When it's happy hour ...Add some Seltzer!

Make a Spritzer, or some Cold Duck,

And you'll add a little German to your cocktail!

Maybe Book a trip to Germany?

I like to always push my boundries and study new German cuisine. I suppose it's good to have favorites, but when you get stuck in those ruts, you miss a lot of wonderful new lucious adventourus beverages, and occasionally you'll say "Damn, had no idea this was that good". When my wife does pick a recipe, print it out and set it on my desk, I always welcome it however crazy it sounds. So being a late-hot summer streak I thought about what are some fun summer drinks in Germany. What did my grandma, grandpa, Tanta, Onkel's and cousins drink on a hot summer day in the 1800's? I have to think that they did beer, fruit juice, and wine's I know my grandma made wine out of ANYTHING. I have an old scrawled paper with a recipe for carrot wine (on the right). Also Fig wine ???? Let's explore some fun beverages that are popular to quench your thirst on a hot Summer or Fall day and some with some fun history.

I know that every season they must have looked forward to strawberries, elderberries and
other fresh fruit. Eating Watermelon was always a huge treat.

My grandma eating watermelon early 1900's

Kalte Ente
"Cold Duck"

Reisling and Sparkling Champagne
Flavored with Lemon and Mint

This drink has an interesting History

The ApfelSchorle

My German friends told me about this drink that is sooo popular in Germany,
and they said it's a staple on most menus.

This is such a simple drink,
so simple it probably gets overlooked as special.
I don't like too sweet, or too cloying, so simple, clean,
not exhausting my tastes buds is the best.

So if you take a really cold apple juice,
and blend it with a nice clean cold fizzy soda water,
its really refreshing!
Use a natural apple juice, unsweetened is my suggestion.

Most recipes, tell you 50% Juice, to 50% Soda.
But you can go 40 - 60 or any ratio.

Now we can take that principal and use it with cranberry,orange, lemon juice, or
even wine! Red wine, white wine, sweet or dry, a bit of great sparkling water
makes a wonderful refreshing drink. However other than an Apfelschorle, or a Weinschorle
every other flavor is called a Spritzer.

Here is a nice video on some of the most popular drinks in Germany that
got me excited to experiment.

So I found myself just craving plain soda water,
and found that it is very popular, just plain in Germany.

The Origins of Seltzer

	Yup it originated in Germany...! If you have ever wondered about the word "Seltzer" and how it became a generic term for carbonated "Fizzy" water, it comes from a small town in the Taunus mountain town of Selters, Germany, (Northwest of Frankfurt). The natural mineral waters were first used as early as the Bronze Age (3300-1200 BC) The natural carbonated mineral water springs were in use for years, and considered to be medicinal as well as good to drink. In the 1700's the idea to market this water bubbled up in someone's mind so the cool sturdy clay bottle (on the left) was manufactured in bulk and "Selters" water or "Mineralwasser" became a reality. It was exported to many countries and millions were sold. The popularity was bigger than the supply in some areas of the world so the technique to add CO2 to water to make it fizzy and the addition of magnesium created a competitive brand. One of those to do this was Joseph Schweppes from Switzerland.

Where is Selters Germany?

Pronounced ZSAY-ters,
is near Frankfurt in the state of Hesse.

Just think,starting from this little city in Germany, a beverage becomes known across the world!

The "Kiba"

Cherry - Banana

This one was the most curious drinks that it made me curious to try it.
Banana juice and cherry juice!

Yeah that sounds German ....That sounds logical
I was more curious, if this was really a thing???

So I asked my friend David who just came over from Germany and he said,
he loves drinking a Kiba when it's I couldn't find any "Banana Juice" in the grocery store,
and I looked it up. It is not a smoothie but clear juice, maybe just a bit cloudy .

I thought, wow, How do you get juice out of a banana? It looks like a mushy substance,
but with a little straining you get a nice thin juice that is a bit cloudy but not a thick puree.

