German cuisine in the United States

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The German cuisine in the USA is the cuisine of the immigrants of German origin in the United States , which contains elements of traditional German cuisine and has been at least partially preserved in regions with a high proportion of the population of German origin. This is particularly the case with the Pennsylvania Dutch population group and, to a lesser extent, with Russian Germans who have come to the USA from Russia since the 19th century . Some originally German dishes are now a natural part of American cuisine . The American image of typical German cuisine is strongly influenced by folk festivals of the ethnic German minority, and in recent decades also by the tourist marketing of the Amish settlements in the USA.

Hofbräuhaus Las Vegas , Bavarian restaurant

background

The states with a high proportion of the population of German origin are light blue

In a 2006 census , around 50 million Americans reported having German ancestors. Larger groups of German-Americans live in Colorado , Florida , Idaho , Minnesota , Missouri , Montana , Nebraska , Nevada , North Dakota , Ohio , Oklahoma , Oregon , Pennsylvania , South Dakota , Washington , Wisconsin, and Wyoming .

Traditionally, the proportion is particularly high in southeastern Pennsylvania; this region is therefore also known as the Pennsylvania Dutch Country. This is where the early German immigrants settled in the 18th century who came from southwest Germany, i.e. from the Palatinate , Baden , Württemberg and the Rhineland . The majority of them were Protestants , while smaller groups belonged to the Mennonite and Amish religious communities . Several thousand mercenaries from Hessen were added during the American War of Independence . Today, for many Americans, “Amish” is synonymous with “Pennsylvania Dutch”, even though they make up a very small proportion of the population. Larger Amish populations currently live in Ohio (49,000), Pennsylvania (42,000) and Indiana (33,000).

The main street in Leavenworth imitates Bavarian half-timbered houses

These early German settlers in Pennsylvania, which almost always came in family groups in the United States, some even operated as a village community, agriculture on their own farms that have been passed down from one generation to the next. Another wave of German immigration followed the failed revolution of 1848; these immigrants are also known as Forty-Eighters . The number of German US emigrants increased again after 1870 as a result of the socialist laws of the German Empire and the reprisals against Catholics . They came from very different regions and did not represent a homogeneous group, which made it difficult to preserve their own culture and thus an independent kitchen. The later emigrants mostly settled in the Midwest , especially in Chicago and Milwaukee . Many of the later immigrants came from Bavaria , Prussia and Bohemia .

Since there was no German state before 1871, only small states , the early immigrants did not call themselves Germans, but rather according to their region of origin, which also shaped their sense of identity . Over the generations, a mixed language emerged from the dialects of the home regions and English, the so-called Pennsylvania Deitsch , which is reminiscent of the Palatinate . Cultural historians certify the Pennsylvania Dutch to have preserved an independent culture into the 20th century .

The German-American group also includes German colonists from Russia who emigrated to the USA in the 1870s and are also known as Russian Germans . Similar to the Pennsylvania Dutch, they often came to America in larger family or village associations. In North Dakota they are the strongest ethnic minority today, German-Russian Mennonites mainly settled in Kansas .

Influence on American cuisine

dishes

In the Midwest, the cuisine of German immigrants can be seen as an ethnic regional cuisine of the USA. In Pennsylvania, the Rhineland Panhas was adopted by other ethnic groups and called the Scrapple. The Pennsylvania Dutch are also credited with inventing sticky buns, a sweet and sticky pastry that is said to go back to German dough snails . However , later immigrants from Germany had a greater influence on American cuisine . Especially dishes from southern Germany have become part of American food culture. The specialties of German origin that are widespread today include bratwurst , sauerkraut , Frankfurt and Vienna sausages ( hot dogs ), pretzels , lager , potato salad , cheesecake , cream cheese , meatballs, Berlin pancakes and various cookies . The use of baking pans was introduced in the US by the Pennsylvania Dutch. Germans are also said to have brought beefsteak tartar with them to the USA. The German origin of the hamburger , however, is controversial.

