Frau A and I are getting married soon. (!) For the wedding reception, we wanted to bring a sense of Bavaria back home to the U.S.. It would be fun, interesting, and something (hopefully) unique for our family and friends.
The first step was speaking with the caterers about food. They had never done käsespätzle and other dishes before, but seemed pretty professional and took the time to research recipes, etc. We'll see how their food turns out...
But that triggered some memories and thoughts about how the fast/convenience culture of the U.S. simply does not "allow" some true German foods to be made (correctly) and served in America. We could, but we don't.
The main reason? Patience. Or, lack thereof. Here are some examples:
1) The whole, rotisserie-roasted chickens over here (the most popular food at Oktoberfest, by the way) always seem to be jucier and taste better.
I asked a store that sells them daily, and the department head said that they brine the chickens for at least a day before roasting them.
Jamie Oliver says to do this too, but I think typically Americans just rub some spices on the outside and get cooking (or stores skip brining to cut costs).
2) Similarly, I noticed that I actually *like* the sauerkraut here. Growing up, I always hated sauerkraut at picnics, etc.. So I asked a traditional restaurant (Augustiner) that serves the good stuff about the general approach.
They said the cabbage should be cured in salt at least 3 days to ferment enough. (This web page and this page say 2-4 weeks.) This is what generates the right texture & flavor. Most U.S. sauerkraut is just cooked cabbage.
Now I'm NOT saying that traditional German food is "better". (A lot is drowned in sauce or generally not to my taste.) The point is that by shortcutting some original techniques, you don't get the real, tasty version.
Another place we noticed where the lack of patience (or refusal to put in extra time and cost) prevents us from finding (and then liking) authentic German foods? Desserts. An underrated part of German cuisine.
3) Frau A and I needed to select a wedding cake, of course. One of the treats we love here is Prinzregententorte. Highly recommended.
The thing about this dessert is that it has "at least" (from Wikipedia) six thin layers of cake, each one separated by a thin layer of chocolate/hazelnut buttercream. I counted at various bakeries here, and usually see seven layers. That's a LOT of work to assemble!
My colleague's grandma used to make this, and it took her half the day.
I did a Google search for German bakeries in Charleston, SC. The first thing that popped up was Rococo German Bakery. My first reaction was to be surprised at the name (Rococo is obviously not German) but what the heck. They did not have Prinzregententorte on their website, so I called and asked if the can make it. The response?
"We don't know what that is." Major fail. Then I checked their website further...
- Only 1 of the 19 items shown in "Cakes and Pies" is even remotely German (Black Forest Cake... but it looks like it is made with American super-sweet buttercream frosting rather than whipped cream). They do list a 'German Chocolate Cake', but this is not German! (It's American, actually. Dallas, Texas! See the link to Wikipedia.)
- Only 1 of their 7 items in "Cookies" is consistently found here -- the black & white frosted sugar cookie -- but it's not truly German. (Chocolate chip and macaroons are available here and there... the chocolate chip never very good.) At Rococo, no Christmas classics -- which are good all year -- like vanillakipferl, zimtsterne, or even lebkuchen are available. Maybe in December?
- Of the 15 items in "Pastry", they do offer apfelstudel (technically Austrian, but good enough).
And one positive surprise: bienenstich (bee sting)! I rarely see this in the U.S., but it's a great coffee-time indulgence. Crumb cakes are popular here, but with more fruit than crumb (vs. the Rococo photo). Fruit roulade and lemon bars are available here, but are French and American repsectively. Overall, here's where they come the closest to a "German" bakery (breads not included).
I don't mean to pick on Rococo, just wanted to show an example of the gap.
One last point -- the other thing that creates this divide is the use preservatives (whether its desserts, bratwurst, or bread). There's a reason that Germans shop for bread at least every other day (often daily).
There are no preservatives, so it doesn't last. But that's the way it goes here... and it tastes pretty good.
Sunday, September 9, 2012 at 6:00 
