instead of potatoes the name of the hypocrite and hypocrite of Molière's Tartuffe (Tarttiffel) and calling the puree a weakling (Pramre). They say sarcastically that its consistency is just right for dentures.
And about the mustard sauce, which is indispensable in this dish, they say that it is a joy for any man - it can be fat, like a wife, and skinny, like a mistress. They are sarcastic and make wisecracks, but these eggs and mashed potatoes are ordered.
EGGS IN MAID SAUCE WITH MASHED POTATOES
We will need (for 3 servings):
100 g butter;
250 ml liquid sour cream;
1 kg of potatoes;
Ground nutmeg;
For the sauce:
100 g melted butter;
1 tsp flour;
2 tbsp. spoons of hot mustard;
1 onion;
0.5 l chicken broth;
1 tsp Sahara,
Salt, black pepper.
Peel and boil the potatoes. Add butter, sour cream, salt, grated nutmeg and prepare puree. For the sauce: simmer finely chopped onion in oil, add flour, stir, add broth, reduce by half, add mustard, salt and pepper to taste and let simmer for a while. Boil hard-boiled eggs, peel. Place on a plate, place a mound of puree next to it and pour generously over the sauce.
Peas sound loud!
Let's try to master German for the first time Erbsensuppe mit Würstchen- thick, satisfying pea soup a meal that in itself can replace a full lunch. We do not at all insist that you order it in a restaurant, but at home, especially in winter, it will go very well. Cooking in Berlin, as it should be:
BERLIN PEA SOUP
We will need:
300 g dried peas;
60 g diced bacon;
1 chopped onion;
1 potato, cut into small cubes;
1.3 liters of chicken or beef broth;
1/2 tsp. dried marjoram (or oregano) or a pinch of dried thyme;
2 chopped smoked sausages;
Salt and black pepper, a little chopped parsley.
Rinse and soak overnight in cold water peas.
In a large deep sauté pan, fry the bacon over medium heat. As soon as fat starts to be released. add onions and potatoes, fry for 5 minutes. Add peas, pour in broth, bring to a boil, remove foam, let simmer for 5 minutes. Then reduce heat, add herbs, cover with lid and cook for 30-40 minutes. Finally season with salt and pepper. If you wish, you can process the soup in a blender until smooth (we like this option), although it is better not to do this. When serving, add chopped fried sausages and parsley to the soup...
The story of the rise and fall of the famous restaurateurs Aschinger is connected with Berlin pea soup. These Württemberg brothers opened at the beginning of the 20th century a whole network of restaurants, bistros and pastry shops, traditionally located on the corner of the house. They served pea soup, and buns with it - free and without restrictions. The Ashingers owned the Ninth Spring brewery - anyone who bought beer there received a package of Berlin white buns (Schrippe) as a gift. These institutions saved many Berliners in the hungry 1920s, including wonderful artists and writers, and live in the memory of native Berliners to this day.
During the war, most of these restaurants were destroyed, and the premises in East Berlin were nationalized.
Gray cardinal schnitzel
The most curious dish of classic Berlin cuisine could be called schnitzel a la Holstein ( Holsteiner Schnitzel). It is associated with the name of the gray cardinal Wilhelm II, the privy councilor of Friedrich von Holstein, who was involved in the removal of the “Iron Chancellor” Bismarck from his post. It is said that this dish was first prepared according to the adviser's own recipe in 1890 by the chef of the Berlin restaurant Borchardt. Holstein did not like to be exposed in public places (the “gray” position was obligatory) and therefore, unexpectedly appearing in the restaurant, he immediately told the cook: “I have absolutely no time!” Serve the appetizer and main course in one plate, and quickly!” The cook did just that, and it turned out quite well - no worse than our habit of throwing a ladle of Olivier salad with a piece of melted jellied meat and a piece of herring onto one plate.
SCHNITZEL A LA HOLSTEIN
We will need:
1 veal schnitzel (150 g);
2 slices of white brick bread;
40 g butter;
2 canned anchovies, washed in water;
1 tsp capers;
2 slices smoked salmon;
1 sardine canned in oil;
Salt, pepper - to taste.
For garnish:
Caps of small champignons fried with onions;
Fried potatoes.
Heat 30 g of butter and fry the schnitzel on one side, then turn over. Salt and pepper, fry on the other side, transfer to a heated plate. Fry the fried eggs in the same oil. At the same time, toast the toast and cut it diagonally. Cover the schnitzel with fried egg and place the anchovies crosswise on it. Fill the spaces between the fish with capers. Place the side dish nearby, leaving a section of the plate free. Spread the remaining butter on the hot toast. Place slices of salmon and sardine on toast. Place them in the free sector of the plate.
Pig flight.
CORNED BEEF FROM KASSEL
Berlin product - "kasseler", or "kassler", ( Kasseler, Cassleg) - pork prepared in a special way: first salting, then boiling and smoking. This method of preserving meat was invented around 1880 by the Berlin butcher Cassel.
The meat is dry-salted for 24 hours, then kept in brine with added sugar for several days, then boiled in it until the temperature inside the piece reaches 70°C, dried thoroughly and smoked for three hours at 100°C. The result is a beautiful and the appetizing product is brownish-golden on the outside and pinkish-reddish on the inside.
Kasseler, which can be stored for quite a long time, revolutionized meat preparation and German cooking. It doesn’t take much time to prepare a wide variety of dishes with it, so it can be added at the same time as vegetables. Today, two versions of kasseler are sold: hard parts of the carcass - for further cooking or stewing, tender pieces (tenderloin and tongue) - in the form of slices. The list of dishes from the kasseler alone could fill an impressive brochure. For example, Kasseler Braten - roast boneless loin (shoulder, neck), Kasseler Rippenspeer - brisket baked in puff pastry, with a side dish of potatoes and sauerkraut.