The Wisconsin Historical Society is convinced: "Bratwurst and its close companion the semmel (hard roll) share a past deeply rooted in German culture." (Eng .: Bratwurst and its close companion, the Semmel, share a past that is deep in the German culture is rooted.) In the USA there is a downright “bratwurst region” that stretches from Chicago to Wisconsin to Minnesota , where a particularly large number of Americans of German origin live. Milwaukee , Wisconsin is considered the center of the bratwurst tradition, and the town of Sheboygan has named itself the "Bratwurst Capital" and celebrates the "Bratwurst Days" every August. American bratwurst is generally served with sauerkraut, mustard, and onions.

gastronomy

German immigrants introduced beer gardens and beer halls in the USA, where this form of gastronomy was previously unknown. Rather they had the character of a restaurant than a pub and could be visited by the whole family. The first beer gardens were opened by German breweries in the middle of the 19th century . In addition to beer and food, the largest also offered attractions such as Wild West shows, dance floors and animal parks for visitors and are regarded as the forerunners of today's theme parks in the USA. The largest were Schlitz Palm Gardens and Pabst Park in Milwaukee. The beer halls were a further development of the beer gardens because they could be used all year round. After the Civil War , there were around 3,000 to 4,000 smaller beer halls in New York City alone . Big ones like the Atlantic Beer Garden offered a full range of entertainment with shooting ranges, billiards , bowling , music and dancing.

The Prohibition and a general anti-German sentiment during World War I led to widespread extinction of the beer halls in the United States. Today they are almost only found in the Midwest. The best known today are the Brewery in Chicago , the Dakota Inn Ratskeller in Detroit and the Essen House in Madison . The Munich Hofbräuhaus am Platzl has several branches in the USA. Blob's Park in Jessup , Maryland claims to have introduced Oktoberfest to the United States in 1947 .

A small chain of restaurants called Runza Restaurants, with branches mainly in Nebraska , specializes in the cuisine of the Volga Germans in the USA, named after the dish Krautrunza, a filled dumpling. The first Runza Drive Inn opened in 1949 and has been a franchise chain since 1966 .

Delis

Delicatessen shops are called delicatessen in the USA, derived from the German word delikatesse , because the first shops of this type were opened by German immigrants in the mid-19th century. The first deli is said to have been on Grand Street in New York City around 1868. Initially, German food and specialties that were not available in American shops were sold, such as various ham , sausages , game fowl, sauerkraut , pickled vegetables , offal as well as the heads and feet of pigs, calves and sheep, as well as ready-made salads such as poultry salad , herring salad and potato salad . These shops spread very quickly and were represented all over the country by 1910. Delicatessen families of German descent became rare after the First World War; one of the most famous was Reuben's Restaurant and Delicatessen in New York City, which existed until the mid-1960s. Its owner Arnold Reuben is considered to be the possible inventor of the Reuben sandwich with corned beef and sauerkraut. American delicatessen stores with an international range of goods have also existed since the beginning of the 20th century. Most delis now also offer smaller dishes such as sandwiches and have tables and seats.

Pennsylvania Dutch

A slice of panhas before frying

In the so-called Pennsylvania Dutch Country, families of German origin have retained their own independent cuisine, which is heavily influenced by the Palatinate , Baden and Swabian cuisine . It is essentially a south-west German regional cuisine, as it was typical for the rural population there in the 18th and 19th centuries. The best-known traditional dishes of this cuisine are panhas , bowls , schnitz and knepp as well as saumagen , in the USA spoiled with Seimawe. So-called pot pie (botboi), which comes in many variations and which is a kind of casserole , is also considered typical Pennsylvania Dutch . A whole series of German recipes for cakes and biscuits , especially for Christmas cookies, have been adopted by the Americans. The shoofly pie , a variation on the German streusel cake , was invented by the Pennsylvania Dutch in the 19th century, but is now eaten across North America. The same goes for the whoopie pies .

