I've been trying to stick to eating relatively low carb, low fat foods. (With the occasional pizza and ice cream, of course...both are soooo good in Munich, thanks to a heavy Italian influence).
While I do feel much better eating this way, I do get awfully bored sometimes and am searching for new options.
I was thrilled to discover something new at the store - ostrich filet! You will see it on menus here as strauss, strauß, or straußenfilet. It's not exactly widespread, but not really unusual either. Many a German has travelled to South Africa and enjoyed the cuisine there. In fact, the store periodically has Steinbock (antelope) and biltong (South African jerky).
It surprised me that ostrich filets were cheaper per kg than beef, and they're quite tasty and almost nonfat. All good things, but the big question was, what do I do with it??
Luckily we live in the age of Google, and the ostrich producers wisely realized that not knowing what to do with their product is a big obstacle to selling it. Klein Karoo has a long list of recipes available, ranging from a simple filet to ostrich goulash, ostrich sushi, and ostrich shepherd's pie. For our first foray, we chose the simple steak, with a shallot redwine glaze recipe from The Ostrich Growers' recipe site.
I baked some cumin/chile sweet potato fries and some proscuitto-wrapped baby green beans (blanch beans, let cool, then wrap with proscuitto or bacon and bake in oven). And we had some nice Austrian red wine from our trip to Vienna.
While it looks like steak and tastes similar (minus, the beefy taste), you cannot cook it like a steak. Ostrich has almost no fat, thus will dry out very easily. For the same reason, it absorbs marinades quickly and will take on the taste of the marinade more than will a steak.
The best way to serve ostrich (to be tender) is a bit on the rare side.
How to Cook Ostrich Steaks:
Let the meat warm close to room temperature and baste with olive oil or marinate for 30 minutes in an oil-based marinade (without any salt!!).
Sear filets on both sides in a hot skillet (around 1 minute per side).
Season meat AFTER searing, so that the salt and seasonings do not suck out the moisture.
At this point you can continue to cook in the skillet another 2 minutes per side (to be medium rare). Then wrap in foil to rest before serving.
Or, we wrapped the seared filets in foil and cooked for a few minutes in the oven around 120°C (250°F).
Heat skillet over high. Add butter and shallots and stir frequently 2-3 minutes (until shallots are limp) Add wine and boil until reduced to 3/4 cup, about 5 minutes. Add salt to taste. Add juices from the meat and serve over ostrich filet steaks.
We’ve enjoyed quite a variety of Austrian food, both here in Bavaria and on trips to Vienna. And, in southern Bavaria and northern Austria, there can be a bit of an overlap… kaiserschmarm, schnitzel…are they Bavarian or Austrian??? It quite depends on who you ask, and I’m not going to touch that controversial question!
But there are a few dishes we can all agree are classic Viennese. Wienerschnitzel, of course tops the list, as the name simply means “Vienna-style Schnitzel”. And there’s one you might not have heard of outside of the German-speaking world - Tafelspitz.
On a side note, Tafelspitz is one of those dishes that you would not order off of the English menu in Germany or Austria. The translation just sounds perfectly terrible, as unfortunately do many translations of German dishes. Tafelspitz will most likely be described on the English menu as “Boiled beef tritip” or “Boiled silverside of beef.” Not so appetizing a description, but you would really be missing out not to try it.
First, it’s basically a beef brisket cut, not some strange piece of animal…I use the tafelspitz cut to make brisket tacos and it's becoming a favorite cut. Second, while it is boiled, it is not rubbery and nasty. Quite the opposite…tafelspitz comes out like a perfect slow cooked piece of roast – flavorful and falls apart with the touch of a fork. You can see below how the meat would just crumble into shreds. Yum!
It’s also a dish that can be served both as the authentic, multi-course dinner – really more of an experience than just a meal – or as a simple, hearty homemade dinner. It all depends on how authentic you want to be and how much time you’re willing to invest.
We tried our hand at making Tafelspitz this weekend and it was quite a tasty surprise. Whenever I cook something like this (or brisket tacos, pork shoulder, or goulasch…) I’m always a bit afraid I’ll get a big rubbery hunk of meat rather than fine shreds. And usually I'm shocked (in a good way) with the results. I think my wonderful giant Le Crueset pot helps things out - I usually turn the stove down to the lowest level, cover it and leave it for hours to get perfect results.
There are various recipes out there, all with conflicting info. So we cobbled together our own simple home version from about 10 other recipes and made a few simplifications. We wanted tasty food, not hours in the kitchen.
So here’s how to make authentic Tafelspitz, as well as how to make a simpler version at home.
For the real deal, visit Plachutta in Vienna, and be sure to make a reservation. While it is one of those restaurants that all the guidebooks recommend, it’s one that is also authentic and loved by many residents as well. Don’t skip it just because it’s famous – it really is great food and worth a visit.
