Ingredients
Pasteurized milk about 1 cup
1-2 lemon
coffee filter and paper filter
Small bowl and a glass
Lemon juicer and a spoon
– Squeeze lemons (you need for a bowl of quark the juice of 1-2 lemons)
– Pour squeezed lemon juice into the milk.
FIRST PART
The first part (of 2 parts) of making quark is done. The acid of the lemon will cause the milk to clot.
Pour milk into the filter which is laid out with a paper filter
You will see the clotting process when you stir the milk and it will become thicker.
– Place the paper coffee filter into the filter and put it on a glass or jar.
– Pour the whole lemon-milk into the filter.
SECOND PART
Now the second part of quark making has begun that is separating the solid from the liquid substances.
– Within some minutes you will see in the glass a clear liquid (whey) which you will not use for anything else. You can throw it away.
Quark stays in the filter, whey runs through it into the glass
– After 10-15 minutes remove the quark (which is in the filter) with a spoon or just turn the filter upside down over a bowl.
Should the quark taste too much like a lemon, repeat the filtering process by pouring some water into the quark. The quark remains in the filter but the lemon juice will be in the water.
Now chop fresh chive and mix it with the quark; tastes great on pumpernickel, fresh bread or whole rye bread. Or add some fruit and jam, for a sweet taste.
It is not that difficult.
TIPS
Mix some heavy cream into the quark, this makes it creamy.
Mix it with parsley, garlic, onions, cress, salt, pepper, curry or your favorite spice.
Garlic and grated fresh cucumber makes a great Greek quark named “Tzatziki”.
The “Nusszopf” or German sweet bread with a hazelnut filling is a classic German cake or pastry. It is made out of a yeast dough and filled with almonds or hazelnuts, and it is braided. This is an authentic and proven German recipe. To make this German sweet bread you need to have some baking experience. It’s a great addition for the Sunday brunch or for the traditional coffee and cake table Sunday afternoons. Happy Baking!
500g flour
30g yeast (fresh) or 1 package dry yeast
1/4l lukewarm milk
80g butter
50g sugar
1 dash salt
zest of ½ organic lemon
Filling
200g marzipan, raw
2 egg white
2 tbsp sugar
150g ground almonds or hazelnuts (or half/half)
2 cl rum
4 tbsp powdered sugar
2 tbsp lemon juice, 2 tbsp water
– Sieve flour in a bowl, form a mold in the middle, add or crumble yeast and mix with some milk and some flour.
– Let this starter or “pre-dough” raise for 15 minutes (covered with a clean kitchen cloth).
– Melt butter and mix it with sugar, salt, lemon peel, entire flour and starter dough.
Make the Filling
– Mix marzipan with egg whites, sugar, almonds and rum.
– Roll dough to dimensions 50×40 cm or 20 inches x 16 inches and spread filling on top.
– Roll it lengthwise and cut in half, then turn it into a braided bread (Zopf).
– Place it on a baking tray layered with parchment paper, and let it raise for 15 minutes.
– Pre-heat oven to 200 C or 350 F and bake it for 35 minutes on the lowest level.
Make the Glaze
Mix powdered sugar with lemon juice and water. Spread it over the hot braided bread.
This is a delicious German cabbage soup especially for the cold months. Cabbage is a popular fall/winter vegetable in Germany and can be used for many German recipes such as the German cabbage soup with croutons. Why is it known to be a winter vegetable. Back then during the cold winter months cabbage was used because of its high Vitamin C content, it can be preserved easily such as making Sauerkraut – How to make Sauerkraut – Happy Cooking!
1kg white cabbage
60 g butter
80 g bacon cubes (German Speck cubes, or Pancetta)
1 tbsp sugar, 1 tbsp caraway seeds
200 ml dry white wine
1 liter vegetable broth (instant or home made)
– How to make Vegetable Broth –
200 ml heavy cream
2-3 potatoes, medium size
salt, pepper to taste
4 slices farmers bread or baguette bread
5 tbsp chopped chives
– Cut cabbage in quarters, remove hard parts and cut it in 1 inch wide stripes.
– Heat butter, add speck, sugar and caraway seeds with cabbage and saute it until transparent.
– Fill up with wine, broth and heavy cream, spice with salt and pepper.
– Peel potatoes and grate them, mix into soup, cover with a lid and let it simmer for 25 minutes.
– Cut bread into small cubes and fry it in a skillet in 1 tsp of butter until golden colored.
– Cut chives in small pieces and when soup is done sprinkle over soup on top of croutons.
The Topkiss Burger or Mohrenkopf Brötchen in German was and still is the ultimate snack for every German child. Everyone who grew up in Germany or has lived there for a while knows this snack. This German recipe – it is actually not a “real” recipe – nevertheless it brings back sweet memories of the childhood.
Back then there was this little grocery store on my way to school, and every day we stopped to get a roll that had a Mohrenkopf (chocolate marshmallow or Topkiss) in the middle. That was our snack for school. Everyone loved it.
Mohrenkopf or Topkiss is a sweetened cream on a soft waffle base and coated with a thin layer of chocolate. A little bit similar to marshmallows but much softer.
– Get or bake your buns (see recipe for home made buns below) and cut them in half.
– Spread butter on one half (optional)
– Place a topkiss on the buttered half and cover it with the other half of the bun.
– Find Topkuss here on Amazon –
– Then with both hands squeeze the two bun halves together so the topkiss gets smashed.
