Vegetables | German Cooking | German Food Guide (2024)

FAQs

What vegetables are used in German cooking? ›

Among the favorites in German cooking are potatoes, various types of cabbage, carrots, spinach, peas, asparagus, beans, tomatoes, cucumbers, and various types of salads. Onions are mainly served with meat dishes or as ingredients in many recipes. Sauerkraut is also a favorite throughout Germany.

Of all these regional and national dishes, Germany is most famous for Currywurst, sausages, pretzels and Black Forest Gateau, but as you can see, there is plenty more to German cuisine than just these.

The tomato is the most beloved vegetable in Germany. The average German eats about 57 pounds of them each year. Nevertheless, the tomato is still wrongly used as an ingredient in many drinks, where it loses its flavour.

Asparagus. Asparagus harvesting takes place from mid-April to late June. During this time, you can savour the flavour of German asparagus, also known as the “King of Vegetables”, in Niedersachsen (Lower Saxony).

Carrots, cauliflower, turnips, spinach, peas, beans, broccoli and many types of cabbage are very common. Fried onions are a common addition to many meat dishes throughout the country.

Brinjal, also referred to as Bagan, is a popular vegetable in vegetarian type of dishes and non-vegetarian types of cuisine. The brinjal was given the title of King of Vegetables because of its astonishingly awesome purple covering, and also the juicy and rich nutritional values in them.

In areas of high natural fertility, wheat, barley, corn (maize), and sugar beets are the principal crops. The poorer soils of the North German Plain and of the Central German Uplands are traditionally used for growing rye, oats, potatoes, and fodder beets.

Sauerbraten (pronounced [ˈzaʊ̯ɐˌbʁaːtn̩]) is a traditional German roast of heavily marinated meat. It is regarded as a national dish of Germany, and is frequently served in German-style restaurants internationally.

But the Germans like to pull out the stops at breakfast (especially weekend breakfasts). Lots of different cheeses, meats, multiple jams and honey, boiled eggs, fruit and vegetables, smoked fish and of course, every kind of roll or hearty, seeded bread your heart could desire.

What is Germany's main meal? ›

The main meal of the day is das Mittagessen, or lunch. The tradition is to have a hot meal during lunch. Sauerbraten, snitzels, Frikadellen (German meatballs), potatoes (such as Kartoffelsalat), green beans, soups, and stews are frequently served for lunch.

Apples are the most popular fruit among German consumers. Around 20 kilograms of apples were eaten per person in 2022/23. Bananas follow as the most popular tropical fruit in German consumer's favor, with around eleven kilograms per person.

These German recipes celebrate some of the dishes Germany is most known for: crispy fried schnitzel, robust sausages, chewy pretzels, and all manner of mustard-tinged delights. We've even included a handful of items on the sweeter side, too, like a tangy apricot kuchen and a berry-studded German pancake.

There are vegetables well known today in the list such as cucumber, chickpeas, celery, carrots, cabbage, leeks, peas, lettuce, garlic, onions, shallots, as well as familiar aromatic herbs as mint, sage, cumin, anise, parsley, savory, coriander.

Traditionally Germans have their famous white asparagus with ham, sauce hollandaise and fresh potatoes. Well, of course, you can also have the very same dish without the ham, making it a delicious vegetarian meal. Paired with some veggie Schnitzel you also get the perfect three-component meal, Germans love so bad.