First, the Ingredients:
Authentic (feeds 4-6)
Simplified (serves 2)
2 kg Tafelspitz (in 1 piece if possible)
500g Tafelspitz
750g beef bones (cut and with marrow)
3L beef broth
4-5 L water
3 carrots
3 small carrots
1-2 parsnips
1 parsnip
2 large onions
2 medium onions
few stalks flat parsley
few stalks flat parsley
2 leeks
1 leek
1 small celery root
1/4 celery root (or small one)
3 bay leaves
2 bay leaves
1 Tbsp black peppercorns
16 black peppercorns
2 juniper berries
10 red peppercorns (optional)
chopped chives (decoration)
In Germany, you'll find something wonderful in the produce section. It's called Suppengrün ("Soup Vegetables"), and is the bundle of veggies you need to make soup broth. So, it includes already for you, the main ingredients. And you don't have to buy a whole, huge celery root that you won't fully use.
Parsnips ("Pastinak" in German) were an ingredient I'd not used before. Interestingly, the ladies at the checkout counter were not familar with them either, so I explained that they were sort of like a huge white carrot. Which, OF COURSE, made us put them side by side to test out that unproven thought. From the cross section, they definitely look like a carrot relative. The taste is similar, though the parsnip has a more subtle carrot taste and a slightly spicy aroma. And they're a little harder to bite than a carrot. But the taste is very mild. Parsnips cooked will take on the flavor of whatever you are using to cook them.
Preparing Tafelspitz: And now the preparation: Though it's a fairly simple dish to make, it needs 3-6 hours to actually cook.
Authentic (feeds 4-6)
Simplified (serves 2)
Cut onions in half (do not peel) and fry cut side down until slightly blackened.
Fill pot with water
Bring broth to a boil, add all ingredients except for carrots and parsnip (or any others you plan to eat)
Wash bones and meat, place in water
Add more water to cover meat if needed
Add peppercorns, bay leaves, and berries and bring to boil
Reduce to low, cover, and simmer 3-4 hours
Reduce to low, cover, and simmer 2 hours
Periodically skim foam if it develops
Add remaining vegetables and cook 1-2 more hours covered until meat is soft
At the end of the cooking, you'll have a pot looking like this:
While the tafelspitz is in the last stages of cooking, you'll want to make the sauce(s) and any sides you plan to serve.
Typical side dishes include potatoes (boiled, or a style similar to hash browns), creamed spinach, and vegetables. We opted for veggies from the soup and tried the potatoes. For the potatoes, you should boil and peel the potatoes in advance (the previousl day is best). Then grate them into shreds. Finely slice onions in oil until soft. Then add the grated potatoes, season with salt, and fry until crispy.
Unless you have a desire to be super authentic, I recommend you buy the preshredded potatoes. Here you can buy excellent readymade potato pancakes (Schlemmermeyer kiosks and stores have them here) or prepackaged Rosti (shredded, oiled, seasoned, and ready to cook). In the US, I would just get some of the frozen hash brown potatoes.
There are a variety of sauce recipes out there, but the two most common (and traditional) are the chive sauce and an apple-horseradish sauce. As I hate eggs and creamy sauces, you'll see the apple-horseradish one here. It's a really nice, light and subtle sauce. Probably it should be ground a little finer than we did, but still it will be more a salsa type of sauce than a creamy, smooth sauce.
Chive Sauce
Apple Horseradish Sauce ("Apfelkren")
2 raw egg yolks
1 Granny Smith apple, peeled & cored
3 hardboiled egg yolks
1/2 cup shredded fresh horseradish
100g bread (remove crust)
juice of 1 lemon
200 mL milk
cider vinegar, salt, sugar
400 mL oil (not olive oil)
2 Tbsp chopped chives
Puree apple and mix with horseradish
Add lemon juice (to keep apple white)
Soak bread in milk
Season with cider vinegar, salt, sugar to taste
Stir together all eggs
Season with salt, sugar, vinegar
Gravy Sauce
Squeeze out milk from bread and add bread
Fry diced onions in butter
Stir mixture while dripping oil into the mix
Add a bit of flour, fry another minute
Stir in chives
Add some broth from the beef
(or use blender, as you would make mayo)
Bring to a boil and add grated horseradish
After mixing together the ingredients for the apple-horseradish sauce, you'll end up with something like this.
Serving Tafelspitz:
And then comes the fun decision - how to serve your tafelspitz. Traditionally there are two main ways:
1) The entire pot (usually copper) is brought to the table and guests serve themselves out of the communal soup pot.
Here, you would remove meat from pot. Remove fat and slice meat against the grain. (Restaurants will do it very thinly, but it's tough to do at home without meat falling apart). Season soup and return the slices to the pot for serving.
