1,000 Foods To Eat Before You Die: A Food Lover's Life List (71 page)

Cooks in Provence prepare it in a slightly sweet, sour, and salty tomato sauce dotted with raisins and capers. In Normandy, it is sliced paper-thin in the elegant specialty Langue Lucullis, a terrine layered with foie gras. In Alsace, it may be found in the savoriest of choucroutes garnies (see
listing
), and in Italy it graces the best
bollito misto
. London chef Fergus Henderson tucks it into pie, along with chicken and silky white sauce. Throughout Great Britain, Germany, and Eastern Europe, it is smoked or pickled and served hot along with cabbage and boiled potatoes, or made into the classic Jewish-deli sandwiches on rye with mustard in the same way as corned beef might be. In Korea, it is eaten as
hemmit gui
(see
Bulgogi
), grilled over red-hot coals at the table.

In almost every meat-eating culture, tongue is prized. This goes for smaller tongues of lamb, calves, and pigs, delicious in braised preparations, as well as for the thin, bony slivers of ducks’ tongues favored by the Chinese. But the meatiest and most versatile tongues are those of beef cattle, often preserved via smoking or pickling: The first method imparts a hamlike flavor, while the second leaves the meat garlicky, with hints of clove, coriander, chiles, and bay leaves. These delicatessen essentials are generally served cold and thinly sliced, piled to towering heights in super-sandwiches on mustard-glossed rye bread.

Mail order:
For smoked tongue,
freirich.com
(click Products, then Smoked Meats).
Further information and recipes:
Heart of the Artichoke
by David Tanis (2010);
Cooking Without Borders
by Anita Lo and Charlotte Druckman (2011);
Rick Bayless’s Mexican Kitchen
by Rick Bayless (1996);
The Norman Table
by Claude Guermont and Paul Frumkin (1985);
epicurious.com
(search tongue with mustard-horseradish sauce);
saveur.com
(search tongue in tomatillo; epi’s beef tongue); for an article by Fergus Henderson,
nosetotailathome.com
(search tongue).
Tip:
Fresh uncooked tongue is the preference in France and Italy, and must be ordered in advance from a full-service butcher. Uncooked pickled tongues usually can be ordered from kosher-style delicatessens if requested in advance. Lamb tongues are most common at butchers in Greek neighborhoods and pork tongues in Italian sections.

Although Americans tend to think of jelly doughnuts as our own invention, in fact, they are one more delectable gift to our pastry kitchens from Germany. The fist-size jelly doughnuts known as Berliners inspired the sweet, yeasty, fried,
jelly-filled pastry so beloved here with morning coffee.

The German term
Berliner
can denote either a citizen of Berlin or a jelly doughnut. Berliners—the people—claim to have invented the treats of the same name (though fried pastries date back to the Roman era), which have been found in Berlin for quite some time. As early as the fifteenth century, bakers sold a yeasty, unfilled, and unfried cakelike version in carts in the city streets. In the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, Berlin’s population flourished, and so did its bakery culture. To meet demand, the bakers began frying the pastries (which by this time were filled with apricot or raspberry jam) on the spot, in pans set over an open flame. It was this preparation that gave the pastries the name
Berliner pfannkuchen
(the latter being the word for pancake). Over time, it also became traditional to dust the entire production with fine granulated sugar, making for a messy if completely addictive treat.

Berliners go by many names in Germany: In Bavaria and other parts of southern and central Germany (as well as in much of Austria) they’re called
krapfen
; in the Palatinate region they’re called
fastnachtsküchelchen
; in Aachen,
puffel
; in and around the Ruhrgebiet,
Berliner ballen
; and in Franken,
faschingskrapfen.

Around the world, there are even more variations on the theme. In Israel they’re
sufganiyot
(jelly doughnuts traditional for Hanukkah, see
listing
); in Slovenia they’re called
krofi
; in Serbia and Bosnia they’re
krofne
; in Poland they’re
pa¸czki
; and in Hungary,
fánk.
No matter the name, the treats are essentially identical, jelly doughnuts one and all.

Back on German soil, they can be enjoyed at any time, but are particularly prevalent during the carnival days around Christmas and the New Year. Most of all, they are featured on Shrove Tuesday, the day before Lent begins. As with most fried foods, Berliners are best enjoyed fresh, the day they are made.

Where:
In Berlin
, Weichardt-Brot, tel 49/30-873-8099,
weichardt.de
; Bäckerei & Konditorei Siebert, tel 49/30-445-7576;
in New York
, Orwasher’s, tel 212-288-6569,
orwashers.com
;
in Chicago
, Weber’s, tel 773-586-1234,
webersbakery.com
;
in Santa Monica, Venice, and Culver City/Mar Vista, CA
, Röckenwagner,
rockenwagner.com
.
Further information and recipes:
Neue Cuisine: The Elegant Tastes of Vienna
by Kurt Gutenbrunner (2011);
The German Cookbook
by Mimi Sheraton (2014);
meganpeckcooks.com
(search jelly doughnuts).

German beers add exciting flavor to classic recipes.