Finally, you can look for Kasseler Kotelett on the menu - this is the name of the loin with the bone, which is usually braised and sometimes served with vinegar jelly (the latter dish is called Siilzkotelett). It is interesting that since the 1960s, German cuisine, striving for “lightness,” treated these two dishes with disdain, if not contempt, since for the generation of hippies and their descendants, corned beef cutlets became a symbol of inertia, narrow-mindedness and conservatism. Only in recent years Kasseler Kotelett is once again winning the hearts of the Germans and is being used by many chefs as a basis for creativity.
Another typical Berlin dish, now popular throughout Germany, is pork knuckle eisbein ( Eisbein). Eisbein literally means "ice foot". It is believed that such a strange name for a hot dish arose long before the appearance of the dish itself and is associated with sports. Several centuries ago, when metalworking was still imperfect and expensive, the runners of skates, on which German boys, having learned from the Dutch, raced across frozen lakes and rivers, were made from the strongest bone of a pig's leg - the femur. The runners were called “icebein”, and over time this concept passed on to the most popular dish in Berlin cuisine. Real Berlin icebein is prepared only from salted knuckle (that’s why we mentioned “kasseler”), although there are also options that allow raw knuckle as a starting material. The shank is first boiled for a long time with spices and herbs (celery is a must), and a handful of sugar added to the broth gives the meat a soft pink hue. Then the shank, cooked until completely soft, is either baked in the oven until crispy, or grilled and served hot.
Knuckle in Germany has many regional names, and the recipes themselves differ in the same way. In the east, it is customary to serve it with yellow peas, which were especially popular in the 18th-19th centuries. and even served as a symbol of Prussian army cuisine. In the Berlin version, pea puree (Erbspuree) must certainly be homogeneous and thick. If there is not enough density, add boiled potatoes, pass through the blender again, and to top it off, add bacon cut into cubes and fried with onions. The notorious German sauerkraut (Sauerkraut) is implied in this dish by default, since in Berlin it is called in full - Eisbein mit Erbspuree und Sauerkraut.
The Berlin Eisbein was favored by the philosopher Immanuel Kant, the poet Friedrich Klopstock, the actress Marlene Dietrich, and even the famous jazzman Louis Armstrong.
ICEBINE / ICE FOOT
We will need:
1 pork knuckle;
1 onion;
1 carrot;
1 stalk (with leaves) of celery, thyme;
4-5 black peppercorns;
1 crushed clove of garlic;
Rosemary, ground black pepper;
Light beer.
Boil water in a large saucepan, add carrots, onions, celery, peppercorns, put the knuckle in and cook for 30 minutes. Remove the shank, cut the skin with a diagonal mesh, rub with a mixture of garlic, black pepper, thyme and rosemary. Place the knuckle on the grill, place a baking sheet under it, pour a little beer into it. Bake for 1.5-2 hours, brushing with beer every 15 minutes, 30 minutes before the end, brushing with a mixture of beer and honey every 10 minutes (the crust will look like varnish). Suitable side dishes include mashed peas, boiled potatoes, and stewed sauerkraut.
More life.
Another German word Kotelett firmly migrated into the Russian lexicon; it, in turn, came to Germany from the French cotelette (“meat between the ribs”). This is what the Germans still call exclusively chops, often on the bone, which we also did until certain times. However, with late XIX century, “cutlets” (sometimes with the addition of “chopped”) in Russia began to be used mainly to refer to products made from various minced meats. Thus, two completely different dishes appeared in Russian culinary terminology - chopped cutlets (made from minced meat) and chops, or natural (from a whole piece of meat). Over time, the former were simply called cutlets, and the latter - chops.
So, the cutlet (in our current understanding) is the same symbol of Berlin as the Brandenburg Gate, although the most direct relation to this dish is not the Germans, but the same French Huguenots who have taken root in this city. So the old Berlin cutlet is about 300 years old. In the Brandenburg Cookbook, published in 1723, potato salad is mentioned as a dish of court cuisine, which was served with chopped cutlets boulets berlinoises - then the Huguenots prepared them exclusively from veal. The name of the cutlets changed over time to Bulette and only survived in Berlin, in the rest of Germany Dusseldorf is accepted Frikadelle(from the Italian frittadella - “fried in a frying pan”).
In French, boulet is a six-pound cannonball (maybe this is why the Prussian warriors loved the cutlets so much), and therefore it was initially assumed that the Berlin cutlet must certainly be large, juicy and round, which it remains so to this day. As a filler, Berliners usually add a stale soaked bun to the minced meat (no more than 25% of the total mass) - this strict standard was established scientifically in 1936, when veterinarian Willy Bernsdorf defended his dissertation on the topic: “Histological studies of Berlin cutlets. Critical comparison."
Regardless of science and dissertations, every Berlin housewife cherishes her family recipe. The Germans are very fond of fatty pork, oozing with meat juices, and therefore believe that without it it is impossible to cook a real cutlet. The best secret is to mix the shredded pork with minced raw Bratwurst sausages intended for frying. Firstly, it is already seasoned as it should be, and secondly, any housewife is sure that a good butcher uses only the highest quality minced meat.
CUTLETS
We will need:
1 kg of fatty meat;
250 g stale white bread without crust;
200 g of water or milk;
Chopped onion, garlic, salt and black pepper.
Soak the bread for 10 minutes in water or milk. Then squeeze thoroughly and mix with minced meat. Form into cutlets and fry over high heat. Bring the fried cutlets to readiness over low heat under the lid.
Let's pay tribute to Prussian cuisine, remembering that Berlin was once the capital of Prussia. In this regard, the famous dish comes up - “klops” (Klops), which originally consisted of chopped and fried pieces of meat, which explains its name - from klopfen (“beat”). Klops were prepared from any meat, naturally cut across the grain - beef, pork, venison, bear or wild boar, but most often from veal. In pre-revolutionary St. Petersburg, one of the standard restaurant dishes was “schnellklops” ( Schnellklops) - “quick chop”. So let's quickly prepare it.