2) Guests are served in separate courses, so you'll need to keep the meat warm and moist during the first courses.
In this case:
Remove meat from pot. Remove fat and slice meat against the grain. Keep meat warm in oven, making sure to cover with broth and foil to stay moist. Strain contents of pot to separate veggies and broth (use cheesecloth if needed to achieve a nice broth). Set aside veggies that you will serve (carrots, parsnip, possibly onion and leek - it's up to you). Season soup (it's optional to serve with veggies and/or thinly sliced noodles in the broth).
Tafelspitz Ettiquette:
Traditionally, Tafelspitz then is eaten in the following order:
Course 1: Soup Serve soup, either clear broth, or with diced celery root and parsnip and/or noodles.
Course 2: Marrow Very traditional - remove a bone from the soup pot. Scoop out the marrow and spread over toasted rye bread to eat.
Course 3: Meat Arrange sliced meat on a deep plate or soup bowl. Pour some broth over it, season with sea salt, and decorate with chopped chives. Usually served with the cooked vegetables, accompanied by crispy potatoes, boiled potatoes, and/or creamy spinach. Serve with chive and/or apple-horseradish sauces.
While I think it's important to know the authentic way, it can be simplified easily into a really enjoyable hearty dinner. Since there was a nice small piece of Tafelspitz on sale yesterday, I decided to try an even simpler method -
This time I boiled 2.5L (around 9 cups) of beef broth, using the powdered version of broth. I added 1 onion cut in half (with skin on), around 450g (1 lb) piece of Tafelspitz, 1 bay leaf and a tablespoon of a mixture of ground szechuan and pink peppercorns. Then I turned the heat down to low, covered, and let cook for 3 or 4 hours. Again, it turned out perfectly, and with a very nice roast beef flavor. Next time I'll throw in some small potatoes from the beginning to cook and absorb the flavors. The entire process took about 10 minutes of active work, and made a great lunch plus leftovers!
In Germany, it is now Spargelzeit -- asparagus season. "Discovering" the almost emotional German relationship with this flowering perennial is one of the standard rites-of-passage for a foreigner living here (and re-lived to some degree each Spring). There are many blogs & web sites about spargel, but we'll try to take a fresh look here at Schnitzelbahn, including 5-course asparagus meals, asparagus liquor... and a song about asparagus.
But first, here is the Spargelkönigin 2010/2011! ("Asparagus Queen")
This title has been awarded every year since 1975 in a small town called Schrobenhausen, the self-proclaimed largest and most well-known location in Bavarian "Spargelland" (asparagus country). They have over 600 independent farms, plus a daily asparagus market (in season) in front of the Rathaus -- very much like a Christmas market. They are also home to the Asparagus Museum (quite a collection, 2000 years going from Pompeii to today)!
According to the website, winner "Monika I" won not only due to her beauty, but to her knowledge of asparagus. Not to be confused, of course, with the asparagus queens in Nienburg, Füchtorf, Abensberg, Nettetal, or Beelitz.
Monika came to Munich on the 15th of April 2011. She marched past the Rathaus to the Viktualienmarkt and ceremonially unearthed the first asparagus to kick off Spargelzeit in Munich.
Let's get started:
1) Germans grow and eat a lot of asparagus. (obviously)
Asparagus plants flowering in Summer: Protecting the asparagus for Winter:
Asparagus is grown all over Germany, with the highest output coming from the northwest states of Niedersachsen and Nordrhein-Westfalen. Likewise, the most well-known locales for festivals and asparagus markets are spread out too -- Schrobenhausen and Nürnberg are the focal points in Bavaria:
Production of asparagus in Germany, by state Significant asparagus locations in Germany
Germany exports very little asparagus. In effect, their production is simply not enough to meet local demand! The contrast with the U.S. is getting stronger -- Germany is continuing to use more hectares for asparagus (doubled since 1995: 9,100 to 18,400), whereas the U.S. is using fewer hectares (halved since 1995: 29,200 to 13,000).
Planting and covering the (white) asparagus Harvesting the (white) asparagus
China 1,265,865 6,352,667 5.0 Peru 23,547 284,103 12.1 Germany 18,436 92,653 5.0 United States 13,030 43,180 3.3
Unfortunately I found conflicting statistics on the Internet (some have the U.S. with twice the hectares and production as above), but in every case Germany is in the Top 4 global producers, just behind or ahead of the U.S.. China is by far the top producer, but Peru is the productivity and export king (they grow a lot and could not consume all they grow).
2) Asparagus in Germany usually means the white variety.
"White asparagus is cultivated by denying the plants light while they are being grown" (Wikipedia). Lack of photosynthesis supposedly keeps the stalks a little sweeter and more tender. Almost 80% of German production is white asparagus. This is in stark contrast with the U.S. which has "minimal production" and consumption outside the green variety.
