The national beer is the regional variant nearest to you at any given time

As a German FROM Germany I can tell you our foods are regional, just like everywhere else. I encourage everyone to try EVERYTHING. Guten Appetit!

As a German I thank you a thousand times for mentioning Rotkohl and not just Sauerkraut!

I have not been to Germany, but have hosted German guests. Their obsession with mineral water cannot be overstated.

I lived in Germany from 75 - 83 with the army and completely adored the people and the food. Germany is a wonderful country…..🇬🇧

As a German that stumbled upon your video, it made me really happy cause i love the way you express about our food and i love german food (who couldve guessed) great video mate and on point accuracy.

My dad was a prisoner of war who came from Saxony and used to make Quarkkäulchen quite often. Also Bratkartoffeln, Hackbraten, Rotkohl, Kartoffel salat, and desserts like Rotegrütze, Griessbrei, Milchreis and lots of recipes from his homeland. He passed away in 2002 😢I really miss him and his cooking. ❤

When you are in northern germany, a must try is Fischbrötchen (they come in tons of variants, try them all). Most of the foods discussed here are pretty regional (more like southern germany), with some exceptions like Schnitzel or Wurst. Great video

Another great summertime drink is a Radler

German food is so good. Much respect from Denmark 🇩🇪🇩🇰

My favorite German food is Schwäbische Maultaschen!

We lived in Germany for many, many years with the US Army (Augsburg, Berlin, Frankfurt, Heidelberg, and Mannheim). I think we have tried almost everything in your video and LOVED it all. LOVE your video and enthusiasm! Thanks so much for sharing.

When I studied in germany in Hamburg I learnt to love "Labskaus" made by the mother of a friend. At first time I did not want to eat it as it looked as if somebody vomitted on your plate...But after I had tasted it it became one of my favourite food of Germany.

German food is probably the most underrated food in the world. It is soooo good. It's not massively diverse, like France for example but they're experts in their stuff and honestly, they have food items that will stick with you forever. The issue is that it never looks that appealing, or sounds like it might be delicious when written on paper, but then you try it and it's amazing. Sausages, pretzel, knödel, the different pork styles , honestly you will remember them a long time . Even a German Kebab, you will probably struggle to find a better one for the rest of your life.

I wasn’t hungry when I started watching this, but had eaten something by the time I finished.

I absolutely love German food

I am german and I really liked your video, but I am surprised that you only covered the southern cuisine of Germany, i am from northern Germany and would recommend you dishes like „Grünkohl“ or „Matjesbrötchen“ which comes to mind. Definitely check them out when you are in Germany again

Be careful when you order "Jägerschnitzel" in Germany: In the west you will get the fried meat with mushroom sauce but in the east you will get fried sausage "Jagdwurst" with noodles and tomato sauce - it's a totally different dish. ; -)

Very nice video. If you let me, I like to add that Germany's food is very diverse and VERY different from region to region. Hamburg and Munich for example have nothing much in common food-wise. But for some reason only the typical south Bavarian foods make it into everybody's list of foods to try. Foods from the south and north, east and west and everything in between are very different. But one thing is true and common all over Germany: Germans love to eat seasonally and regionally. That is why we have seasons for specific produce ... and it really pays off to try them at their season, as that is when they taste best. Yes, if you go to a supermarket you will also find imported produce outside of its season, but it's really no comparison. Just to clarify, although the waiter will probably understand you, we don't call it water with gas :-) We call it carbonated water (Wasser mit Kohlensäure or we simply say "Sprudel" - because that is what it does!) By the way, we don't only eat all the heavy meals you described, that is what tourists like to eat, and that is fine, but we might only have it once in a blue moon. So the question, how do you digest it, is the same question we would ask for an American breakfast with scrambled eggs, sausages, bacon, pancakes or waffles with sirup ... So there you go! Usually we just walk it off, but as I said, that is a) not what is eaten all over Germany and b) we only eat these things rarely. In fact I have NEVER eaten a pork knuckle or any similar dish, Würstchen, maybe twice a year, Sauerkraut, I have gone years without eating it, but I had it once this year and so forth. So maybe instead of knocking yourself out with these heavy dishes go somewhere where the locals eat and order what they have on their plates, and don't be surprised if you don't even find the heavy dishes on the menu of these restaurants. Be adventurous, have fun!