The cuisine of the early German immigrants in Pennsylvania was simple home cooking . Wholegrain dark bread was a staple food. Spelled played an important role as a grain, and was not only used for baking, but also for making dumplings, soup and porridge . The Scandinavian writer Peter Kalm described the life of the Pennsylvania Dutch in a travelogue in the mid-18th century. At that time breakfast consisted mostly of tea with brown sugar, with bread with butter and radishes . If there was some cereal left over from dinner, it was boiled with a little buttermilk and sweetened with syrup in the morning . At lunchtime there was some meat with a side dish, leftovers from lunch or sandwiches and cheese as a snack .

Knuckle of pork with sauerkraut

The preferred meat was pork . The Pennsylvania Dutch were literally known to recycle every part of a slaughtered pig , leading Americans to say "the only thing they didn't use was the squeak." Cabbage is also typical of their cuisine , especially sauerkraut , which earned them the nickname Sauerkraut Yankees . According to an old custom, pork with sauerkraut is eaten at New Year , which is said to bring good luck. A side dish is either mashed potatoes or steamed potatoes and a sauce. Many volunteer fire brigades in this region cook pork with sauerkraut on New Year's Day at a kind of charity bazaar and donate the proceeds to a good cause.

At the end of the 19th century, the habit of serving “Seven Sweets and Sours” as a side dish to the main meal emerged, that is, sweet and sour, although the number should not be taken literally. These include pickled green and red tomatoes , pickled cucumbers , pickled vegetables, honey , apple syrup (apple butter) and rhubarb jam .

The cuisine of the Amish in Pennsylvania does not differ in principle from that of the Pennsylvania Dutch, although recipe collections with the title Amish Cuisine have appeared in recent decades . This is mainly due to the increased tourist interest in this population group, which is presented in publications as “traditionally German”. Pennsylvania Dutch festivals have been held since the 1950s and since then there has been a standardized concept of “typically German cuisine” that is offered in “German restaurants” in the region and German-American dishes such as whoopie pie , chicken corn soup, sour Includes pickled vegetables (chow-chow) and red velvet cake , a chocolate cake. “The term 'Amish' (…) is often used as a promotional gimmick for such dubious products as Amish Polish pickles, Amish tortillas or Amish friendship bread. (…) Since the Amish live in the country, the foods that are associated with them embody values ​​such as purity, integrity, simplicity and good home-made quality (…) ”.

Dishes and specialties

American carnival
Smoked liver sausage
Sticky bun with nuts
Whoopie pies

German-Russian cuisine

Many German immigrants from Russia, like the Pennsylvania Dutch, have ancestors from southwest Germany, which explains certain similarities in their kitchens. However, due to different living conditions and different national influences, the cooking traditions have developed differently. The Russian Germans have also adopted some Eastern European dishes such as borscht and pierogi (Bierocks). Since 1959, a festival of the German-Russian Mennonites called Schmeckfest has taken place in Freeman in South Dakota , where traditional dishes are prepared for visitors.

Dishes and specialties

White cabbage rolls before stewing
  • Fiegele , pastries in the shape of a bird, are mostly baked at Easter
  • Fleischkuchla , pies with meat filling, similar to pierogi
  • Grebbel are donuts
  • Halupsi is a cabbage roll filled with rice and minced meat
  • Cheese button , dumplings filled with cream cheese
  • Knöpflasupp , a chicken soup with dumplings, corresponds to the chicken pot pie of the Pennsylvania Dutch
  • Krautrunza (German: cabbage wreath ) is a dumpling filled with sauerkraut and minced meat. There is also a variant with sauerkraut and Polish sausage
  • Maultaschen
  • pepper nut
  • Plachinta are pancakes
  • Sour soup
  • shashlik
  • Schnitzesupp , a cream soup with dried fruit , mainly apple pieces
  • Strudla , a hearty strudel
  • Sausage (spoiled for washing )

Historical cookbooks

Henriette Davidis (around 1860)

In the initial phase, the German settlers in the USA did not have their own cookbooks unless they had brought them with them from home. The first German-language cookbooks appeared in Pennsylvania and Ohio in the 1840s . The recipe collections of Friedrike Luise Löffler and Henriette Davidis played the greatest role in the 19th century , whereby Löffler's influence was mainly based on the fact that she came from southwest Germany. The Practical Cookbook for Germans in America by Davidis was published in Milwaukee in 1879 for the first time , which essentially had the same content as the Practical Cookbook in Germany. The second edition 18 years later was more adapted to the conditions in the USA and took into account the actually available food, and it also contained some typical American dishes.