Given the superb ales and lagers that Germany and Austria produce, it should be no surprise that beer is a malty, enriching ingredient in many of those countries’ recipes—including these two uplifting and intriguing soups, one a hot brew that warms from the inside out in winter, and the other a cool version that refreshes on a summer’s day.

Lusty dark beer (
dunkels
) is preferable for the hot winter brew
biersuppe
, in which the beer is bolstered with a light roux, then flavored with sugar, lemon juice, and either a stick of cinnamon and some cloves or crushed caraway seeds
and slivers of fresh ginger. Egg yolks beaten into the hot soup just as it finishes cooking create a creamy froth much like that of a heady glogg. Austrians generally skip the lemon juice and the roux, instead beating milk with the egg yolks for a blond and creamy final touch. Either way, the result is poured into heated mugs or bowls for an especially welcome restorative after an afternoon on snowy ski slopes or even a walk through city streets in the penetrating cold—especially if the drink can be followed by a lovely nap.

The sunny, golden light beer (
helles
) is better for a
bierkaltschale
—a “beer cold bowl.” Grated dry, dark pumpernickel adds malty, grainy richness as it dissolves into a brew seasoned with dark currants and thin, clovestudded lemon slices. All steep together in the refrigerator for about two hours. By that time, the beer will still retain a slight, needling sparkle and will be infused with a delicately cool aroma and flavor. The grated pumpernickel lends body to the soup, which is ladled into small glass bowls or punch cups.

The endearing traditional garnish is one and the same for both beer soups: snowballs—
schneeballen
—tiny cloudlets of poached egg white dumpling seasoned with hints of sugar and cinnamon.

Where:
In Munich
, Nürnberger Bratwurst Glöckl am Dom, tel 49/089-2919-450,
bratwurst-gloeckl.de
.
Further information and recipes:
The German Cookbook
by Mimi Sheraton (2014);
The Cuisines of Germany
by Horst Scharfenberg (1989);
justapinch.com
(search biersuppe).

A bakery’s historic sign.

A big yeasty, soft pretzel that is crisp on the outside, soft on the inside, and encrusted with sparkling grains of coarse salt usually begs only for a dab of mustard. But try it with a dab of butter instead, and you’re in for a deceptively simple thrill.

A popular traditional snack in Germany, freshly baked soft pretzels—much like the “bagel pretzels” sold on the street corners of large American cities—are especially beloved around the city of Stuttgart. For the best experience, the pretzel must be fresh. (If the quality is not optimal, the pretzel should be warmed slightly, but not toasted, in an oven on low heat, then allowed to cool a bit so the butter doesn’t
melt.) Split bagel-style, it should be spread with slightly softened sweet butter, pressed together again, and joyfully devoured along with a cup of good strong coffee, a mug of hot chocolate, or, more ethereally, a glass of rose-hip wine—if you can find it.

Like bagels, these pretzels owe their soft interior and crisp crust to a spell in boiling water before they are sprinkled with coarse salt and baked in the oven. Twisting the dough into ropes is a surprisingly simple and rewarding operation that is great fun for children.

The pretzel shape has a long history, and naturally invites much speculation as to its origin. In Scandinavia, Germany, and Austria, it is the sign of the baker. In medieval Europe, the form was said to suggest arms crossed in prayer; a popular story is that a monk devised pretzels as a reward for catechism students who learned their prayers. In addition to salty treats, the pretzel has also always been the shape of countless sweet cookies and cakes, especially at Christmas. Soft, savory classic pretzels were brought to the U.S. by German immigrants from the Palatinate region in the early nineteenth century; the U.S. headquarters for the best handmade originals remains Pennsylvania Dutch country.

Where:
In New York
, Sigmund’s Bar, tel 646-410-0333,
sigmundnyc.com
;
in Santa Monica, Venice, and Culver City/Mar Vista, CA
, Röckenwagner,
rockenwagner.com
.
Mail order:
Tom Sturgis Pretzels, tel 800-817-3834,
tomsturgispretzels.com
; amazon.com (search pretzelhaus).
Further information and recipes:
The Cooking of Germany
by Nika Standen Hazelton (1969);
foodandwine.com
(search german soft pretzel sticks).
Special event:
Germantown Pretzel Festival, Germantown, OH, September,
pretzelfestival.com
.

Given the vast array of cakes, cookies, and pastries produced and consumed in Germany, it’s a wonder there’s still a demand, much less a hearty one, for bread. But that most elemental of German foods appears in great and varied abundance.

Westphalian pumpernickel
is perhaps the most internationally famous of the lot, a dark, grainy rye usually seen in thinly sliced square loaves that are rich with malty, nutty, healthy-tasting overtones. Well wrapped, it keeps for weeks in the refrigerator or freezer. (Because it is steamed, Westphalian pumpernickel retains its moisture.) The bread almost demands a thin coating of butter, whether it is to be served with smoked salmon, herring, ham, or cheese. Because its own flavor is so pronounced, pumpernickel overpowers more delicate toppings such as crabmeat, caviar, chicken, or fresh, unsmoked meats. Under no circumstances
should this firm, rich bread be warmed before it is served—or, even worse, toasted—lest it soften and lose its tightly knit texture.