Traditional German Recipes?

I am 1/8 German and would like to cook some traditional German foods.  Unfortnately, the recipies weren't handed down.  My Grandfather (1/2 German) made wonderful things all the time when I was kid, but he just knew the recipes and never wrote them down.  

Any recipes, websites, or cookbooks reccomenations would be appreciated.

Danke.

What were some of the dishes.  I bet there are people who have family recipes for a some of them.

check out these sites:

http://www.germandeli.com/index-recipes.html

http://www.germany.info/relaunch/culture/life /recipes.html

There was a potato pancake I remember and  fruit pastries/ tarts and a burnt sugar( carmelized?) icing cake ( not diet at all but scrumptious - worth the calories).

He also made the BEST hand made applesause. He grew the apples in the yard. And we picked them and  pressed them with a pestle trhough a collander. YUM!! Made with love and elbow grease.  Makes them taste better than anything you can ever buy.

Thanks for any help.

Subway - Thanks for the website Ideas. I will check em out : ) .

Potato Pancakes

for each person, use 1 medium size idaho potato, peeled and grated and pressed dry in a clean kitchen towel to get out as much moisture as possible
for each two potatoes, add 1 whole egg
for each 2 eggs, add 1/4 cup of flour
add a little grated onion if desired
Add salt and pepper to taste and mix well.

heat 1/4" of oil in a large saute pan and get it very hot.  Drop the potato mixture by 1/4 to 1/3 cups to form flat pancakes.  Flatten them with the back of a wooden spoon.

Fry until the first side is golden and crispy.  Turn and fry the other side.  Turn only once. 

Tips:  if you need to add oil to the pan, then the oil was not hot enough and your pancakes will be greasy.  If the outside of the pancakes browns too fast and the inside is still raw, place them in a 325 f oven for about 5 or 10 minutes.

Serve with applesauce & sour cream, and a nice wurst.

Hi, well having lived in germany the past 2 years not sure i'm going to be missing the cuisine anytime soon after i leave, but I guess if it reminds you of your grandfather that would be a reason to eat it... (I think my experiences are tainted by the Mensa or caferteria food here, i'm sure food in normal german households is ok)

Just wondering where in germany he was from, I live in Hamburg and the potato pancake doesn't seem that popular up here - although i have a friend from down south and she made it for me once as a typical dish. Here it is more seafood.

After too many dodgy experiences with cafeteria currywurst I'm a bit scared of the sausages, but i'm sure the good quality ones are great. Also i would imagine that if you are vegetarian traditional german food wouldn't provide too many options for you. (there is always a vegetarian option in the cafeteria, but I think that is because they are just cheap ;-))

There is also a lot of cabbage, sauerkraut, other kraut salads, gruenkohl (curly kale) etc. The gruenkohl isn't too bad (although I prefer it done the dutch way)

I really like bratkartoffeln (fried potaotes with onion (& bacon)) but I don't really know how they manage to get them so good, because i've never managed (think I don't use enough oil). Germans do do potaotes well.

But I don't really have any recipes because I tend to cook asian or italian inspired food at home. So, sorry. all I can give you is the slightly cynical commentary above ;-)  Good luck with finding the recipes though and I hope you remember your grandfather with love when you make them!

All I can remember about German food (and I'm going way back here) is the different wursts you could buy from street vendors,  potatoes anna, red cabbage, potato dumplings, roasted meats, and wienerschnitzle.  And beer. And that chocolate cherry cake.  And sacher torte.  Mit Schlag.

I have tons of German recipes. What kind were you looking for? main dish, side dish, dessert?

My mom is a chef from switzerland which is just south of germany.... i'll check her cook books and see if she has anything (i hope the books arn't all in german!!)

also try www.recipezaar.com

great for regional cooking/ recipes

I don't remember him making alot of meat dishes - it is the vegetable dishes and desserts that I remember.  I guess Grandmother didn't like the sausages HA HA !

Hmm I never knew what part of Germany. That brings up a good point  - I never considered cuisine differences based on region.