To deny the plants light, asparagus are grown covered in soil, a practice called "hilling". Sandy soil is supposed to be ideal, as found in Schrobenhausen. You can take Spargel Tours to learn hands-on too:
At the cash register, Germans pay up to 30% more for asparagus by weight than a typical shopper in the U.S.. My local store has 1kg for 6.99 euros (about $4.50 per pound) where my hometown Wegmans has 1lb for $3.49.
Some of this difference is due to the relatively cheap asparagus from Peruand Mexico that the U.S. imports, but ultimately we're not comparing apples-to-apples. White asparagus costs more to produce (hilling and covering / uncovering processes). Also, much of the asparagus here is organic due to strong German preference. This results in higher growing costs plus a price premium for perceived health benefits. An additional consideration is that white asparagus should be peeled before cooking, effectively increasing the net price per pound after purchase.
3) Asparagus is more than just food - you can accessorize!
Any major food source will be reflected in the culture. Amazon.de has a "Spargelsaison" with an amazing array of asparagus-themed items. Forget the vegetable peeler and go with a suction-sup or c-clamp mounted gizmo:
If you're even more lazy, or just like cool contraptions, my local grocery store will use the industrial machine below to peel your asparagus for an extra 1 euro per kilo. The manufacturer's web site claims 100 stalks per minute... if it's fed fast enough. In any case, here's my handheld video of this power tool at work:
Not sure how to prepare the peeled stalks? Go for one of the 100+ asparagus cookbooks (I stopped counting), or be adventurous with an erotic cookbook (and, ideally, appropriate artistic ambiance from the Asparagus Museum):
Once you're ready to start cooking, you need to bring out the asparagus steamer, asparagus tongs, and serve them on an asparagus plate with matching dish for asparagus sauce:
There are hundreds of other novelties available: deck yourself out in hat, t-shirt, tie, and shoes... "zombie asparagus" pin, necklace, and t-shirt for your dog too... coffee cup (of course), water pitcher, and I recommend reading Schnitzelbahn using the asparagus mouse pad:
There is one especially interesting category of curio -- things referring to the chemical effect asparagus has on the eater's urine. Wikipedia states: scientific studies have shown that "producing odorous uring from asparagus [is] a universal human condition" but fortunately only 22% of people have the genes to smell the specific asparagus-created odour. Ironic that the "German" (web site here) t-shirt, pin, and greeting cards are in English:
4) Love of asparagus leads to wild culinary results
The range and adventurousness of German spargel cooking is astounding. On a popular website there are over 2400 posted recipes. Commercially, you see packaged items like the "asparagus-ham lasagne" mix, or dine out and indulge in a 5-course asparagus meal at top restaurants (yes, every course has asparagus, even the dessert UPDATE: page removed by the Bayerischer Hof!):
Mark's in the Munich Mandarin Oriental (from 2007):
- Salad of asparagus and crab - Wild garlic veloute with scallops (and asparagus) - Turbot on asparagus-pea ragout - Veal with asparagus and morel - Roasted asparagus with vanilla foam (dessert)
Each course is served with a matching wine, Price was 135 euros per person (and it was booked out).
Speaking of wine... this is the one food where beer is not the preferred accompaniment. German Silvaner (white) is the most common type served with asparagus, and a decent bottle can cost just 4 euros.
Some of the online recipes can go well beyound my American tastes, such as (see below): asparagus and egg ragout, asparagus with baby shrimp ("krabben"), asparagus with salmon and cream cheese ("frischkäse"), asparagus with creamed spinach sauce, and asparagus with butter bananas...
I can understand that the market has also developed "wild asparagus pills" and "slim spargel capsules" because many healthy vegetables are evolved into such products... but asparagus liquor (middle, below) and schnapps (with stalks in the bottle)?
5) The asparagus craze is another [good] excuse to have a festival and enjoy life
There is no official starting point to "Spargelzeit"; different regions/towns kick it off throughout March and April. Asparagus time does end formally on "Johannistag" -- June 24, just a few days after the Summer Solstice.
Like seasonal points for beer (e.g., Maibock, Oktoberfest) it's a great reason to have a local street fair or festival, grill some meat, and listen to music with cool drinks... sometimes followed by fireworks in the evening. In Effeld, they have (see below) street vendors, rides for the kids, and a stage with asparagus-green dancers & music acts (the photo in the lower right says "Effeld Spargelfest - here the asparagus rocked")
Here is a 2:40 news reel of the Spargelfest in Hügelsheim that shows the opening parade, their Spargelkönigin, workers harvesting the asparagus, and lots of beer being consumed:
Another amateur blogger / web meisterin captured the domain www.spargelzeit.de and her banner graphic says volumes about the national feelings toward asparagus season (Google translated version here):
In other media, there are 4 MP3s on Amazon.de (one cooking tips, two weight loss, and one schlager song). In addition, one of the longest-running and most popular detective series on German TV called "Tatort" (it means "scene of the crime") had an episode called "Spargelzeit" where the heros had to solve the stabbing murder of the Spargel King's wife!
