While German cuisine might be best known – and loved – for the likes of bratwurst and big pretzels, there are plenty of rather more unusual dishes that don’t quite have the same universal appeal. From hearty offal stews to pickled eggs, meat jellies and sweet soups, here we reveal the German foods that the rest of the world just doesn’t understand.
Click or scroll through our gallery to discover some of Germany’s most bizarre foods, counting down to the most unusual of them all.
Sauerkraut is known around the world as the quintessential German side dish. And while eating fermented cabbage might not be for everyone, it actually has plenty of appeal. Thanks to its pungent aroma and sharp, tangy flavour, sauerkraut complements a wide range of foods, from sausages and burgers to sandwiches and tacos. Rich in probiotics and vitamins, sauerkraut also offers numerous health benefits, including improved digestion and immune support.
Found in supermarkets throughout Germany, quark is either sold plain or as kräuterquark (with herbs). It’s a fresh, soft cheese with a creamy texture similar to Greek yogurt, but it's less acidic. Made by warming soured milk until it curdles, quark is then strained to remove excess whey. It can be enjoyed on its own, used in baking, or used as a base for dips and spreads.
Granted, asparagus isn’t an obscure food per se, but it’s the colour that makes the vegetable distinct here. While in most countries the green variety is eaten, in Germany nothing but white will do. Lovingly called the 'vegetable of kings', 'edible ivory' or simply 'white gold', the whole country goes spargel-crazy during spargelzeit (white asparagus season), which runs from mid-April to 24 June. The delicacy is most commonly enjoyed with melted butter and boiled potatoes, so as not to overpower its delicate flavour.
Far more delicious than its moniker suggests, kalter hund (cold dog) is a no-bake chilled chocolate dessert featuring layers of rich butter biscuits, coconut oil and chocolate, sometimes with a splash of rum flavouring. The treat, which is a long-time favourite at children’s parties, was particularly popular in East Germany, and it's also known as kalte schnauze (cold snout) or kellerkuchen (basement cake).
The German port city of Hamburg has been associated with rundstück warm – warm, sliced meat (usually beef or pork) served in a bun with gravy, often a few gherkins on the side – since the 1800s. Some have argued that this might have been the earliest incarnation of the hamburger, although the theory is hotly contested by others.
Zucker-ei is a dessert that's made, as the name suggests, from zucker (sugar) and ei (eggs), which are whisked together until creamy. With Eastern European and Jewish roots, kogel mogel, as it is also known, became popular in the 1950s when it was considered a frugal alternative to more elaborate desserts. It was also often given as a tonic to weak, sick or underweight children. Other flavourings such as honey, cinnamon and vanilla are sometimes added.
This steamed pudding from Northern Germany was traditionally made with leftover stale bread or rolls soaked in milk, although nowadays it’s likely to be prepared with a flour, yeast or semolina dough. Großer Hans (great Hans) is certainly versatile – it can be served sweetened with berries or dried fruit for dessert (often accompanied by a fruit compote), or studded with chopped bacon and enjoyed as an accompaniment to a meaty main course.
The main ingredient in this cake is – you guessed it! – Fanta. The fizzy drink was invented by the German branch of The Coca-Cola Company during the Second World War and quickly gained popularity, not only as a beverage, but also as a sweetener in various dishes, including cakes. Fantakuchen is usually topped either with a simple lemon glaze or a cream layer made from sour cream, whipped cream, sugar and canned mandarin segments. If you’re not a fan of Fanta, similar Sprite and lemonade cakes exist, too.
In fairness, Himmel un Ääd, which originated from the Rhineland region in Central Germany, actually tastes a lot better than it looks. The name translates to Heaven and Earth and refers to its two main ingredients: apples grown on trees (in the sky) and potatoes harvested from the earth. The dish of mashed potatoes and apple sauce has been around since the 18th century and is often served with grützwurst, a type of smoked sausage.
This classic dessert is particularly popular in Northern Germany, where it can be found on both restaurant menus and as a pre-packaged mix on supermarket shelves. It’s made by boiling red berries such as redcurrants, raspberries, cherries and strawberries in fruit juice with sugar and vanilla. The name rote grütze (red groats) refers to the colour of the dish, as well as to the groats (hulled grains) that are traditionally used to thicken the mixture. The jelly-like dish is often served with semolina pudding, vanilla custard or ice cream.
Birnen, bohnen und speck (pears, beans and bacon) might not seem like an obvious combination, but actually this warming dish from Northern Germany really works. This thrifty meal is made using cooking pears which, although they're considered too sour to eat raw, hold their shape beautifully when braised. The dish is usually served in the autumn, with boiled potatoes on the side.
Spaghetti eis is a beloved novelty sundae invented in the late 1960s, and it sees ice cream presented to resemble a plate of pasta. Vanilla ice cream is pushed through a modified spätzle press or potato ricer, then served topped with strawberry sauce to mimic tomato sauce. To complete the look, the cult classic is sprinkled with coconut flakes, grated almonds or white chocolate shavings to represent Parmesan cheese.
German schmalz is rendered animal fat – and griebenschmalz also has crackling added. Pork schmalz is common in Germany and is often used as a spread instead of butter. In cooking, it's layered over potted meats, stirred into cabbage dishes and used for browning onions. While it may sound unusual, a layer of schmalz smeared on fresh rustic bread and sprinkled liberally with salt is really rather wonderful.
Who said that soups can only feature vegetables? This Northern German classic is made from black elderberries, and is known for its rich, dark colour. Typically served warm and enjoyed in autumn, when the berries are in season, it's often sweetened with sugar and spiced with cinnamon or cloves. Some variations include dumplings or apples, which add texture and depth.