SCHNELKLOPS
We will need:
1.5 kg of meat;
3 tbsp. spoons of butter;
2 onions;
10 potatoes;
Salt and pepper - to taste.
For sour cream sauce:
1 glass of sour cream;
2 cups broth;
1 tbsp. spoon of flour;
Oil, salt to taste.
Beat the meat thoroughly and sprinkle salt and pepper on both sides. Quickly brown in a frying pan on both sides. Place the meat in a deep saucepan, and in the same frying pan fry the chopped onion until golden, combine with the meat and pour over sour cream sauce, cooked all in the same frying pan. For the sauce, grind a handful of flour with a piece of butter to form a lump crumbly dough, and dip it into the mixture of sour cream and broth. Flour introduced in this form will not create lumps in the sauce. Steam the meat (putting the saucepan in a bowl of boiling water) under the lid. When it becomes soft, place on a plate. Serve boiled potatoes as a side dish, pouring melted butter over them.
However, the traditionally economical (everything for the front!) Prussian cuisine came up with bugs from minced meat, for which any hard parts of the carcass are suitable. The most famous Prussian recipe of this kind is “Königsberg bedbugs” ( Königsberger Klopse) - stewed meatballs in a spicy white sauce. The classic version is made from fatty ground beef and lean veal, although semi-finished products in cans under the Königsberger Klopse brand, which are sold everywhere in Germany, including in Berlin, are often made from pork...
Cooking up the classics:
KÖNIGSBERG BUGS
We will need:
500 g mixed minced meat (beef and veal);
100 g white bread without crust;
Half an onion;
40 g lean bacon.
For the broth:
0.5 liters of vegetable broth;
3 pcs. bay leaf;
5 peas each of allspice and black pepper;
1 onion, cut in half.
For the sauce:
30 g butter;
30 g flour;
50 g capers;
Juice of half a lemon;
1 tsp. mustard;
0.5 tsp. Sahara;
1 yolk.
Soak the loaf in water, then squeeze it out. Cut the onion and bacon into small cubes. Add the egg, salt and pepper, knead the minced meat. Add onion and spices to the broth. Place on low heat. Form the minced meat into balls 3.5–4 cm in diameter and place in the broth. Increase the heat. As soon as the broth boils, reduce the heat to low. Boil the bugs for 20 minutes, then remove from the broth along with the onion and bay leaf. Lightly saute the flour with butter. Strain the broth through a sieve, add sautéed flour, bring to a boil, pour in lemon juice. Salt and pepper the sauce, add mustard and sugar. Cook for 2-3 minutes, stirring constantly. Add yolk and capers; mix. Return the bugs to the sauce. Cook for another 10 minutes. Serve with boiled potatoes and boiled beets, cut into slices.
Minced meat dishes require less meat, and its quality can be anything, so Prussian bugs very quickly gained popularity in Europe, including Russia, gradually turning into meatballs... And it’s time for us to move on to dessert - we’re doing well led, and no one left us without sweets.
Oil guns.
It is unlikely that after such a lunch you will be able to cope Berliner Pfannkuchen (Krapfen), “Berlin donuts”, or simply “Berliners”. But if you want a snack, buy at least one.
These donuts were invented in 1756 - during the Seven Years' War. A certain Berlin journeyman baker longed to serve with “Old Fritz,” but, unfortunately, the doctors declared him unfit for combat. Then he asked to be a baker in the wagon train and, as a token of gratitude, made for his fellow soldiers delicious donuts, shaped like cannonballs (well, the warlike Prussians love gun themes - be it a cutlet or baked goods). He didn't have a stove, so he a quick fix fried them in fat in a frying pan. I liked the idea, and in just a few decades his donuts spread throughout all German lands, but only masters trained in Berlin, the hero’s homeland, were allowed to fry them in other cities. And they were called then Berliner Pfannkuchen(Berlin donuts) - over time, the second word simply disappeared.
Berlin donuts gained worldwide fame on July 23, 1963, during Kennedy’s visit to Berlin, when the American president, deciding to support Berliners frightened by the premonition of a new world war, shouted: “Ich bin ein Berliner.” This amused many.
Those with a sweet tooth should head to patisseries Konditorei. Considered the best of this kind Cafe Kranzler on the corner Kurfiirstendamm And Joachimstaler Strasse-focus on the round pavilion on the roof. However, each Berlin cafe has its own clientele. It is reputed to be the most elegant establishment with a literary touch. Cafe Einstein on Kurfiirstenstrasse 58. And in Zum Trichter at Schiffbauerdamm 7 Actors and journalists prefer to spend their time there.
DONUTS BERLIN STYLE
For the test we need:
800 g flour;
45 g fresh yeast;
50 g sugar;
150 ml and another 3 tbsp. l. lukewarm milk;
5 yolks;
70 g butter at room temperature;
Salt - to taste.
For deep frying:
Deodorized vegetable oil
For the filling:
Jam (raspberry, cherry, plum or apricot)
For sprinkling:
Powdered sugar
Crumble yeast with 1 tbsp. sugar, pour in 3 tbsp. milk, stir and place in a warm place for 15 minutes. Sift the flour into the bowl of a food processor using a mound. Make a well in the center and pour in the diluted yeast and remaining milk. egg yolks, add sugar, butter, salt. Process the dough in a food processor until it begins to pull away from the sides of the bowl. Place the dough in a warm place for 30-40 minutes (it should double in volume).
Sprinkle flour on your work surface and roll out the dough to a thickness of just under 2 cm. Use a glass or cup to cut out circles, cover with a towel and let rise for 10 minutes. Meanwhile, heat the oil in a deep fryer to 190°C. Place 2-3 donuts in hot oil and fry until dark golden brown. Remove with a slotted spoon and place on a paper towel to absorb excess fat. Let the donuts cool and then fill them with jam using a pastry syringe. Sprinkle with powdered sugar.
In law.