But I promised a song about asparagus... and will deliver two! First is an old-fashioned television program with a song called "Veronika, the asparagus is growing". Is that a metaphor for something else...?
And lastly, from 2009, is a singer/songwriter at Munich's Viktualienmarkt ceremony to open Spargelzeit. He plays guitar and proclaims "Ich bin ein Spargelesser" (I am an asparagus eater). His part starts after the Spargel-Queen peforms the traditional first unearthing, at about the 1:30 mark in the video. This fun is why you don't want to miss Spargelzeit in Germany!
I can't speak for everyone, but for me vacation is also a time of free indulgence....beer or wine with lunch, dessert...truly a time to relax and not worry about anything - including what you eat.
That approach led me to a couple amazing discoveries....luckily they are things not readily available here in Munich, or else I'd be in big trouble!
Vienna:
In Vienna, we tried the authentic Sacher Torte. And I highly recommend anyone do so - the Sacher Torte in Vienna is far better than outside Vienna. But I also urge you to try some of the other many Viennese tortes on offer. What we often forget is that Vienna is not just a city, it was the capital of an empire. And they brought the best from the wide reaches of the empire home for the aristocracy to enjoy.
It's exactly these forgotten days of empire (I doubt the grand Viennese have forgotten....just the rest of us!) that have integrated wonderful Hungarian dishes into the Viennese repertoire. However, I did not know that extended to cakes!
My big Vienna discovery was the Esterházy Torte, named for Paul III Anton, Prince Esterházy de Galantha, who was an imperial foreign minister in the Austro-Hungarian empire. The family was loyal to the Habsburgs while most of Hungary was fighting against them. The Esterházy family has quite a few dishes named for it, but this may be my favorite!
Initially a 19th century traditional Hungarian cake, it has become a beloved Austrian cake and supposedly is loved by Germans as well (I'm on the lookout for somewhere serving it!). It's a sweet cake, but not overly so, and light. Most of the sweetness comes from the thin fondant frosting on the top.
The several thin layers of sponge cake are made mostly from egg whites and almonds, with a little flour, butter, and spices. A cognac buttercream frosting (often with a little chocolate mixed in, as here) brings the layers together. There is supposed to be very thin layers of apricot jam (popular in most Viennese tortes) but I could not taste it at all - perhaps the tastes blends in and just keeps the cake moist? While many places show it with buttercream topped with almond slivers around the edges, everywhere we saw it in Vienna used a thin crust of fine chocolate. And it is always topped with the thin fondant frostin layer, with chocolate "spiderwebs" drawn across the top. A very delicate and well-balanced cake. Most of the sweetness is in the fondant, while the buttercream is not too rich.
Helsinki:
In Helsinki, we made a different discovery. After a delicious Nepalese meal, we went in search of some ice cream. Perhaps it was the spices, or just that vacation feels like ice cream, but we wanted some. The weekend before, we had had the pleasure of stopping in Helsinki's Ben and Jerry's store! And while Finland has Sunday shopping hours, theirs are seasonal. Finding something open at 8pm on a Sunday when it's dark and there's snow everywhere....not an easy feat. So we tried the train station, our old standby in Germany. We didn't find an ice cream store, but we did find a little supermarket in the basement. As we were perusing the ice cream cooler, we saw these and had to try them.
I had previously been a big fan of the Magnum bars that are so popular in SE Asia. These destroy them! There is no competition.
It's hard to describe how wonderful these bars are, so I just recommend you find one and try it for yourself. The vanilla ice cream is a perfect balance to the chocolate and peanut butter - anything else would have been too sweet. The peanut butter cookie dough is enhanced by the swirls of peanut butter running through the mix. And the chocolate coating uses a great blend of chocolate. But embedded in the chocolate coating are little crispy chocolate cookie bits that give it an amazing texture. The whole package is just chocolatey peanut butter perfection.
I'm so glad I haven't found anywhere here that sells Ben & Jerry's bars. They could be addictive!
What good is living in Germany amid all this great chocolate without learning a bit more? It's all in the name of cultural research, right?
So we gathered up chocolate bunnies from the major German chocolate producers, as well as a few Belgian and Swiss producers, to see what was out there. And, as with the beer tasting, we learned quite a bit about the history of the local chocolatiers!