Quick and easy to make, and capable of delivering an explosion of flavour, toast Hawaii has been popular in Germany since the 1950s, when it was introduced to the country by TV chef Clemens Wilmenrod. This open-faced sandwich features a slice of toast topped with ham, a ring of pineapple and melted cheese, often finished with a cherry on top (or a generous spoonful of jam). Toast Hawaii is typically baked until the cheese is bubbling and golden, offering a taste of nostalgia that remains a beloved part of German culinary culture to this day.
As a seafaring nation, fish and seafood has featured in the German diet for thousands of years – the original matjes production process was developed in the Middle Ages. Matjes are particularly mild herrings which are matured in a brine which, in the traditional production process, uses the fish's own enzymes. They’re devoured in a whole host of ways: served with potatoes or slices of bread, stuffed into rolls, added to salads, and paired with bacon and beans in a dish called matjes mit speckstippe.
Soleier are a German delicacy, made by pickling hard-boiled eggs in a brine of vinegar, salt, onions and spices. As well as imbuing the eggs with plenty of punchy flavour, this process preserves them – meaning they'll they keep for weeks without the need for refrigeration. This classic dish is often served as an appetiser or snack in pubs and restaurants, usually accompanied by soft pretzels and obatzda: a creamy German beer cheese dip.
While the uninitiated might be put off by its bright pink hue, labskaus (the sailor’s meal) has been around for generations, predominantly in maritime regions like Hamburg and Bremen, where it was first eaten on ships in the early 18th century. This unapologetically hearty hash is made by mashing together corned beef, onions, potatoes and beetroot. It's often topped with a fried egg, with pickled gherkins and herring offered on the side.
Falscher hase (fake rabbit) came to prominence after the Second World War. At this time, meat was still too expensive for many households, but people still wanted to serve something special on a Sunday. Ingenious cooks came up with the thrifty idea of wrapping minced meats around hard-boiled eggs and shaping the mix into a rabbit-like meatloaf (as rabbit meat was most coveted at the time).
Handkäse mit musik (hand cheese with music) is a whimsically named dish from Central Germany featuring sour milk cheese marinated in a mix of finely diced onions, vinegar, oil and caraway seeds, and it's traditionally served with buttered bread and cider. The portions used to be shaped by hand, hence the name, while 'musik' is thought either to refer to the noise made when the cheese is cut, or the effects of raw onions on the digestive system.
Germany has thousands of breweries and even more brands of beer, so it's no wonder that the hoppy beverage has made its way into the country's cuisine. In some regions, beer is even categorised as a food product rather than a beverage. Beer soup has a long history and was a common breakfast dish until the 19th century. The robust soup ingeniously repurposes stale, leftover beer – and it often contains rye bread and cheese for a warming, satisfying, creamy end result. Sweet versions of beer soup also exist.
There’s no debating that Germany has a reputation for great sausages, and while beloved bratwurst is now a popular street food in a number of different countries, grützwurst is something different all together. This smoked sausage is made with pork, pigs’ blood and groats, and is traditionally served with boiled potatoes and sauerkraut (which cuts through the richness of the sausage). Thanks to its colouring, the rather ominous alternate name for this dish is tote oma (dead grandma).
While some people’s stomachs might turn just reading the name of this dish (saumagen means stuffed pig’s stomach), it’s a popular meal in the Palatinate region of Germany. The dish consists of a pig's stomach filled with a mixture of potatoes, pork, sausage meat and various spices. Once stuffed, the stomach is simmered for several hours until tender, then sliced and served with sauerkraut or potatoes. Saumagen was former German chancellor Helmut Kohl’s favourite dish, and he regularly offered it to visiting dignitaries.
A seriously unique cheese whose roots stretch back to the Middle Ages, milbenkäse is only made in the small village of Würchwitz in Eastern Germany. The age-old production process sees quark seasoned with salt and caraway seeds, then left in a sealed wooden box containing hungry cheese mites for at least three months. Over time, the mites' digestive juices infuse into the cheese and cause it to ferment, giving it its distinctive bitter flavour and slightly spicy, lemony aftertaste.
The name sülze refers to a preservation method that has been used since the Middle Ages; the parts of an animal with the least meat – usually the feet, ears and snouts – are boiled with spices to make a broth. As these parts contain a lot of collagen, the cooking broth takes on a jelly-like consistency as it cools, making it ideal for preserving pieces of meat. Today, this German version of head cheese (also known as brawn) generally refers to meat in aspic, and it remains popular throughout the country as a cold cut.
Some people bake cakes for parties, while others make a fruit salad or put out carrot sticks. In Germany, particularly in the 1950s, 1960s and 1970s, hosts would instead form seasoned raw pork mince into a mound and decorate it with onions, gherkins and peppercorns, so that it resembled a hedgehog. While the mett-hog isn’t quite as popular as it once was, bread rolls or rye bread slathered with mett are still devoured with gusto and regarded as something of a delicacy.
Zungenwurst (tongue sausage) is a variety of German blood sausage made from pigs' blood, suet and chunks of pickled tongue (which you can clearly make out when the sausage is sliced). It's seasoned with plenty of ground pepper, and often marjoram and nutmeg – and its rich, savoury flavour and unique texture make it a delicacy. Widely sold in butcher's shops, it's often enjoyed as a cold cut or sliced and added to sandwiches.
Originating from Northern Germany, schwarzsauer is a type of blood soup that was traditionally prepared during pig slaughter (in autumn or early winter). Fresh blood was collected and cooked with pork, vinegar, onions, root vegetables and spices such as bay leaves, peppercorns and cloves. While it's not commonly found on restaurant menus, the distinctive dish is regarded as a delicacy and is still served in some homes, often with potatoes or dumplings.
Now discover the best traditional German foods and recipes to try beyond bratwurst