Clairelaine - hmmm all that sounds yummy esp the potato dumplings and the sacher torte.  Think I am going to have to track those down.

Thank you all for your help.

I am 3/4 German and we used to cook alot of traditional German food at home...lol don't expect it to be low cal though...most German food is fried and usually in butter...I try and eat it sparingly now (but its sooo hard - I love it!!) cause you just can't make low cal german food properly...but if you are up for it why not try making some spatzle (one of my favs), and I absolutely LOVE schnitzel. Usually we make it with a brown mushroom sauce as well. Ahhh and the sauerkraut is the best! There are many ways to make it and you can eat it plain or with something else. We did eat alot of stuff with cabbage as well...but I am also part Ukranian so that may have come from that influence as well. I think wursts were already mentioned as well...(hard to find traditional ones over here though :( ). And, of course it all must be downed with excessive amounts of german beer! (just can't compare to this so-called "beer" they try and feed us in North America lol). Oooo and the dessert! No one makes better cakes than the Germans. A german friend of mine makes the best poppyseed cake and lemon cake ever...lol as you can tell I love german food! I don't have recipes here, but if you are interested PM me and I will send you some when I get home!

mmmmm does anyone have a dumpling recipe?  i tried to make them once before and well lets just say they didn't turn out well.  

Here is a Beef Goulash recipe:
3 Tbs Vegetable Oil
1 lb Round Steak, Cubed
1 or 2 Medium Onions, Chopped
1/2 tsp Salt
1/4 tsp Pepper
1/2 tsp Garlic Salt 1 tsp Paprika
1/4 tsp Sugar
2 cups Hot Water 
1 Tbs Flour
1/4 cup Cold Water
1/2 cup Cream Heat vegetable oil in a large fry pan with lid, brown the meat Add onions and cook until soft. Sprinkle with salt, pepper, garlic salt, paprika, and sugar.    Pour in hot water; cover and simmer gently about 1  hour. 
 Blend flour with cold water -Be sure to break up all lumps.  Add to meat about 7 minutes before the end of the cooking time.  Stir constantly until sauce is thickened and bubbling. Remove from heat; stir in cream. 

Hi

I live in Germany and make quite a few German recipes such as Potato salad and schnitzel, to name but a few.

If you go to the following site you can also find recipes in English.

http://www.tasty-german-recipe.com

YUM! I love German food. I will definitely check out those websites. schwaigen, can you share your German potato  salad recipe or any saldy type stuff. I had German friends who lived in NYC a few years ago and they always served delicious salads (potato, carrot, beet, all so savory and delicious!). I have been wanting recipes for years!

They also made this noodle thing (spaetzle or something like that) which I understand can be adapted for summer or winter depending on what you put with it.  If anyone had that recipe I would be so grateful.

My boyfriend made me eat Jagerschnitzle a couple weeks ago, and it was AMAZING! I bet you could make it healthier if you baked the pork(?) loin in crushed up Fiber One and egg beaters, then covered it in nonfat/low sodium cream of mushroom soup.

My husband found a book at Costco that was a translation of a Greman cookbook. Beautiful pictures.

 Some things looked wonderful... some thing err ah well I guess at different time period people had to do the best they could with what they had.  I think I can live without the salted eels.

I'm a German living in California. When I go back to Germany I can't believe how people can stay thin on a traditional German diet. Everything is butter, meat and potatoes. That being said I try to bake my bread as I miss a good non-caraway sourdough rye bread, and every once in a while some spaetzle, the Southern German dumplings.

Spaetzle are easy to make out of flour (I use whole wheat, a cup or two), an egg or two, some water, a pinch of salt, mix together to something that has the consistency of a glue, beat it with a cooking spoon (good excercise) until all the gluten has developed, and then press the dough through a potato ricer into simmering water, one load of the potato ricer at a time. Cook until they swim up to the surface.

If you make them with a mushroom chicken ragout with just a tiny bit of cream they taste great. But watch your portions is all I can say! And stay away from the potato pancakes, they are about as healthy as french fries!

I dont know the recipe, but I love... LOVE Jagger Schnitzel