I fell in love with currywurst when I was stationed in Berlin in the ‘90s. I couldn’t find it here in the US for years, but it started to appear in some local German restaurants in the past 5 or 10 years. Love it!

We traveled down the Rhine in Dec ‘21 and loved every stop. The Christmas markets are a bucket list item. The food, the sweets, the mulled wine all make great fare. My absolute favorite was the crispy pork knuckle at Peter’s Brauhaus in Cöln. And the various nougat at the markets were incredible. Loved Bavaria. Actually loved them all. The German people were very hospitable.

I just want to say, that I absolutely appreciate the enthusiasm as you talk about german food culture. I am always bumped to see that people think, that german food is boring or they say its bad, because its so regional and diverse! Thanks for showing all of this!

I studied German for 2 years in high school here in the U.S. 2 years later I was drafted into the army and they sent me to Germany; so I know the place rather well! In 2006 a friend, who was from Ecuador, and I went to Germany for the World Cup. Our very first day in country, we went to a supermarket. Outside the market I introduced him to German sausage served the traditional way: sausage, brot and mustard. He was delighted to say the least!

My in-laws are from Germany. I had to be married to my husband 20 years before my mother-in-law would teach me how to make my husband's favorite German meal. His parents are from different regions and she taught me both ways.

I lived in Freiburg for a year in 1984. It is the single greatest place I have ever lived.

Pork knuckle = amazing.... Jagerschnitzel = next level awesome.

Green kale hands down the most underrated dish. It is very popular in North Germany.

WOW! Your video has brought back countless memories as I was stationed in Illesheim Germany (a little town near Bad Windsheim) in '76-'77 in the US Army. I have tons of memories of great food. I was a Military Policeman and at the beginning of our shift my partner and I would drive our jeep into town and pick up a bag of brotchen, 500 grams of sliced wurst and a jar of brown mustard. It was great! Maybe a currywurst or two smothered in that ketchup... Also, any town or village worth it's salt had a local brewery (off duty enjoyment).

My grandmother made the best Knodel that I have ever eaten. The traditional German version is made with bread, parsley, and some spices, and boiled in water and served. My grandmother added diced bacon, salami, andham, celery , celery leaves, onion, parsley, garlic powder, salt and pepper to the mix , made them the size of softballs, and boiled them in chicken broth. On a cool autumn evening with a beer, or the depth of winter served pipping hot and with a glass of wine, it was heaven.

German food is very delicious, I like rouladen and the pastries stuff like Berliner or plunderteig 😃

Just discovered Wolter with this video. I’m half Scottish and half German - my mother was from Hamburg. Another local Hamburg dish: Birnen Bohnen und Speck - pears cooked with green beans and ham, well tasty. The local Hamburg beer is good too - Holsten Pils. German wine isn’t just white; good reds too, from the Blauburgunder grape - German name for Pinot Noir. Love your enthusiasm and exuberance, Wolter; looking forward to exploring all your other food and travel videos, keep ‘em coming.

When I was in Berlin a couple of years ago I was told to try anything except German cuisine. Now Berlin is an international city and there are excellent international cuisines to be tried . . . But I fell in love with German cuisine. Its . . . Heavy . . . But its also just fantastic.

As an Irish guy who loves pork as much as he loves beer, I feel like moving to Germany someday...

I love German food Rouladen is one of my favorites.

I lived in Bamberg for four years back in the late 90's. Boy, oh boy do I miss the food.

Maybe not as a tourist, but if you find yourself living in Germany or on a long term business trip and wish to save money on really good food: Look for workers cafeterias or what they call canteens. Canteens have a limited daily menu of typically one or two main dishes, but if you're thinking of some bottom barrel US middle school fare, you'll be wildly and happily surprised. It's really very good, fresh-made with healthy salads and vegetables for sides and it's usually very, very inexpensive. At least, it was when I lived there several years ago.

Hirschkeule mit Preiselbeeren, Karpfen in Biersosse, Sahneheringsfilets, Matjes, Kohlrouladen, Pilzeintopf ...