Lindt Goldhasen (Switzerland)Lindt
We begin, of course, with the famous Lindt Goldhasen. Lindt & Sprüngli AG is widely available, good quality Swiss chocolate and has stores throughout Europe and the US. It began in 1845, with a history quite common for many European companies. A father and son began the Sprüngli business by opening a café in Zurich making the new style bars of chocolate that were becoming popular in Italy. Upon the son's retirement, he split the business between his two sons, giving one the two stores and the other the chocolate factory. The store continues today as a Swiss institution (and of course expanded into other Swiss cities) and is the famous Confiserie Sprüngli known for the past 50 years for it's heavenly "Luxemburgerli" macarons.
The other son took his chocolate factory public to finance expansion and bought Rodolphe Lindt's factory and its secrets of making superior soft chocolate, giving birth to the Lindt & Sprüngli chocolate company. Almost 15 years ago, Lindt bought chocolatier Ghirardelli and has transformed it into an international brand. Sadly, it isn't available here...I love the dark chocolate bars with mint filling!
Lindt is best known for its Goldhasen and Lindor Truffels, both of which were invented in the 1950s. Unfortunately for Herr J and I, they don't make the peanut butter ones in Europe. But if you love peanut butter and chocolate, I highly encourage you to try one - they're the orange ones. The Lindor balls began as seasonal Christmas chocolates but were so popular they now are available in many flavors year round. The Goldhasen still are only for Easter. For more history, check out Lindt's Secrets of Chocolate Book.
Belfine chocolate bunny and chick (Belgium)Belfine
Next up, we have the super adorable bunny and chick from Belgian chocolatier Belfine. In addition to being really great chocolate, they had some of the cutest Easter figures of rabbits, chicks, and lambs, also utilizing colored chocolates. They specialize in cuteness, and looking at both the selection in the store and on their website, I say they achieve this goal well. The Christmas penguin metronomes on their website header are over the top in cuteness.
None of this is a surprise, once we learn that Belfine is owned by ChocDecor, a company blending technology and Belgian chocolate-making tradition to sculpt chocolate into beautiful figures. Both are fairly new entrants into the chocolate market, founded only in 1995. I appreciate their mission statement of "Make People Happy" - it just seems appropriate for a chocolate company!
Friedel chocolate rabbit
Friedel
For the past 10 years, Friedel has been part of the Rübezahl Schokoladen company, which also makes the tasty Sun Rice snacks and these odd chocolate-gummibear bars. This is their brand that covers the Christmas and Easter chocolates. Though Rübezahl is another typical mid-sized family company formed after the war (based near Stuttgart), Friedel comes from Wernigerode, home of the Hasseröder pils that went far in our beer tournament.
Riegelein chocolate rabbitRiegelein Confiserie
This company prides itself on tempting you with "creative chocolate" and a variety of seasonal, special-occasion products. Based near Nuremberg since 1953, they do export worldwide, but sell 70% of their product domestically so they might not be familiar outside the German-speaking area. The company remains a family-held enterprise, focusing on chocolate figurines (over 750 varieties are available, largely in their 33% cocoa milk chocolate blend). They do, however, make some gummi and fondant products for a bit of variety, and these awesome bittersweet chocolate cups you can easily fill for impressive desserts. The fondant fried eggs in our Easter basket are Riegelein. While adhering to the German values of quality ingredients and workmanship, they also like to reflect through their figures the changing times.
Nestlé Smarties Klapper Hase
Smarties
Though it's not quite fine or German chocolate, we had to include one of the many candy chocolate bunnies you see in stores here. Kit Kat, After Eight, and others make these, filled with some candies or Kit Kat bits. Not to be confused with American Smarties (the sweet/tart rolls), these are Nestlé's version of M&Ms. So, here we try not only Nestlé rabbit, but also mini-Smarties. They're a bit more brightly colored than M&Ms, have thicker shells, and come in tubes rather than bags. In general, they're pretty good (especially in a McFlurry), as they should be having been in production since the 1880s (the were originally called "Chocolate Beans" in England)! Most Smarties are produced in Germany now (except the Canadian ones made locally), and interestingly only use natural dyes.
Reber Alpenmilch HaseReber
Paul Reber is best known for their Mozart truffels (the “Genuine Reber Mozart Kugeln®“), which feature a hazelnut nougat center, surrounded by pistacchio marzipan, and dipped in chocolate. For Easter, they feature a wide variety of filled chocolate eggs, as well as this cute milk chocolate rabbit wrapped in their signature red, white, and gold packaging. Reber has been making chocolate since 1865, in Bad Reichenhall, a spa/vacation area in the Bayerisch Gmain. It looks to be a beautiful old town set in the mountains, just on the border with Austria. Similar to Salzburg, they played a major part in the old salt trade, dating back before the Romans. Looks like it might be a great option for a weekend trip, of course with a stop at the Reber Cafe!