Beer (Bier) is the main drink of Germany, and probably no one understands it like the Germans, who like to say that their beer comes in only two varieties: good and very good. This is the honest truth - there is no such thing as bad or mediocre beer in Germany.
Still in force in this country Reinheitsgebot- an ancient Bavarian law on the purity of the “holy” drink, adopted back in 1516 and regulating the quality and quantity of components from which German beer can be made. This law first applied to the three main products of brewing: water, barley malt and hops; later the Bavarians added yeast to this list and made a special clause about wheat. Until now, water for German beer is taken only from underground sources, the highest possible demands are placed on hops, and German barley malt remains as unique as the Burgundy Pinot Noir grape variety in winemaking. It is its aroma that gives German beers their extraordinary depth.
It was not for nothing that the Bavarian princes, when revising the law on the purity of beer, left a “wheat” loophole for themselves, because only princely breweries were allowed to brew beer from wheat (and not barley) malt. Today, when German wheat beer Weizenbier(sometimes called Weissbier - “white” beer) is already 800 years old and is becoming fashionable again. Weizen beer does not undergo the intensive processing of a lager and often undergoes secondary fermentation in bottles, and yeast cultures give the drink a spicy, clove-like aroma. Wheat malt (wheat beer must contain at least 50% wheat) gives the beer lightness, fullness of taste and a slightly sour, refreshing aftertaste.
One of the characteristic varieties is Berliner Weisse(Berlin White) is a foaming low-alcohol beer, born in Berlin in 1680. It's traditional to drink in Berlin Weisse mit Schuss, that is, “wheat with an additive” - the role of the “additive” is most often green syrup of fragrant woodruff (Waldmeister) and red raspberry syrup (Himbeer). However, there is no sin in drinking German wheat beer without any additives.
Recently, a lot of new catering establishments have opened and continue to open in Kaliningrad, from fast food, all kinds of cozy cafes to expensive restaurants. In them you can find everything from classic German sausages and beer, continuing with Italian and Asian cuisine, ending with dishes in a couple of good English pubs. But why isn’t there a single place with traditional Königsberg cuisine?!
Koenigsberg is a city with centuries-old culinary traditions, which, unfortunately, are practically not being restored or supported in today’s Kaliningrad. And if you imagine for a moment that a small family restaurant would open in some villa somewhere in the Amalienau region, which would be furnished with real Königsberg furniture and dishes, and in which East Prussian dishes would be prepared! And here a stingy girlish tear almost ran down my cheek.
By the way, about dishes: once my dad, while repairing the sewer system of my German house, dug out a German oval dish with a red border and a swastika on the back. I also remember the beer mug that my neighbor found while digging soil for a vegetable garden near a centuries-old oak tree not far from the house (the oak tree has not existed for a year now). He accidentally broke a beer mug with a shovel, but despite this he collected all the fragments and glued them together.
What would an East Prussian restaurant be without the famous Königsberg bedbugs!
Every self-respecting German housewife New Year I definitely prepared them.
a meat dish made from several meatballs, topped with sauce. Bed bugs prepared in East Prussia have become especially popular in Europe. Classic Königsberg bugs were made from fatty ground beef and veal. According to the traditional recipe, minced meat, soaked and squeezed bun, egg, finely chopped onion, salt, pepper were mixed well, round balls were formed from this mass with wet hands, thrown into a boiling broth with marrow bones, spices, bay leaves and cooked for 10 minutes.
Klops went especially well with schnapps. For example, the branded Pregelgestank (“Pregol stench”). It was produced in Gross Holstein (now the village of Pregolsky) and, despite the strange name, was very good quality. By the way, its name comes from the specific Pregol stench, which is accompanied by western storms and surge winds.
Or, for example, klops with schnapps “Blutgeschwuer” (“Bloody Ulcer”), which was diluted with cognac and cherry liqueur (this drink was called Speicherratte or “Warehouse Rat”).
Elefantendubs (“Suspicious Elephant”) schnapps could only be tasted at Winkler’s establishment and only with the signature fried eggs.
The famous schnapps “Zur Katze” (“To the cat”) was served in the restaurant of the same name at Burgstrasse 7 (Proletarskaya St.) - one third of the contents of the glass were filled with the purest cream.
Also in local restaurants, visitors were offered Flibb - warm beer with sugar, spices and flour, generously flavored with rum for strength and aroma (Flibb was also prepared at home).
Another dish that was served in local establishments was Königsberg fleck. Fleck was an East Prussian hot dish made from beef tripe, richly flavored with spices (Cut beef intestines are boiled for four to five hours and - while still hot - seasoned with salt, pepper, marjoram, vinegar and fruit juice). This is a very ancient dish, which became a truly popular dish back in the 16th century. You could taste it in Königsberg not only in restaurants and drinking establishments, but also in markets, on street corners, where cooks offered a fragrant “cup of fleck for just a dittchen.”
The city residents also loved Schwadengruetze - forks of boiled cereal with seasonings and sugar (relatively speaking, a lump made from a very thick porridge). By the way, I have eaten Polish flek, but my feelings towards this dish are very mixed.
Königsberg cuisine included several dozen fish dishes. The most famous are ruff soup and fish in beer.
For ruff soup, the fish was cleaned, the gills, entrails and bones were removed, and the back part was separated. Vegetables, spices, salt - all this was thrown into water brought to a boil, the backs of the ruffs were carefully lowered into it, and all this stuff was cooked for thirty minutes. After which it was filtered through a fine sieve, seasoned with butter, two raw egg yolks, parsley, salt, pepper, lemon juice - reunited with the broth and served in clay soup cups.
Fish in beer was easier to prepare. The secret is that half liters of water you need to mix with the same amount of dark beer, bring to a boil and cook the fish in this mixture for fifteen to twenty minutes. Then add salt - pepper - parsley - celery, butter, potato flour, lemon juice, and most importantly - several gingerbread cookies previously softened in warm water to the broth. And simmer for a few more minutes, thoroughly stirring the sauce and trying not to disturb the fish. Boiled potatoes were usually served as a side dish.