Legit one of the best "german food" Videos. Im German and i am watching some of those type of videos. Somethimes i think like wtf is that but THIS video is so on point! This man knows what he is talking

If you're ever in the part of the south that today is called Baden-Württemberg, try Kässpätzle or just any meal with Spätzle. Spätzle are noodles usually made out of eggs and flour and they're part of every good meal out there

Schnapps is a great drink, and it also comes in a huge variety of flavours.

Also some things to try which are somewhat regional: Frikassee, Flammkuchen, Altmärker Hochzeitssuppe, Königsberger Klopse, the east german Jägerschnitzel, Harzer Käse (also the Harz mountains are well worth a visit), Kartoffelsuppe (very different from region to region) ... and i cannot stress this enough: always check out the bakerys, i mean always.

German food, just like the Dutch food, it is so underrated.

It's been nearly 60 years since I was last in Germany (my father was born and raised there), but I remember the food fondly. Breakfast at my Oma's house was broetchen with sweet (unsalted) butter and honey. I used to walk down to a little farm stand every morning and pick up a liter or two of fresh milk, too. Oma had an allotment behind the large house, and among other things she grew spargelkraut. Seltzer/soda was known as 'spruedelwasser' or 'fizzy water', which it certainly is! Thank you for bringing back some wonderful memories!

As an expat retired chef living in Germany, you nailed this!!!❤

As a Brit living in Bamberg I have to say this is pretty accurate. It's definitely a cuisine built on pork and potatoes. I'd also add in Flammkuchen to the mix, that's excellent too.

Spaghetti eis and Fleisch kase were two of our favorites! Plus there was a chocolate muesli from one of the grocery stores in our town that was incredible!

2:50 I would like to amend: there are some more varieties of Bratwurst to mention. In the Southwest for example Thuringians were not much of a thing before reunification. The most sausage stands there will have a "red" and at least one "white". The red is sometimes also called "Schübling" and is similar to the "Bockwurst". It is sligthly smoked and can be cooked or grilled. The whites are either of the St. Gallen variety (typical sausage from St. Gallen in Switzerland) or the skinless "Oberländer" (Upperlander), in their home region Upper Swabia mostly referred to as "Geschlagene" (Beaten one, because the butcher "beats" or "slaps" the dough in boiling water instead of filling it into a skin). If you order a Currywurst, you'll be asked: From the white or the red? 3:35 The Swabian variety of this would be called "Fleischküchle" (meat pie), the Bavarian "Fleichpflanzerl" (which derived from "meat pancake"), the Austrian "Fleischlaberl" (small meat loaf). Homemade ones (or handmade ones in really good restaurants) will be often somewhat fluffier (by putting small milk-soaked bread cubes in the meat dough) and more aromatic (by putting more herbs, onions and garlic as well as some nutmeg into the dough). Near the sea you will sometimes also get Fischfrikadellen (or Fischbuletten), which use hacked fresh fish instead of pork. 4:20 The Schäufele is the meat from the pig's scapula (which means shovel, and a Schäufele is in the Franconian and Aleman dialects a small shovel). The Franconian receipt is to roast it, the Badenian and Swiss ones are to smoke it and then to cook it slowly either in Sauerkraut or in a broth from water and white wine. 5:20 Again, small regional differences: In the Southwest as well as in Franconia and parts of Hesse it would be a variant of "Wecken" (like Weck, Weckle, Weggla), in Berlin "Schrippen". Both Wecken and Schrippen refer etymologically to the cuts in the top made before baking. If you buy grounded breadcrumbs in a bakery or a supermarket, you'll also encounter different names: "Paniermehl" (breadcrumb-coating flour), "Semmelbrösel" (Semmel crumbs) and "Weckmehl" (flour from Wecken); the latter two could als be offered as made from Brezel, which you would need for making a Munich Schnitzel. 8:40 You should try some day Sauerkraut-Spätzle - Spätzle and Sauerkraut fried together in a pan. Simple, but good. ;) At fairs in the South you can get sometimes Schupfnudeln (fat noodles made from a kind of gnocchi-dough), which will then also be fried together with Sauerkraut, but for my part I like the sweet variety of fried Schupfnudeln with apple puree better.

Those hotel breakfasts - OMG!!!

I love your genuine enthusiasm. However, I missed my favourite German food: the Alsace flammkuchen. It's like a very thin crust pizza with creme fraiche, cheese and bacon.