English translations and American books with German recipes for German-Americans whose mother tongue was English followed at the end of the 19th century. For example, the title The Art of German Cooking and Baking (1909) by Lina Meier, which was reprinted several times, was successful . The German-born Irma Rombauer included numerous German recipes in her cookbook The Joy of Cooking (1931).

The Settlement Cook Book: The Way to a Man's Heart by Lizzy Black Kander, which came from a German-Jewish family, has a special position . The cookbook was first published in Milwaukee in 1901 and was so successful that it saw over 30 new editions and was last published in 1991. The Settlement was part of Reform Judaism in the state of Wisconsin ; the cookbook was published in order to collect donations for the integration work. The aim of this movement was to integrate and assimilate Jewish immigrants as quickly as possible . The target group of the cookbook were therefore originally Jewish housewives and young girls; Most of the recipes were not kosher and did not meet Jewish dietary requirements . The book contained adapted Jewish as well as French and English-American recipes, but above all German dishes. It was ultimately bought by women of different ethnic groups across North America.

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ US Census 2006
  2. ↑ German Settlement in Pennsylvania (pdf; 98 kB)
  3. ^ Richard Sisson: The American Midwest: An Interpretative Encyclopedia. Indiana 2007, p. 632.
  4. ^ A b c d e Andrew F. Smith: Food and Drink in America. Oxford 2004, article German American Food
  5. ^ A b Don Yoder, Damn Dutch: Pennsylvania Germans at Gettysburg. 2004, p. 3 ff.
  6. ^ John F. Mariani: Encyclopedia of American Food and Drink. New York 1999, p. 6.
  7. ↑ Fire up the Grill! It's Bratwurst Time!
  8. ^ A b Andrew F. Smith: Food and Drink in America . Oxford University Press, Oxford 2004, ISBN 0-19-517552-2 , articles Beer gardens and Beer halls .
  9. ^ Andrew F. Smith: Food and Drink in America . Oxford University Press, Oxford 2004, ISBN 0-19-517552-2 , Article Delicatessens .
  10. ↑ James E. McWilliams : A Revolution in Eating. How the Quest for Food Shaped America. Columbia 2007, p. 183 f.
  11. ^ A b Irwin Richman: The Pennsylvania Dutch Country. 2004, p. 47; Original quote "the only thing they didn't use was the squeal"
  12. ^ Irwin Richman: The Pennsylvania Dutch Country. 2004, p. 46.
  13. ^ Encyclopedia of Food and Culture, article Pennsylvania Dutch Food
  14. ↑ Encyclopedia of Food; Original quote: "The term 'Amish' (...) serves as an advertising gimmick for such dubious products as Amish Polish pickles, Amish tortillas, or Amish friendship bread. The implication is that, since the Amish live close to the land, foods associated with them convey values ​​of purity, integrity, simplicity, and homemade goodness (...). "
  15. ↑ Schmeckfest ( Memento of the original from August 17, 2009 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.  @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.freemansd.com
  16. ↑ The Story of Immigration as told through Cookbooks ( Memento of the original from August 17, 2009 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.  @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / mki.wisc.edu
  17. ↑ The Settlement Cookbook (pdf)
  18. ↑ Lizzie Black Kander & Culinary Reform in Milwaukee (PDF; 642 kB)

literature

  • Cynthia Holling-Morris: American Regional Cuisine . 2nd Edition. Wiley & Sons, New York 2006, ISBN 0-471-68294-2 .
  • Andrew F. Smith: Food and Drink in America . Oxford University Press, Oxford 2004, ISBN 0-19-517552-2 .
  • William Woys Weaver: Sauerkraut Yankees: Pennsylvania German Food and Foodways . 2nd Edition. Stackpole Books, Mechanicsburg, PA 2002, ISBN 0-8117-1514-0 .

Web links