Milka Alpenmilch Hase
Milka
One of the most recognizeable German chocolates, Milka grew out of a Swissman's chocolate company, becoming the German Milka in 1901. Though they'd always had the Milka cow on the label, it was only 40 years ago that the cow became the famous purple Milka cow. (It's a Simmental cow, by the way.) Milka makes only milk chocolate, mostly in Lörrach, and with a WIDE variety of fruits, nuts, and candies in it. I don't know why it isn't sold outside of Europe, but you can order it from German Deli in the US. Milka strives to maintain its Alpine connections, including sponsoring a women's downhill skiing team and a booth at the World Cup. But I'm most happy about their new product line, Milka & Daim - Daim basically is the Swedish version of a Skor or Heath bar, so imagine bits of buttery toffee in Milka products. Yum!
Feodora rabbit
Feodora
Feodora was established in 1910 in Tangermünde - a middle ages town around 2 hours west of Berlin, at the intersection of the Elbe and Tanger rivers. When the factory was expropriated and dismantled after the Second World War, they reestablished production in Bremen and have remained there since. Named after Princess Feodora (sister of the last empress of Germany), the company is known for its finely decorated pralines (pralines being chocolates with some kind of filling, not the equally good American-style buttery nut pralines). But of course, everyone needs to make a chocolate bunny - Feodora's maintains its traditional packaging with the coat of arms of Schleswig-Holstein hanging on the bunny's collar.
Heilemann Knickohr-Hase
Heilemann
Like Feodora, Heilemann is best known for its truffles and pralines. I love them for making the most adorable chocolate bunny I've seen. I've had one the past 2 Easters - though he looks too cute to eat, you need to do it...the chocolate is great! Heilemann hails from the Allgäu Region, in the foothills of the Alps. Interestingly, they became a subsidiary of Freidel for about 20 years (after the founder Heilemann's death), but today again are an independent chocolatier.
Asbach liqueur praline rabbits
Asbach
A bit unusual for the usual Easter bunny, but Asbach only makes one kind of chocolate....the kind filled with Asbach Uralt ("Asbach Ancient"). Asbach basically is German cognac, except that they had to stop calling it cognac after the Treaty of Versailles declared that only French products could be called cognac. Hugo Asbach displayed great marketing savvy by creating the Asbach pralines in 1924 - it was aimed at women (as female public drinking was looked down upon), but also became quite popular among men. It has a very thin sugar crust separating the chocolate from the brandy, also giving it a bit of sweetness. The Asbach pralines are popular year-round, but for Easter are wrapped in bunny foil rather than the foil printed with a picture of a bottle.
Schwermer rabbit
Schwermer
One of the oldest chocolatiers here, Schwermer began as a confisserie/café in Königsberg, East Prussia, which today is Kaliningrad, Russia. Not suprisinlgy, Schwermer had to relocate after the Second World War, and chose Bad Wörishofen (also in the Allgäu region) as their new location. Among their claims to fame, Schwermer pralines have been to the MIR space station and onboard the Columbia space shuttle (taken by German astronauts, of course!). More meaningful to me...if you have a craving for baumkuchen, Schwermer makes these year round, not just at Christmas!
Kinder friend
Kinder
This guy is basically a Kinder Egg, with no suprise inside. It's the same soft, two-layered chocolate - milk chocolate outside, a white milk layer inside. We were actually disappointed that there was no surprise inside. I really like most Kinder products, but it's their fillings and their toys that are the reason, not as much the chocolate on its own. We included it, because it was one of the classic German chocolate brands, but I'd recommend sticking with the other chocolate brands if you want a plain Easter bunny. Nothing against Kinder, its just not their strength when it's compared to all of these rich chocolates. If there were a Kinder Hippo type or Bueno or some of the refrigerated treats....then I'd definitely be raving about it. Or if there were a cool toy inside.
Storz crazy bunny heads
Storz
While Storz is not a luxury chocolate, it's still a good quality and tasting one. The family business began in 1884 in Tuttlingen (Baden Württemberg) and weathered the wars and crises by finally focusing on "Ideas moulded into chocolate." Basically their niche is to make small foil wrapped chocolates in cute and creative wrapping (using not only printed foils but also cardboard cutouts). They also make these to order for companies, hotels, and conventions, so have really stuck with what works. They had a huge variety of fun Easter shapes, but I picked these slightly crazy looking bunnies.
Reber Glückskäfer
Reber again...At first I couldn't find a Reber bunny, so I got one of their lucky ladybugs. Too cute not to include!
Sadly, I couldn't find any Ritter Easter bunnies, but we'll have to save Ritter for another day!
While yesterday was Cinco de Mayo, we had our Mexican food a week early to celebrate Herr J's birthday. (OK, I'll be honest, we eat Mexican food fairly often around here...brisket tacos, slow roasted pork, enchiladas verde...the Texan in me can't resist!)
Yes, I know Birthday Tacos and Warsteiner may seem a little strange, but there's a nice story behind this one.