As a german i can recommend Leberkäs in a Brötchen with sweet mustard. In southern Germany you can get it at almost every bakery or butcher shop. By the way great video. If you're very interested in german food you could try silisian white sausage. There's not only bavarian. Silisian white sausage is getting rarer in Germany, since silisia is part of poland since 1945 and the silisian culture and dishes are slowly dying out.

I haven't been blessed to travel there yet but I am an imigrant's daughter anf grew up in a very German community, Oktoberfest is a season in Cincinnati and my father worked a biergarten every year..Lots of street food there. My favorite dinner is roladen, spaetzle and sauerkraut (forgive the spelling please) .My Tante was a very gifted baker. Her torte ,strudel, and pfefferneusse were the stuff of dreams and visiting was always a treat. OOH what memories!

As a German I'm glad you didn't only mention bavarian food like many people do. For example Currywurst is very popular where I live but you wouldn't find Weißwürste here.

Hi Mark! My wife and I really enjoyed your video! It's so much fun to hear about the foods, that we grew up with from another perspective! A few annotations: - Currywurst from Berlin is okay, but the one from the Ruhrgebiet is so much richer in taste! - A Wiener Schnitzel with pork is called a Schnitzel Wiener Art. - A Frikadelle isn't predominantly used for sandwiches - Wasser mit Gas isn't used at all, it's Wasser mit Kohlensäure, oder Sprudel. - At 3:16 that is not a Schnitzel, it's called Kotelett. Of course, we could be wrong, some things are really regional! Thank you an please keep up the great work!

We are heading back to Germany to film more German food & drinks videos. What food topics and / or drink topics would you like to learn about Germany? Let me know so we can bring some more tasty treats videos on Germany!

I was in Germany on business and my local contact, Bernhard, took me to a restaurant and he ordered for me. Turned out to be the meter sausage with saurkraut and black bread. I ate the whole thing! Wonderful! Turned out he ordered himself the half-meter! Nothing but good experiences in multiple visits to Germany. And yes, don't order beer by brand, order by style and get the local version.

I was stationed in Germany for three years and i absolutely loved the food and the beer. We would walk around town in the winter and get little finger size sausage on an incredible bun that was crunchy on the outside and soft as a cloud on the inside, they were incredible.

Great video! One of my favorite German food items is Obatzda, a cheese and onion spread that doesn't get a lot of recognition. And of course, I love German beer!

Oh how I miss curry wurst, real Yager schnitzel, pizza with onions and caraway seeds, good beer and German cheese on bread so crusty you need a steak knife to cut thru the crust. My time stationed in Kaiserslautern are wonderful memories. Oh and spiral sliced daikon radishes doused in salt in the beer tents. What a healthy salty snack with great beer!

Very nice video. But you forgot the national food from the north of Germany. As a person that lives in Hamburg i can say, that traditionally food over here is more fish based. If you like fish you have to try a traditional “Fisch Brötchen” or “Labskaus”. Also there are loots of nice sweet things like “Franzbrötchen” or “Rote Grütze”. We have also very nice beer over here that you have to try. I was very impressed that you liked the food because most people I know that don’t live here doesn’t like our food at all.

I am of German descent and we have the Knockwurst with Sauerkraut and Fingerlings once a week!! Love it!!

We are in de black forest now a yesterday I've made kase spätzle with snitzel pieces. It was amazing. A nice hardy meal after a big hike is amazing.

If you're in the Freiburg area and looking for some good wine, try almost anything from the Kaiserstuhl area, or the Glottertal. Especially a Gewuerztraminer or Spaetburgunder Weissherbst.

Jagerschnitzle w/ those sticky dumplings is my favorite! Wash it down with a nice wheat beer and your golden! Oh the doner kabobs!

Missed all the "Suppen" or "Eintöpfe". Lentil, Pea, Green Beans in various combinations with or without meat. Lentil soup with vinegar...

I remember being on Reforger '78 in southern Bavaria. I was a Tanker. In the morning you could smell the Backerie (bakery) near the small towns. Ecstasy!