Also in restaurants and cafes, visitors could order Hoppel-Poppel (similar to eggnog), hot sausages “Knistchen” (“Knee”), “Seehundschen” (translated as “seal” - or, more precisely, “seal fat”) and “ Moorhundschen” (“Swamp Dog”) is a two-year-old smoked gray curd cheese with cumin and onions.
Grene Ersen mit Speck (gray peas with lard), Kartoffelbrei mit SpirKeln ( mashed potatoes with spirkeln - this food made your stomach noticeably round), Belten-Bartseh (table beets, boiled, peeled, cut into pieces - served with a sauce of butter or margarine, wheat flour, broth, salt and lemon juice; they could swim in the broth small meatballs - cheap and cheerful, and increased hemoglobin in the blood).
Königsberg's signature dishes were Kreide or "Chalk" (a sweet consisting of dates, cloves and crushed ginger, seasoned with spices). Under Duke Albrecht, it became fashionable to present “Chalk” at weddings. And at the beginning of the 20th century, the so-called “plum chalk” was popular in Königsberg. It was served with soups (German soups are more like puree in consistency).
For dessert, naturally, there was Königsberg marzipan.
Marzipan was originally an oriental confectionery product. Back in the Middle Ages, it came to Venice from Cyprus and Greece, and from Venice it was carried to Lübeck and Königsberg. The first marzipans that appeared here were presented on June 1, 1526 for the wedding of Duke Albrecht and the Danish princess Dorothea. There were these exotic delicacies that were round in shape, with a sugar mass inside and candied fruit on the outside. Later marzipans, having healing properties, began to be sold in pharmacies.
Königsberg marzipan was usually shaped into a heart shape. It was mixed with rose water. Now you can’t get it, but during the existence of the old city it was freely sold in city pharmacies. You can also pour water with aromatic additives into the dough, but real “marzipan from Königsberg” will no longer work. The highlight of the marzipan was the core of the bitter nut, ground together with the sweet almonds. In addition, marzipan was roasted in the oven, its color became more saturated. With a shiny crust, darker and more savory, it was different from Berlin, and connoisseurs often preferred Königsberg marzipan.
Koenigsberg sweet lovers loved Schmand und Glumse (“Curd Stubborn”), which was made from cream and cottage cheese.
Forgive me, but I don’t want to talk about raven dishes, although it was a very traditional ingredient for our city.
I won’t say anything about beer either, since this topic deserves a separate discussion.
The cuisine of Koenigsberg is very interesting and unusual. For some reason, I immediately had a desire to go to the kitchen and cook something out of all this, which, again, is not typical for me.
Someone give me a cookbook with recipes from Königsberg! Preferably pre-war, of course, to complete my collection. Well, or at least links to similar ones on the Internet.
In Kaliningrad you must try traditional dishes. Local cuisine has been formed over 7 centuries by people of various nationalities. In it you can find treats typical of Germany, the Baltics, Russia and other regions. This unusual mix is really good. We'll tell you what food and drinks to try in the Kaliningrad region. Let's talk about what gastronomic souvenirs to bring home as a treat.
Koenigsberg bedbugs
You don’t have to look long for where to eat bedbugs in Kaliningrad. They are prepared in almost every traditional restaurant. Perhaps, delicious meat balls can be called the most popular dish in the Kaliningrad region. Meatballs are not fried, stewed, or even baked - they must be boiled in broth. And then pour in the most delicate creamy sauce with capers and bring to readiness. Served with boiled potatoes. Best company for bedbugs - a glass of good local beer.
Do you want to bring meatballs as a gift to your loved ones? Buy a locally produced semi-finished product in original packaging. If you fly close, bed bugs will cope well with the road.
Stroganina from bonito
This fish dish can only be tasted in the Kaliningrad region. In other regions, bonito is usually fried or baked. To prepare the appetizer, the fish is pre-frozen. And then they cut it into thin, almost transparent layers. Pelamid stroganina, a drop of lemon juice, onions, local rye bread, mustard - a delicious combination was invented in Kaliningrad. Neither friendly gatherings nor restaurant menus are complete without this dish.
Koenigsberg fleck
An ancient dish that came from East Prussia. Rich thick soup made from beef tripe with vegetables, spices, and herbs. The dish is hearty and quite fatty – not for weak stomachs. Once upon a time, stew was considered popular. The soup was prepared in large cauldrons in markets or right on the streets. Today, Königsberg fleck can be easily tasted in the best restaurants in Kaliningrad or in simple eateries; it is still popular.
Smoked eel
The real pride of the region. The Kaliningrad region has really tasty smoked eel, you should definitely try it. The delicacy is not cheap. On average, a kilogram of eel in the markets costs 2300-2600 rubles. In Kaliningrad restaurants you can order smoked eel, grilled. This is very delicious dish, which is often prepared in resort towns like Svetlogorsk or Zelenogradsk. It is believed that the best eel can be tasted in restaurants on the Curonian Spit.
Bring the delicacy as a gift to your loved ones. Smoked eel is sold in vacuum packaging even at the airport. But it’s cheaper to buy it in markets or specialized stores.
Baltic smelt
The recipe and technology for preparing Baltic smelt have been known since the Middle Ages. Be sure to try this delicious fish in Kaliningrad (it is not very common in the regions of Russia). Oddly enough, smelt smells fresh cucumbers. This small fish is usually breaded and fried. Served with a slice of lemon, potatoes, and black bread. Smelt is very good with beer. It's better not to take it home, it smells too much. But in restaurants you can order it at every opportunity - it is often prepared during the season.
Venison
There is a large reindeer herding farm near Kaliningrad. That's why restaurants in the city often cook venison. They bake, fry, make stroganina... Prices are lower than in most large Russian cities. Treat yourself to a local delicacy and try venison in Kaliningrad or its suburbs. We recommend ordering steak with berry sauce and mushrooms or potatoes on the side, it’s really tasty.
