In other countries such as France and the UK, only a few select dishes are hailed as national treasures (Tikka Masala) however Germany, unlike these countries claims to have over 1500 different variations of one of its most famous delicacies; The ‘Wurst’. Obviously 1500 different types of sausage can’t fit into one article, but hopefully four sausages is enough to give you a taste of German cuisine.
- The Bratwurst (fried sausage)
“The classic” “ready salted of sausages”. This ‘Wurst’ really is the old faithful of German sausages, made from pork, beef or veal this legend appears on the plate usually accompanied by sauerkraut, a bread roll and lots of mustard. First documented in 1313, this ‘Wurst’ firmly solidifies itself as being one of the oldest sausages in the world as well as one of the most heavily modified, having over 40 variants. The Bratwurst made its way to mid/north America where it was (and still is) called the “brat” and was often served at baseball games in the 1950’s.
- The Weißwurst (white sausage)
The Weißwurst is another very popular German sausage, being a traditional Bavarian sausage made from veal and back bacon. As the name suggests it is a white, rather unappealing looking sausage but nevertheless it is served throughout all of Germany and parts of Austria. This sausage is authentically delivered to its customer in a rather odd way however: Weißwurste would be brought to the table in a large bowl filled with the water in which the sausages were boiled in (along with the unforgettable pretzel/bread roll and lots of mustard), and they would then be sucked (zuzeln very traditional Bavarian ‘method’) or rolled out to extract the delicious herby flavours.
- The Blutwurst (blood sausage)
The Blutwurst is a slightly more bizarre ‘type’ of sausage. Similar to the British black pudding, this Wurst is made form pork blood (hence the name), pork fat, onions and various different herbs and spices. Dating back to medieval Germany, this sausage became popular among peasants owing to its simple and affordable ingredients. But this sausage wasn’t just cheap, it ticked all of the boxes as it also had excellent nutrient composition and soon became very culturally significant with different regions in Germany having their own unique Blutwurst recipe. Today this sausage is usually served at stalls in festivals and celebrations and is even said to ‘induce sentimental thoughts of Germany’. Whether or not that is true, both the history of the sausage and sausage itself are very intriguing.
- The Zungenwurst (tongue sausage)
It would be naïve to simply crown this shameful sausage as the most peculiar of them all, however knowing there are around 1496 other ‘species’ of sausage there is probably a more abominable one unbeknownst to us all. This is still a rather eye catching sausage, being a large head cheese (meat jelly) made with pig’s blood, suet, bread crumbs, oatmeal and chunks of pickled beef tongue. If you find yourself unfortunate enough to have to eat it, it can be served hot or cold as it is typically cured prior to its consumption or it can be fried in butter. There are recipes floating around on the internet for this sausage (not sure it really falls into the 'sausage' category to be honest) but they are probably rarely acknowledged. The Germans really are scraping the barrel with this monstrosity and unsurprisingly it is rarely consumed let alone sold by the Germans themselves.
The Germans really have trumped most other countries’ signature foods with the Wurst, whether it’s with the simple and reliable Bratwurst or the outrageous Zugenwurst, they have without a doubt solidified the Wurst in the hall of fame of national dishes.