Thanks for the video, man. When I was in Berlin last, for the first time, I had the pleasure of having a curry wurst! Another ting I wanted was a real Berlin Düner kebab, but that didn't happen. I really want to visit Berlin again, a really nice city to visit. Love from Norway

For getting an overview how diverse German food can be, take a look at a book called "Die echte deutsche Küche". There is a chapter for every Bundesland (federal "state"), so you can combine foods from a specific area. Hint: You may need at twice the amount of marinade when making Rheinischer Sauerbraten. :-9

One of my favourite cuisines.

Grostil is something we had in Garmisch Partinkirchen. A chunky hash made with the odd ends of meat, potatoes and onions. Delicious.

Now in fall you can eat the „Schlachtplatte“ like (slaughter plate). On the Schlachtplatte there is „Blutwurst“ (blood sausage), „Leberwurst“ (liver sausage), „Bratwurst“ and „Kesselfleisch“ (cooked pork belly). It comes along with „Kartoffelbrei“ (mashed potato) and „Sauerkraut“. It is a speciality and very delicious.

Hey, I just found this video and I really like it. Trying local bread varities from smaller bakeries is definitely worth it. It seeems like you tried food in southwestern Germany and Berlin. In other parts you will find different meals with more fish or other vegetables. One underrated kind of meal are our soups and stews. In the eastern part, they are heavily influenced by polish and czech recipes. Vegetables like green beans, peas, carrots, beets are also very common. We also have a type of collard green, Grünkohl, that is eaten in northern Germany. You can discover a lot more if you want to. P.S. Jägermeister is a college drunk shot here too :)

Because of Germany has very different regions with very different culture, you get different dishes in those regions. This makes it necessery to have your look to the regions. In Nuremberg, my hometown, there we have the franconian culture with SCHÄUFELE, NÜRNBERGER BRATWURST, and very different beers and franconian wines. My region has most different sausages worldwide. The SAUERBRATEN is reliable in the whole of Franconia, which is the northern part of the Freestate of Bavaria (which is not bavarian - don t call a Franconian "Bavarian")......

Regarding digestives, I wish we could get Schierker Feuerstein in the US. It's got less anise flavor than some other digestives and such a pleasant mix of cola nut and other herbs and spices. If you're in the Harz region, give it a taste.

In northern germany we have a Brötchen called Franzbrötchen and its sweet with sugar

As a German American, I enjoy your thoughtful videos about various countries and culture, and the obvious respect that you display and kind of teach. I was lucky enough to take a trip to the UK, Ireland and Western Europe. I loved all of it, but the Belgian food was awesome. I grew up on a street with Hartmann, Altizers, Becks, etc., and ate plenty of traditional German foods - my favorite comfort food.

The " Thuringian Bratwurst" is now so expensive, that when you see the price, you become an other hairstyle. At the begin of the 90`s we paid around 1,50€, now you must lay 3€ on the table. I live in Rudolstadt ( Thuringia ).

I was watching this video and recognized about 80% of the food. I am not German nor do come from a German family and I'm like, how do I know about all these German dishes? Shout out to Tip-Top Meats in Carlsbad, CA. The founder immigrated from East Germany in 1949 and built an institution.

The first meal I ever ate in Germany, I was in Todendorf and went to a gausthaus. My buddies told me to order a jagerschnitzel. I loved it and ended up eating 2 that night.

Potato balls (Kartoffel Klose) Absolutely love those things.

One of the first videos that mentions Eisbein too! Good Job! 💯👍🏻🙂

This is a great video, especially when talking about southern German cuisine. But, as you said, German cuisine is regional, so let me add a few things from Hessen, mainly the Frankfurt region: The Hessian Ciders are a great drink, and are often less sweet than other ciders. They can be drunk by themselves, with a bit of water (sauer gespritzt) or with a bit of lemonade (süß gespritzt) though the last version is sometimes frowned upon. Mispelchen, is a drink that you drink after you have finished your meal (we call it Absacker) it consists of a whole medlar, medlar juice and calvados. It’s amazing! A staple of hessian food is Grüne Sauce, or Green sauce in English. It is a yoghurt/ sour cream based herbal sauce. It is served cold with hard boiled eggs and potatoes. Now it might not sound appetising but it is delicious. The Frankfurter Schnitzel is then based on this, as it is a schnitzel that is served with this sauce. The other staple of Hessian cooking is Handkäs mit Mussik, or Handcheese with music. This is a cheese that is served with onions and kummel. It’s not everyone’s taste, but you have to try it. I hope whoever reads this finds this helpful. Please visit Frankfurt, it’s much nicer than people say (they have most likely only visited the main station, which to be fair, is a shithole) Cheers

I did 5 years in Germany US AIR FORCE. The food is beyond words. I miss it so much.