Below is a video on how to make your own banana juice.

I tried some different things determined to find out what this tasted like,
and I found some Torani Banana and Cherry syrup that is used for
Coffee drinks and Italian Sodas here where I live.

So I bought these and experiment with some different ideas.

First I tried blending a banana with milk or sparkling water
and then poured a glass of lemon lime soda
and mixed some of that in with a little bit of vanilla.
Then I poured a bit of the cherry syrup
It was good, kinda fun, somewhere between a milkshake and an Ice cream soda.

However a wonderful treat this is, I was looking for something a bit lighter, something I
could drink 2 or 3 of for a happy hour and not loose my apetite for supper.

Next I tried just the syrups and that was much better for me.
but it was still too sweet so I used just sparkling water and that was perfect for me to sip
and have a nice clean aftertaste.

Radler

A Radler is great in so many ways.

A Radler is becoming more popular in the US. I like it as it has the advantage of letting
you consume more without getting tipsy.

You simply use, lemon lime or grapefruit soda, or lemonade or grapefruit juice
and a nice beer. I would use a lighter beer such as a pilsner or a Corona.

The lightest form would be just putting a lemon, lime or orange wedge in your beer. Even grapefruit is fun.

The next level is to mix your beer with lemonade. Most recipes use 50-50% Beer and Lemonade.

You can also use lemon lime soda or a combination.
There are others that use a cola and call it a "Colaweizen"

The History of the Radler

A Radler is the German word for a bicyclist

The local legend is that Franz Kugler

invented the Radler in June of 1922.
In order to create more business for the Inn and Biergarten he made a Bicycle trail from
Nearby Munich to his place in Diesenhofen.

On June of 1922 13,000 cyclists decended upon the Inn and Franz was going to run out of beer.
He was however overstocked on Lemonade. So he blended the 2 and came up with a refreshing drink.

Wether it's true or not, doesn't matter, it makes a fun story.

You can also visit the Kugler-Alm today....Maybe they can verify the story!

My German Grandma's
Russian Ice Tea

I got this from her recipe box she left.
This would be after the invention of Tang,

There are so many ways to actually make this or you can even use

Constant Comment tea.

This would have been something that she would have learned from one of her
Kaffe Klatch get togethers.

Through modern technology we can enjoy music from Germany at the touch of your computer, there are many venues now, Pandora, Amazon music, and Youtube is free. I love my noise canceling headphones that are completely wireless and give incredible sound!

Bose Headphones over 2500 perfect reviews, it is a bit of an investment but worth every penny.

 

Through modern technology we can enjoy music from Germany at the touch of your computer, there are many venues now, Pandora, Amazon music, and Youtube is free.

I love my noise canceling headphones that are completely wireless and give incredible sound!

Bose Headphones

over 2500 perfect reviews, it is a bit of an investment but worth every penny.

Stefanie Hertel -

Komm mit auf's Land

Du kannst nicht treu sein 2012

Funky Marys

Popular German Volksmusic from the group,

Oesch's die Dritten

Melanie Oesch is a popular singer and yodeler. We really love her music

A recipe book and short biography of my Grandmother Emma Block. Her recipes, culture and cooking styles that were brought over from Germany. How they evolved when she came to America in the early 1900s and settled in Portland, Oregon on the west coast of the United States. Over 100 recipes

Bonus Recipe CD with the Ebook and recipes with step by step pictures

To order the Cookbook with the CD

Order the Kindle Version

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Biography of my grandma
Emma Block
From Germany with Love tells the story of my grandma, Emma Block, growing up in a little town in Baden/ Würtemberg, Germany near Heidelberg named Steinsfurt. Then at the age of 15 immigrating to the United States, taking a train with one of her sisters and brothers to Hamburg and sailing the Atlantic with other hope filled Germans wanting to make a life in the "New World". It was not easy but with good values learned in her German upbringing made a full life, had a wonderful family with lots of fun and celebration including the great German meals.

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