what are the main ingredients i need for german cooking?

Question

like the stuff i should have in my pantry and refrigerator

Answer 1

THE GERMAN PANTRY
By Sharon Bowers

Breads
American bakeries, even artisanal bakers, can't compare with the varieties of bread available to Germans on a daily basis. Rye breads especially come in multitudinous styles, with and without caraway seeds, flavored with herbs or spices, plain or with other grains, dark, light, medium. A good artisanal bakery rye bread will provide the best foil to German cheese and sausages. If you bake your own, do as the Germans do and let the crust get good and dark. A pale golden crust, the type Americans tend to prefer, looks anemic to Germans. Stollen, the sweet bread packed with nuts and dried fruits, is widely available here in gourmet shops at Christmastime and recipes are in many cookbooks, not just German ones.

Cheeses and Dairy Products
German cheeses are usually made from cow's milk, and many are world class. Real M?nster can be hard to find in the U.S., except at specialty cheese chops, but it's worth seeking out. The actual German kind is much more flavorful than the pale "munster" imitation we buy at supermarkets. Cambozola is a widely available and delicious semisoft, like a cross between a Brie and a mild blue. Other classics such as Butterk?, Allg?Emmentaler and Tilsiter can be found in cheese and gourmet shops. What you probably won't find is Quark, a dairy product beloved of Germans. It's smooth and creamy with a tart bite, like cr? fraiche crossed with cream cheese. It's available in Canada, but rarely seen in the U.S.

Spices
The most popular herbs are traditionally parsley, thyme, laurel, and chives, the most popular spices are black pepper (used in small amounts), juniper berries and caraway. Cardamom, aniseed, and cinnamon are often used in sweet cakes or beverages associated with Christmas time, and sometimes in the preparation of sausages, but are otherwise rare in German meals. Other herbs and spices like basil, sage, oregano, and hot chilli peppers have become more popular in recent times.

Fruits and Vegetables
Most vegetables used in Germany are easily available here, such as potatoes, asparagus, cabbage, and beets. Fresh fruit varieties are similar to ours, although few Americans have access to the quality of German cherries, for example. What we can't get easily is the wide range of quality dried fruits, such as whole dried pears, that Germans use for cakes, stollen and pastries. If you're into serious German sweets, look for organic dried fruits for best results.

Herbs and Spices
Warm spices such as anise, ginger and cinnamon appear often in German baking, from spicy Lebkuchen to fragrant apple stollen. Be sure your spices are as fresh as possible. If they've been sitting in your cupboard for longer than a year, they're not fresh. Fresh herbs are often used in salads, such as chopped dill in a refreshing mix of celery root and apple, or chervil and parsley to lighten up a potato salad. Fresh chervil, with its mild anise-like flavor can be hard to find in the U.S., but you can approximate it for German recipes with a blend of fresh chopped tarragon and flat-leaf parsley.

Poultry, Meat and Fish
Beef and pork are commonly used, and American cuts are perfectly acceptable for German recipes. Goose is the classic holiday bird in Germany, but duck appears on menus throughout the year, roasted and often paired with fruits. Both are usually available frozen in U.S. supermarkets. What we can't get easily is the wide range of authentic German wursts, although both bratwurst and knockwurst can usually be found in the deli section. Check gourmet stores and European delicatessens for a wider selection.

Wine and Beer
Don't think Blue Nun when you think of German wine. Many Americans have the misguided notion that all German wines are sweet, when in fact some of the best are bone dry with a lively acidity that makes them excellent with food. Find a knowledgeable source at a wine store and ask about different German wines. Don't mistake fruitiness for sweetness. A German wine may taste fruity but have no residual sugar.

German beers are widely exported, from light summertime Weissbier, made with wheat, to heavy dark Bocks, with 6 percent alcohol. A dark beer (Dunkel) might be ideal with a rich wintertime stew, while a golden pilsner pairs perfectly with cold cuts.

Answer 2

Traditional German Ingredients

Answer 3

LOL - I can't believe that Sauerkraut should be part of a German pantry. I am German - I eat Sauerkraut approx. twice a year. Some may eat it more often, but it is just a dish - a winter dish to be precise.

Things you will find in every German pantry: potatoes, onions and sometimes garlic. Germans usually have potatoes as a side dish. Apart from that: lots of vegetables. A traditional German dish consists of potatoes (no matter what kind of, could be cooked, fried, mashed, fries....), vegetables (cooked or fried) - and for the non-vegetarians: meat (usually goes with a spicy dark sauce (gravy)) or fish.

So, make sure you have peas, carrots, broccoli, cauliflower, zucchini, sweet peppers on stock ;-)

Answer 4

What are you cooking...go to a search engine and type, "recipes, German cuisine" and search through the many recipes that appear. Choose some you like and try them. Inevitable you will have leftover raw product, and you will begin to stock your pantry and refrigerator. Once you start, you might want to get more adventurous with the recipes you are willing to try, and you will gather some more specialty German products (sausages, mustards, etc).

Answer 5

Caraway seeds. Mustard ground and seeds. onion powder. Rye bread, for open sandwiches. Canned saurkraut. Thousand Island dressing. Here is a link. Head of cabbage. Different kinds of sausages. Beef for schnitzel. Good dark beer. Red wine vinegar,

Answer 6

Pickled vegetables (red peppers, mushrooms, onions, pickles)
Saurkraut
Red & White cabbage
Sausages galore
Potatoes
Rye bread
Loads of meat

Answer 7

sauerkraut
sausages
beer

did I mention sauerkraut?

Answer 8

beer, rye, and time