Baltic herring
You will quickly notice that the food preference in Kaliningrad is fish rather than meat. Here it is fried, boiled, baked, smoked, salted... Salads, soups, main dishes, and snacks are prepared with fish. In short, she is everywhere. Be sure to try any variations of dishes on the theme of Baltic herring. They are especially well prepared on the Curonian Spit. Take fried or salted herring with potatoes. In the Kaliningrad region they know a lot about this fish, don’t doubt it for a minute.
Apple pie with cinnamon
It’s special in Kaliningrad, it doesn’t look like charlotte - try it! In Königsberg they called him the “Apple Beggar.” It is based on the simplest ingredients: black bread, apples, cinnamon. Today the recipe is different, now the baked goods are more reminiscent of Austrian strudel. Locals recommend going to the cafe at the Altes Haus apartment museum. They say that there you can try a dessert prepared according to the original Koenigsberg recipe. And in other Kaliningrad restaurants of national cuisine, take apple pie or strudel, they really have a special taste.
Marzipan
Among the sweets in Kaliningrad, you must try the legendary Königsberg marzipan. It is prepared according to an old Prussian recipe and special technology. Therefore, the taste of local marzipan is different from what you could taste in most other cities or countries. Be sure to take the local one and not some other one. Order it in a cafe for tea or buy it home by weight. Sweetness comes with different levels of almonds and sugar. If you are interested in understanding the intricacies of choosing marzipan, be sure to take a look at this topic.
Königsberg marzipan is the best gastronomic souvenir from Kaliningrad. Buy it in the form of bars, gift-wrapped chocolate bars, or candies.
Beer "Ponart"
In Kaliningrad they brew beer according to old recipes. That is why the city is so famous for it. The most famous Königsberg beer is Ponart. In Kaliningrad it is served in the best restaurants of national cuisine. You can try the local foam in resort towns or during an excursion to the Curonian Spit. Careful attitude to beer brewing traditions makes it truly unique. Take it with knuckle, fish, pretzel, cheese in breadcrumbs or stroganina - they will complement each other perfectly.
Thematic tours
It’s more interesting to try the best traditional dishes of Kaliningrad in the company of an expert. Someone who will tell you about the history and why this or that recipe has stuck with the locals. And most importantly, it will show the most best places, which are not written about in guidebooks.
Tasting the best fish
A popular excursion in Kaliningrad with excellent reviews from tourists. You will get acquainted with the history of local fishing, gastronomic traditions of Konigsberg, and traditional dishes. While taking a boat ride, you will admire the city from an unusual angle, attend a master class with a chef, and visit a private smokehouse. It will be delicious and educational!
Curonian Spit
When you arrive in Kaliningrad, you should definitely set aside time to visit the Curonian Spit. It makes sense to combine a historical excursion with a gastronomic excursion. You will walk through the most beautiful places of the legendary reserve, and the guide will tell you all the most important things. Then you will get acquainted with Prussian cuisine and the culinary traditions of Königsberg. The tour will end with a culinary master class and tasting.
The best beer in Kaliningrad
The history of the legendary Ponart brewery, the traditions of making foam in Königsberg, fascinating stories and historical facts– a very eventful excursion. It is suitable for true connoisseurs of the drink. Of course, it won’t be complete without tasting. You will visit a microbrewery where you will taste craft beer. And for dinner, go to a unique restaurant: an equestrian knight show, local delicacies, a great atmosphere.
Marzipan and dinner in Bavarian style
An interesting walk through the historical districts of Kaliningrad, a fascinating acquaintance with old Koenigsberg. You will learn a lot, see important sights and get acquainted with the local culture. For “delicious” – a story about the main Königsberg dessert. And then you will have a traditional dinner at the restaurant. You can sample specialty beers and traditional German snacks.
Walk around Tilsit
Did you know that excellent cheese is made in the Kaliningrad region? During this excursion you will see this for yourself. You will have a walk through the ruins of the Teutonic castle, as well as a tour of the main attractions of Tilsit. The icing on the cake is a tour of the traditional Deutsches Haus cheese factory, where you will see the cheese making process and take part in a tasting.
Before your trip, be sure to check out our shopping guide in the Kaliningrad region. Tips for choosing souvenirs, gift ideas for loved ones - all the most important things in one place.
Interior of the restaurant Blutgericht ("Bloody Judgment") in Königsberg. The establishment was located in the northern wing of the Royal Castle in the underground cellar.
Photo 1904
“We seem to know a lot about French, German, Ukrainian and even exotic Chinese cuisines and today we borrow many recipes from them. But, honestly, tell me: at least once in your life have you had national East Prussian dishes on your table?” – my friend Maria from Wurzburg asks me.
She was born in East Prussia, in Königsberg. She lived there with her parents until she was 4 years old. Then the city was taken by Soviet troops. Maria remembers how her mother quickly collected her things and put them in a suitcase. She remembers how she opened the chest of drawers with a key and took out several large notebooks...
The manuscripts were not allowed to burn
Then the girl did not understand what kind of notebooks they were and why her mother hid them in a secluded place under the key. If it were an ordinary day, peaceful and, as always, childishly joyful, she would not have paid any attention to it. But on that terrible day, every little detail was sharply etched in the child’s memory for the rest of his life.
It was these mysterious notebooks, covered in neat handwriting, that became the most expensive of all parental inheritances - handwritten cookbooks that contain all the secrets of the family kitchen. They were passed down from generation to generation, changed, supplemented. And there was no forgiveness for those in the household who passed any of the family recipes into the wrong hands. Many East Prussian housewives carefully kept these handwritten books and, leaving Königsberg, took with them a piece of the original local culture to where no one was waiting for them... Not knowing whether tomorrow there would be a piece of bread, people who lost native land, nevertheless, they hoped that someday they would be able to set the table they had been accustomed to since childhood.
