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German Cuisine varies greatly from region to region. The southern regions of Bavaria and Swabia share many dishes among them and with their neighbours to the south, Switzerland and Austria. In the West, French influences are more pronounced, while the eastern parts of the country have much in common with Eastern European cuisine and the cuisine of northern Germany bears significant similarity to the cuisines of Scandinavian countries.
Meats
Pork, beef and poultry are the main varieties of meat consumed in Germany, with pork being the most popular by a substantial amount. Among poultry, chicken is most common, although duck, goose, and turkey are also well enjoyed. Game meats, especially boar, rabbit, and venison are also widely available around the year. Lamb and goat are also available, but are not very popular. Horse meat is regarded as a speciality in some regions but consumption is sometimes frowned upon.
Trout is the most common freshwater fish on German menus, although pike, carp, and European perch are also frequently served. Seafood was traditionally restricted to the northern coastal areas — except for the once-ubiquitous pickled herring. Today many seafish like fresh herring (also as rollmops), sardine, tuna, mackerel, and salmon are well established throughout the country. Prior to the industrial revolution and the ensuing pollution of the rivers, however, salmon was so common in the rivers Rhine, Elbe, and Oder that servants complained about being served salmon too often. Freshwater fish are often served grilled.
Side dishes
Noodles are usually thicker than Italian pasta and often contain egg yolk. Especially in the southern part of the country, the predominant variety of noodles is Spätzle which contain a very large amount of yolk. In recent years, however, Italian-style pasta has very nearly supplanted the traditional varieties, and even Spätzle are often made with durum wheat and no egg yolk. Besides noodles, potatoes and dumplings (Klöße or Knödel) are very common, especially in the south. Potatoes entered German cuisine in the late 18th century and were almost ubiquitous in the 19th and 20th centuries, but their popularity is currently waning somewhat in favour of noodles and rice. Potatoes are most often served boiled in salt water, but mashed and fried potatoes also are traditional, and French fries have now become very common.
Drinks
Beer is very common throughout all parts of Germany, with many local and regional breweries producing a wide variety of beers. In most of the country Pils is predominant today, whereas people in the South (especially in Bavaria) seem to prefer Lager or wheat beer. A number of regions have a special kind of local beer, for example the dark Altbier around the lower Rhine, the Kölsch of the Cologne area, which is light but like Altbier uses a more traditional brewing process than Pils, and the very weak Berliner Weiße, often mixed with fruit syrups, in Berlin. Beer may also be mixed with other beverages; pils and lemonade, known as Alsterwasser or Radler, is a popular example. Krefelder is a Beer mixed with Cola.
Wine is also popular throughout the country. German wine comes predominantly from the areas along the upper and middle Rhine and its tributaries; the northern half of the country is too cold and flat to grow grape vines. Riesling and Silvaner are among the best-known varieties. Traditionally, white wine was more popular than red or rosé (except in some regions), and sweet wine more popular than dry, but both these tastes seem to be changing.
Coffee is also very common, not only for breakfast, but also accompanying a piece of cake in the afternoon, usually on Sundays or special occasions, like birthdays. It is generally strong and similar to the Italian style espresso. Tea is more common in the Northwest. East Frisians traditionally have their tea with cream and rock candy ("Kluntje").
Apfelsaftschorle, apple juice mixed with sparkling mineral water, is a common beverage.
Spezi is a soft drink made with cola and lemonade. In Southern Germany and Austria, Spezi a generic term for a mixture of cola and Fanta (or a similar orange soft drink). In some regions (Emsland) spezi is a mixture of cola and schnapps.
Germans are unique among their neighbours in preferring strongly carbonated bottled waters to non-carbonated ones.
Spices and condiments
Mustard is a very common accompaniment to sausages and is usually very hot. In the southern parts of the country, a sweet variety of mustard is made which is almost exclusively served with Bavarian specialities such as Weißwurst and Leberkäse. Horseradish is also commonly used as a condiment.
Garlic was long frowned upon as "making one stink" and thus has never played a large role in traditional German cuisine, but it has seen a rise in popularity in recent decades due to the influence of French, Italian, Spanish, Portuguese, Greek, and Turkish cuisine.
Generally, with the exception of mustard for sausages, German dishes are rarely hot and spicy — the most popular herbs are traditionally parsley, cardamom, thyme, laurel, and chives, the most popular spices are black pepper (used in small amounts), juniper berries and caraway. Other herbs and spices like basil, sage, oregano, and hot chilli peppers have become more popular in recent times.
Desserts
A wide variety of cakes and tarts are prepared throughout the country, most commonly made with fresh fruit. Apples, plums, strawberries, and cherries are used regularly on cakes. Cheesecake is also very popular and almost always made with quark. German doughnuts are usually balls of dough with jam or other fillings inside, and are known as Berliner, Pfannkuchen or Krapfen depending on the region.
A popular dessert in northern Germany is "Rote Grütze", red fruit jelly, which is cooked from black and red currants, raspberries and sometimes with strawberries or cherries. It is traditionally served with cream, but also common with vanilla sauce, milk or whipped cream. "Rhabarbergrütze" (rhubarb jelly) and "Grüne Grütze" (gooseberry fruit jelly) are variations of the "Rote Grütze".
Ice cream and sorbets are also very popular. Italian-run ice cream parlours were the first large wave of foreign-run eateries in Germany, becoming widespread in the 1920s.
Bread
Bread is a big part of the German diet, and usually eaten for breakfast and as sandwiches in the evening, not as a side dish for the main meal. The importance of bread (Brot) in German cuisine is also illustrated by words such as Abendbrot (supper, literally Evening Bread) and Brotzeit (snack, literally Bread Time). In fact, one of the major complaints of German expatriates in many parts of the world is their inability to find acceptable local breads.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/German_cuisine