Herr J learned German in junior high & high school (lucky guy!!), then got the opportunity to study abroad during university. So he spent a semester taking engineering classes at the Rheinisch-Westfälische Technische Hochschule in Aachen. What a name! Translated, it is the "Technical University of Rheinland-Westphalia"
While he was in Aachen, two big milestones ocurred:
(1) He had his first German beer (Warsteiner), and (2) He turned 21.
From that experience, he has a special place in his heart for Warsteiner as his introduction to German beers. And also for his host family, who wanted to give him a nice birthday celebration. The 21st is a relatively insignificant birthday to a German, as it's not a "round" birthday and the kids have been drinking for years already, but they knew it was a significant one to an American and wanted to make it special.
Herr J's host mom offered to cook whatever he wanted for dinner, and told him to invite his classmates (about 10 others in the program). Having had been there for 2 months at that point, he was craving something he hadn't had for a while...
Herr J: "I would like tacos for dinner."
Host Mom: "I don't know how to make those!" (with a very worried expression)
Herr J: "Just brown some ground beef and spices, heat up corn tortillas, and fill them with the meat, cheese, tomatos, and lettuce."
Host Mom: "I can get the ingredients, except I have never ever seen crispy corn shells. And when I get the ingredients, I would not know how to make the tacos!"
So Herr J offered to find the corn tortillas and make tacos for everyone - something completely new to the family. So, after searching every specialty and import shop in Aachen, he found some taco seasoning and shells, helped them all cook up the ground beef and chop up the toppings. And they LOVED it!! The boys finished off every last bit and were instant converts to American-style tacos. Host Mom was a little unhappy that the guest was cooking, but baked TWO cakes so that everyone could have a huge piece.
So, I thought it would be a fun way to celebrate another birthday in Germany, and also an excuse to make the Old El Paso type tacos that we never eat anymore. I'd forgotten how great the crunchy tacos are!! It won't stop me from going to Milagros for some Cochinita Pibil tacos, but these are definitely going back into the rotation!
Though I don't know if I'm allowed to give the number of years (this was another BIG, ROUND birthday), there was something orange for each year, including this cute mini-cake in the photo below. Due to some time pressures (you know, waiting till the last minute combined with having a job...) and not finding the right decorating tips, it didn't quite look as I'd envisioned, but it truly tasted wonderful. White cake plus the great Magnolia Bakery buttercream frosting recipe that's all over the internet.
Last year I surprised him with his favorite childhood birthday cake, the Icebox Cake. I'd never heard of it (must be a Northern cake??) but now have been enlightened. Even my parents now are making them, so Herr J has helped spread the Icebox Cake love.
One small problem, the store only had letter candles, and since it was a mini-cake, I couldn't fit them all. So, I had to do a little quick abbreviating and skip the "APPY" and "IRTHDAY" candles. Luckily, "HB" around here also means Hofbräu, it's acceptable :)
On a related note...the cake mold was so cute I just had to try it. They also make a high-heeled shoe I'm dying to try, but somehow it didn't quite seem appropriate for Herr J's birthday. Perhaps another time....
I was curious to see if we could make waffles stuffed with Nutella, so we tried it for an Easter brunch. Special occasion, special breakfast, right?
All you need is Nutella, waffle mix (any kind will do), and a waffle maker.
Step 1: Mix up your waffle batter. We used the "just add water and shake" kind available in German supermarkets, but you can make your own or use other mixes.
Step 1a: Warm the Nutella slightly so that it flows a bit better. Not too much, or the chocolate breaks down. But there's a reason the crepe makers keep Nutella in a warm water bath.
Step 2: Spray the waffle plates with PAM or oil.
Trust me, this one is important! Because you're pouring the waffle in two layers, it will be much more likely to separate when you open the waffle maker if you haven't greased the plates.
Step 3: Pour on a layer of waffle batter, slightly less than you'd use for a regular waffle.
Step 4:Quickly drizzle Nutella (or drop bits, as we did here) over the bottom layer of batter. Be fast so that it doesn't cook yet.
Step 5: Pour more batter over to cover the Nutella bits
Step 6: Remove per your waffle maker's instructions.
Enjoy your hot waffles filled with Nutella!
There aren't many pictures of the results....we were too excited to eat them and forgot about the taking pictures part of it. They were so good! With this sweeter waffle mix, they were like crepes in a different form.
We tried a few different ways - the small drops of Nutella, the big clump, and drizzling it in a spiral (not shown here). I'd recommend either the drizzle (you'll have small threads of Nutella througout each bite) or the smaller drops (you'll have yummy pockets of hot Nutella in most bites). The one big clump concentrated the Nutella too much and also didn't cook as well. You want to have both waffle and Nutella in each bite!
Tuesday, June 7, 2011 at 9:00 
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