Today, recipes for traditional East Prussian cuisine are collected literally bit by bit. But now one can only admire its diversity, despite the fact that everyday food was simple.
Each housewife could prepare many dishes from ordinary potatoes, replace mayonnaise with cottage cheese in order to save a spoonful of butter, whole milk with buttermilk... Using various spices and herbs, she could add a unique taste and aroma to any dish.
East Prussian cuisine is famous for its harmonious combination of sweet, spicy and sour. Take, for example, thick soups (Eintopf) - spicy and rich, indispensable for people engaged in hard physical labor. These soups were so popular that they were regularly prepared in small local eateries. For example, any metropolitan restaurant would consider it an honor to offer thick pea soup with brisket (Loeffelerbsen) to its demanding customers.
However, Königsberg klops deserve special praise - perhaps the most favorite dish in East Prussia, without which not a single holiday could be completed. By the way, to date, 107 family recipes for bedbugs have been collected - from meat, fish, game, and poultry. They were boiled and fried.
Each family prepared them in their own way, with their own twist. Some recipes have come down to us from the time of our great-great-grandmothers, for example, peppered bugs (Pfefferklopse).
East Prussian housewives knew one more component of any dish, without which, in their opinion, the food would lose its unique taste: cooking with love, a smile, respect and charm is like a prayer. The kitchen was considered a holy place, where it was not customary to swear or swear with a neighbor, where it should be perfectly clean - both literally and figuratively (Ordnung! - always and in everything). In addition, reasonable savings, pedantic accuracy and careful handling of products. Almost nothing was thrown away.
Features of national hospitality
“Before talking about the peculiarities of East Prussian cuisine, it is impossible not to mention the hospitality of our hostesses. And the further east you went, the more cordial the welcome was,” says Maria.
The local hospitality is legendary. For example, if a belated traveler came into the house, he was immediately seated at the table and fed until he was full. The hostess served one plate of food, filled to the brim, then a second, a third... And if the guest refused the fourth, she asked in annoyance: “Didn’t you like it?”
Hospitality at a village wedding is separate topic. The whole district gathered to honor the newlyweds. Weddings were celebrated, as a rule, after the harvest on a grand scale and with a lavish table, and not for a day or two, but for a week, sometimes longer. We prepared ahead of time - fried, steamed, baked for two hundred people with plenty to spare. No one was supposed to leave without eating their fill.
Food for the wedding table was usually prepared by hired chefs. The bride and groom thought about the menu long before the wedding.
The table was laden with a myriad of dishes from poultry, pork, veal and other livestock, prepared according to national family recipes: fried bugs, pork stewed with plums, pork with sauerkraut, roast goose, chicken fricassee, fried homemade sausages in a pub, cream sauce, creamed ham (Schmandschinken), turkey stuffed with chestnuts, rabbit stew with leeks and, of course, smoked brisket, bacon, carbonation, lard... Plus a variety of complex meat and fish salads, salads from vegetables and herbs grown in their gardens. And if the owner was a hunter or fished, festive table complemented, for example, with such delicacies as hare giblets ragout, roast wild boar in beer sauce, elk in cream with assorted fruits, smoked salmon, carp in beer sauce or stuffed pike...
It is clear that not everyone could afford such hospitable holidays. We are talking about high- and middle-income families living on subsistence farming. The surplus was sold on the market, thanks to which city housewives could have fresh agricultural products on their tables, and rural residents could earn quite a bit of income.
It's not champagne that flows in your veins
East Prussian cuisine is traditionally very high in calories and nutrition. It cannot be compared with French (for some reason they like to compare all the cuisines of the world with it). The easy, carefree lifestyle of the French is reflected in the national cuisine. It's like champagne - it flows quickly through the blood. East Prussian, on the contrary, is heavy and massive.
Food in East Prussia, although it was quite simple, without frills and foreign dishes (in a word, patriotic), was distinguished by a wide variety of meat, fish and vegetable dishes. Potatoes occupied a place of honor in East Prussian cuisine, which goes perfectly not only with meat and fish, but also with vegetables, various sauces and mushrooms. There were always a lot of them in the local forests.
It's hard to imagine a Prussian table without smoked brisket,
lard, cream, sour cream and cottage cheese.
By the way, in the average East Prussian family it was not customary to eat hot meat dishes more than twice a week. Despite the fact that East Prussia was rich in fish (pike perch, eel, bream, perch, crucian carp, catfish, burbot, salmon, trout, herring, herring, cod, river and sea flounder, vendace, smelt and even lamprey from the Masurian lakes) , in the family diet it occupied an even more modest place: “Ein Mal pro Woche Fisch hält den Geist frisch” (fish once a week keeps one’s spirits up). A rather strange tradition, which began in the 16th century, when fishermen had to deliver all their catch to the ducal court for processing and further sale. On fasting days, residents were forbidden to have fish dishes on their tables.
Geographical location and climate are decisive
in shaping the cuisine of any country.
Therefore, from time immemorial, the inhabitants of Eastern Europe, be it East Prussia, the Baltic countries, Poland, Ukraine and partly Russia, have developed very similar methods of cooking, although many of the ingredients differed. Take, for example, borscht, which is so popular in Ukrainian national cuisine.
An indispensable component of borscht is beets. In addition, the broth is prepared in the same way. It can be meat, bone or mixed meat and bone. IN Ukrainian cuisine, unlike East Prussian borscht, cooking borscht takes quite a long time - from three to six hours (Poltava borscht with chicken or goose broth, naturally, cooks faster, and Chernigov borscht with meat and bone broth - 5-6 hours).