What a magical country. I wish I lived there

Ah! Don’t forget the Leberkäse! It’s a loaf of meat that’s primarily made of liver, and it’s really good. Especially on a Semmel with a little bit of Senf. Also, Gurken (pickles). A lot of markets sell Senfgurken, Salzgurken, or Essiggurken that you can much on if you’re craving something more on the sour side.

I stayed in Heidelberg and I loved the fresh apple juice.

My Grandma and I always ate thuringer as a lunch meat or by itself for so many years. Now I can't find it anywhere. She would lay it out sometimes on her charcuterie boards but would mainly keep it just for us. ❤

I love how much you know about Germany and how correctly you are describing food and drinks. This is SO TRUE. You are not at all serving any stereotypes or get tripped by touristy stuff. Probably the best insight view of Germany from a non German I've ever seen! And you even mentioned Döner..... This is GREAT!!

Having spent a lot of time in Bavaria when I was in the service, the one dish I definitely miss THE MOST has to be Leberkasse (mit ein Ei, of course!). Whenever I go to a German restaurant stateside, this is definitely the dish that I measure the place by!

Great Video, fun to watch for a native german. Water with gas is usually called „Sprudel“ which is pronounced somehow like „shproodle“. A famous meal i miss in the video is „Wurstsalat“ or sausage salad, which is a mix of sliced Lyoner sausage with cucumbers, onions, oil and vinegard - each region, each family has its own recepy for that meal. Just as each region and family has its own recepy for Kartoffelsalat. And in Rhineland-Palatine they love „Pfälzer Saumagen“ which is…well try eating is better than than try to describe this „something“ made out of pork meat, potatos and roasts in a pork intestine that is roasted in a pan. Very rich, very yummy.

Schnitzel are originally made in Austria / Vienna from veal. The original Wiener Schnitzel is always made of veal, if it's Wiener Art (like Wiener) it's made of pork or chicken. The german Schnitzels are mainly served with sauces. monie1527 wrote it already: Food in Germany is very regional, so don't think you can e.g. order Weißwürste everywhere in Germany. This is mainly in Bavaria.

When I was stationed in Germany, I practically lived on Curry wurst. Loved it.

It is interesting watching this as a student that was originally going to major in Anthropology since I am very passionate about the Pre-Columbian America's and potatoes are originally from the Andes so seeing how they're prepared in Germany compared to the highlands of Peru, Bolivia, and Ecuador is very fascinating.

How can you not mention any soups? I so miss my grandmother's Kartoffelsuppe! and like so many other things you DO mention there are many regional ones! And no not just Kartoffel (potato)! There are Goulash, Griessknödel and Flädle just to name a few!

When I was stationed in Germany I just loved getting the Bratwurst with a roll and dab of mustard in front of the train station or Bohnhoff in Mainz

Alter Verwalter! Der Typ hat sich wirklich sehr gut mit der deutschen Küche auseinander gesetzt! ( Auch mit der Trinkkultur ) ;-) Doch er hat leider Linsen mit Spätzle und Saiten vergessen. Doch das ist ihm nicht nach zu halten. Gutes Video für zukünftige Touristen!

When I was in Germany I remember pretty much all of this. The food is fantastic and the beers and wines are the best I have ever had. Sure do miss it.

yep, i take purple cabbage over sauerkraut most of the time.. its just so good with meat and sauce

Probably the best German foods Video out there. You covered really a lot, sure they’re more but I think you gave an impressive overview and I love your passion about food!

11:30 as a german college age drunk i have to inform you, jägermeister is a college drunk shot here too 🤣

At 8:58 : Its very unusual to drink "Weizenbier" (or more common: "Weißbier") from a Masskrug (1 liter jar), even in Bavaria. Normally we drink Weißbier from specially shaped 0.5 liter glasses like the Ganter glass at 9:28 or, in case of Berlin, like the one at 9:25