Why is Pork and Sauerkraut
a New Years Eve Tradition?
Berliner Eisbein with Sauerkraut, Boiled Potatoes, Erbsen (pea) Puree topped with Fried Onion Strips
German Crockpot
Sauerkraut
and Pork Dinner
Kassler Rippchen
mit Sauerkraut, Himmel und Erde
Smoked Pork Loin Roast with
Sauerkraut and potato and apple mash
Some other Dishes that are German New Years Eve (Sylvester) Tradition
Herring Salat
Linsensuppe mit Frankfurter
There are several themes that are traditions of New Year's Day food in Germany,
Greens; that symbolize folded money, Legumes; Some like lentils are shaped like coins,
Pork; because the snout always pushes forward
unlike chickens that scratch backward.
Cakes have always been a lucky food particularly round cakes as it symbolizes making it full circle to the next year.
and animals since ancient times. A couple favorite New Years Eve or New Years Day foods that feature both Pork and greens are Pork with sauerkraut, and Greunkohl mit Pinkel which is a special sausage popular in Northern Germany called pinkelwurst, that is simmered with kale and bacon slices.
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Berliner Eisbein
with Sauerkraut, Boiled Potatoes, Erbsen (pea) puree
with Fried Onion Strips
This is a great dish that is similar to a Schweineshaxe but the meat is cured and looks
much like a ham. It is simmered with spices and then served traditionally in Berlin
with a pea puree (Erbsenpuree) that is delicious
and the best part is the fried onion on top.
This Dish is so comforting with a variety of meats. I like to use smoked sausage, Hocks,
and even pork ribs. Probably my number one choice for New Years celebration meals.
Herring Salad, An Age Old New Years Eve tradition.
I know a lot of folks turn up their
nose at Pickled Herring ...!
including my family, and my dad and most of his family.
If you have been following the newsletter for some time you will find eating Herring Salat or Herring salad was a tradition .
In fact you must eat it at the stroke of midnight to insure good luck for the New Year.
In the technology and scientific age these superstitions seem childish. I guess we would have to live back in those times to understand what the world was like for our fore fathers, mothers and other relatives before the internet ..
Herring was such an important food for several reasons.
It was abundant in the coastal areas traveling in schools of millions so your catch could be abundant.
Not only Germany but so much of the world depended on salted fish...Cod, Anchovies and Herring for it's survival.
Cape Cod in Massachusetts gets it's name because it was a good place to Cod fish which was so important back then.
It was also was good to have on Fridays where not by choice but in many areas legally you couldn't eat meat so the salted fish was very important. You could be jailed if you were caught eating meat.
The Herring which feed on little tiny plankton can sense good feeding areas a thousand miles away. So one day ....all the sudden the herring would be gone! They wouldn't return sometimes for years.
Centuries ago it was blamed on the sins of the people, like too much adultery etc.
Why Pickled?
Pickling or more accurately"Salting" for centuries was the only way to preserve any food.
These Herring were cleaned and put in barrels with layers of salt and you could be sure and have food for the winter. There were no freezers except natural ones back then.
So if you are looking for something to celebrate your heritage with
try making this salad. If you are squeamish about the herring, then use another kind of fish, like a salmon or cod.
I know some of my German friends would think this sacrilege
but to the un-initiated herring can be very fishy and can prejudice us for a lifetime.
I have had friends like Don Wall, that do their own salting and pickling of Herring and the recipe is a family secret. They know how to keep the fishiness out of it.
Taming the Fishiness in Herring
One thing you learn as a chef is to balance flavors.
Liver is one of my least favorite foods ....by itself. But when mixed and tamed with other flavors it is one of my favorite. Blend with pork and spices and Braunschweiger is a delicacy. It wouldn't be any good WITHOUT the liver ....
Is something too salty? Blend it with a tart flavor and a sweet flavor and
you now have a robust balanced flavor!
The strong fishy flavor of anchovy paste can be used to boost flavors of salads and sauces and you would never know it is there. I use a good quality vinegar and some sugar to counter balance the flavor of the fishiness. It is many chefs secret ingredient ...
The potatoes, pickles and beets also give texture and flavor to counter balance the strong taste of the fish.
Also
Anette Holmes told me as a child in Germany she loved the flavors of her mom's Herring salat , especially the flavors of the sauce, the pickles and apples. and ..........lots and lots of good sour cream.
Sour cream really smoothes out the flavors of this
1 package or jar of 500 mg or ab out 8 oz. of
herring filets or pickled Herring. Drain. Marinated in
1 / 2 cup cider vinegar if desired.
1 cup Sour Cream
1 1/2 cups diced cooked potato
1 apple diced
1 16 0z can of diced up pickled beets
1/4 cup minced onion
1/4 cup diced dill pickle
1 tsp. salt 1/4 tsp. black pepper
2 hard boiled eggs.
Directions:
Mix all ingredients together and let sit for a few hours.
Good served as a salad on a lettuce leaf
Garnish with chopped boiled eggs.
You can also serve on rye bread or crackers
Top with chopped boiled eggs and dill springs are nice too.
Lentils have been considered lucky for New Years Eve or New Years Day
most likely because of the shape of the lentil is like a small coin.
If you eat the lentils you will have plenty of "pocket change" for the new year.
One of our readers, Irene Lage sent me this info about a German tradition she wanted to share,
Dinner for One
a
German New Years Eve
Tradition
Germans encounter similar misgivings by members of other cultures about their unflappable enthusiasm for the short film "Dinner for One". The 14-minute British stage sketch is shown over and over again on every German TV channel on New Year's Eve. "The same procedure as every year, James" became a familiar catchphrase in the German-speaking world since it was first broadcast in 1963
Dinner for One
This is a tradition in Germany
The introduction is in German for the first 3 minutes or so ....but the video itself is in the original British English staring
How in the world did this become so popular in Germany,
When it is almost unheard of in England?