What is noteworthy is that East Prussian borscht does not contain cabbage or potatoes. For clarity, let’s compare the set of ingredients of dishes popular in both countries:
East Prussian borscht
- 1.5 liters of water,
- 1 kg of beets,
- 500 g beef,
- 1 beef bone,
- soup greens (usually parsley, dill, celery),
- 1 onion,
- 3-4 allspice peas,
- 2 bouillon cubes,
- 1 tsp. marjoram (without it there is rarely any the dish is being prepared),
- lemon juice or wine vinegar,
- sugar
- 250 g sour cream.
Ukrainian simple borscht
- 3 liters of water,
- 500 g beef,
- 1/4 head of cabbage,
- 4 potatoes,
- 1 large beet,
- 25 g lard,
- 25 g butter,
- 0.5 cups tomato paste or 2 tomatoes,
- 0.5 cups sour cream,
- 1 carrot,
- 1 parsley root,
- 2 onions,
- 1 tbsp. a spoon of 3% vinegar,
- 2 teaspoons of sugar,
- 3 bay leaves,
- 4-5 cloves of garlic,
- 3 peas of allspice,
- 5-6 black peppercorns,
- 1 tbsp. a spoonful of parsley.
Did you feel the difference?
“Restaurants of New Kaliningrad.Ru” attended an evening dedicated to East Prussian dishes at the Altes Haus museum-apartment. Translator, culinary specialist and history buff of Königsberg, Elena Selezneva, talked about what they liked to cook here before the war, and showed two dishes - a classic potato salad and a pie made from apples and bread crumbs.
Elena Selezneva talks about the culinary traditions of the Königsbergers:
For a long time, things were like this: yesterday there was a war, and today we got the Kaliningrad region, and until the end of the 80s - early 90s, this entire period - how people lived here before the war, where they went to eat, what they cooked at home and why - was completely hidden from us. And naturally, we tried to fill this information gap by talking with people who lived here before and who began to come here in the 90s.
At that time, I had just graduated from university, met the first German tourists, with whom I still keep in touch good relationship. I was interested in learning the history of the place where I live and which I love through cooking, and I asked my German friends to bring different cookbooks.
One of my favorite books on this topic is “Doennigs Kochbuch - Das ostpreußische Familien-Kochbuch” - the Doennigs cookbook - an East Prussian family cookbook. You could say that this book was the home economics bible of any East Prussian housewife, and it is written in such a way that you can absolutely trust it. The situation when you cook one thing according to a recipe, but it comes out completely different, is excluded in this case. It was through this book that I fell in love with East Prussian cooking.
The culinary traditions of this area were such that the maximum use was made of everything that this land and the farms located on it provided. Despite the fact that in Königsberg itself there were shops with colonial goods, where you could buy spices, interesting seasonings and many other interesting things, there were nogourmet dishes and complex sauces.
To a greater extent, the cuisine of East Prussia was homely and rustic: it used a lot of root vegetables in different variations. Sometimes I, turning to my culinary sources, think: why today is this tradition of processing and preparing our seasonal vegetables and root vegetables practically lost and unpopular?
One of the dishes we will prepare today is made from root vegetables - potato salad.
Potato salad
This was one of the favorite dishes of the residents of Königsberg, which was prepared and served at any family celebration. It is prepared quite simply, the only thing you need to take into account when preparing this salad is that some of the ingredients are prepared the day before: that is, tonight we boil the potatoes and prepare the dressing, and we will have the salad itself only tomorrow. This dish can be served separately, on its own, or can be served as a side dish: with meat, fish, game, stewed red cabbage, or sauerkraut with prunes, or with homemade sausages.
So, we need potatoes, preferably, as they say, a “hard” variety, that is, not mealy. We select potatoes of approximately the same size and boil them in their jackets in the evening. Drain the water and peel the still hot potatoes. We cut hot peeled potatoes into “pucks” and fill them with broth - it can be vegetable (cooked, for example, with roots) or meat. There should be enough broth so that it gets under the bottom layer of potatoes: chopped vegetables should not float in the broth. You will make this salad once or twice, and you will understand in what proportion to use the ingredients. For example, for 3 kilograms of boiled potatoes one and a half liters of broth will be needed.
As a traditional dressing for potatoes, we use pickled cucumbers, cut into small cubes, and juicy onions, which we also chopped, scalded with boiling water to remove the bitterness, and marinated in good vinegar with the addition of a pinch of salt and a pinch of sugar. Add this dressing to the potatoes and let the salad sit for about an hour. We've got the basic foundation.
The last thing I do is take a glass of good vegetable oil, I add to it a third of a glass of vinegar, mustard to taste, salt and pepper, dried thyme and shake everything well together. This is what we will season our salad with just before serving. You can also add fresh parsley or dill. This is how potato salad was prepared in Königsberg, and this is how it is still prepared in Germany today.
Those Germans who like richer food also added a mixture of regular and sour cream to the salad as a sauce - I can’t say that this somehow changed the taste of the salad, but it definitely became fattier and higher in calories. That's the whole secret. The rest is a matter of taste. You can add herring fillets or smoked pork barrel to it, but you are already familiar with the basic base.
Apple beggar
No family meal is complete without sweets. At first I wanted to make a dish that, translated into Russian, is called “chalk” - these are short sticks of chopped dates mixed with powdered sugar, cloves, cinnamon, and candied ginger.
But the fact is that at the beginning of the twentieth century, not all middle-income families could afford such a dish, so I decided to prepare another very popular sweet dish at that time - it’s called “beggar’s apple.” Why it is called that, I don’t know, maybe because this pie is so delicious that everyone asks for it and asks for it, and maybe because the ingredients in it are, as they say, “poor.”
Let’s take yesterday’s or the day before yesterday’s very simple black bread, for example “Darnitsky”. We pass it through a meat grinder or cut it into small pieces, but an interesting consistency is obtained when we use both cutting options. Mix bread with powdered sugar and cinnamon. Grease a baking tray with good butter, place the first layer of bread on it, then a layer of apples blanched in sugar, then another layer of bread. Grease the top of the pie with sour cream or cream, sprinkle with cinnamon or powdered sugar and place in the oven for ten minutes.