See the recipe of How to make German bread or rolls
Fall and winter is the time for German baked apples – we call them Bratäpfel. Make sure to use big enough apples and serve them with your favorite items: whipped cream, vanilla ice cream or vanilla sauce. Or maybe all three together! Happy Cooking!
2 big apples
2 tbsp chopped almonds
some lemon juice
2 tbsp raisins
1 tbsp powdered sugar
1 tsp cinnamon
100 g soft butter
– Pre-heat oven to 420 F.
– Soak raisins in rum or apple juice until they have softened.
– Cut of lid.
– Remove the core from the apples.
– Drip lemon juice into the apple.
– Drain raisins (if soaked in rum you can add it to the filling).
– Combine very soft butter with almonds and raisins, add a bit of lemon juice, cinnamon and powdered sugar to taste.
– Fill it into each apple.
– Place each apple into a single fire proof form (ramequin form) or if you have more than 2 use a rectangle form.
– Place in oven and bake for 40 min. Cover with aluminum foil after 20 min.
– Melt some butter which you can drip over the apples.
Serve right away.
The baked apples taste wonderful with vanilla ice cream, whipped cream or vanilla sauce – Go to the Recipe
German Spaetzle are not only popular in the South of Germany, in Swabia, they are known in Switzerland and the Alsace. I am very happy that I even can purchase dried ones here in the USA! But do you know how to make them? If not, then you will love the following recipe. Spätzle are served mainly with meat dishes cooked in gravy such as a roast, beef Goulash or beef rolls (Rouladen). They soak up the gravy and are therefor an ideal side dish for your pork or beef roast.
Do you actually know what the word “Spätzle” means? It literally means “little sparrows”. In 1725, Rosino Lentilio, a councillor and personal physician from Baden-Würtemberg, stated that “Knöpflein” and “Spazen” were “all the things that are made from flour”. Spelt was grown widely in the Swabian-Alemannic area at the time.
Since March 2012, Swabian Spätzle and Swabian Knöpfle have been awarded the EU quality seal for “Protected Geographical Indications (PGI)” and are protected throughout Europe as a regional specialty. In order to be able to bear this sign, one of the production stages of the product must have taken place in the respectively defined region of origin.
German Spätzle are originally from Baden-Württemberg, the region around Stuttgart, Karlsruhe and Freiburg. German Spätzle served with fried onions and cheese are called “Cheese Spaetzle”, and this is a meal for itself that tastes awesome with a mixed salad.
To make them you can use a Spätzle maker like shown on the photo below. Just make the dough and pour it through the movable upper part of the board. Happy Cooking!
(serves 4)
2 cups flour (wheat, all purpose) – or 250 g flour
1 tsp salt
1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
3 eggs
1 cup water or mineral water – 1/4 l water
Delicious Swabian Spatzle from Lovegermanfood.com
– Mix the flour with half of the salt and the nutmeg.
– Add eggs, mix them in with a fork.
– Pour in water while stirring constantly with a large spoon until dough is smooth.
– Bring water to a boil in a big pot, add remaining salt.
– Set the Spaetzle maker over the boiling water and by going back and forward with the machine, press the dough through the wholes, a few tablespoons at a time, directly into the boiling water.
– Stir the Spaetzle gently to prevent them from sticking together.
– Boil them briskly for 5-8 minutes or when they are floating on the surface, remove them with a slotted spoon.
– Keep them in a bowl until all are done. Never do them all at one time.
That’s all, it is not that complicated. If you don’t want to make them from scratch just buy them packaged.
The best Video ever that shows how to make the REAL THING! Mrs Lutz speaks Schwäbisch and if you know this dialect, you understand every word. If not, just follow her… it’s that easy!
Sausages in beer gravy is an authentic and original German dish. Since centuries Germany is the country of the best sausage making. You will find that the best sausages are indeed made in Germany. You probably know the simple version of a boiled and/or fried sausage that you enjoy with a roll or bread and Sauerkraut. The recipe today shows an interesting way to cook the sausages: They are served in a beer gravy together with mashed potatoes and Sauerkraut. Any other side dish would be delicious too: fried potatoes, Spätzle, red cabbage or dumplings. For making the gravy you would use dark beer, see below what kind of beer to use. Happy Cooking!
4 sausages (uncooked Bratwurst or Brats)
1 onion
125 ml beer (preferably dark beer, if the typical Bavarian dark beer is not available, you can use instead ale, Guinness or Stout)
125 ml water
1 clove
1/4 bay leave
1 slice lemon
2 tbsp flour, salt
1 tbsp mustard (medium, preferably German)
– Place sausages in a pot with water and bring it to a boil; take them out.
– Heat ghee or butter in a skillet. Fry sausages on all sides evenly until they are showing a light brown crust on both sides.
– Remove from the pan.
– Chop onions fine and saute them in the same pan you fried the sausages until they are light brown.
– De-glaze with beer and water (or just use beer).
– Add bay leave, clove, lemon, salt, mustard and Worcester Sauce.
– Bring to a boil then place sausages into the sauce.
– On low heat and covered let simmer for 15-20 minutes.
– Remove bay leave, clove and lemon, place sausages on a warm dish and cover with aluminum foil (keep it warm).
– In some cold water mix the flour, stir until smooth; add to the gravy.
Serve with mashed or boiled potatoes, Sauerkraut or red cabbage.