Bingeing in Berlin Is So Good It Is Bad

Despite its dark past in history, Berlin is a tolerant city toward every race, religion and sexual orientation. Such a tolerant attitude extends to the international cuisines introduced by immigrants, visitors and even passers-by into the city.  The result is a festive hodgepodge of global and local cuisines that somehow manages to co-exist, complement and, ultimately, combine into the buffet called Berlin cuisine.

The origins of typical Berlin food cannot be attributed to chefs.  Instead, it was Frederick the Great of Prussia who ordered that potatoes and cucumbers become the main ingredients of German cuisine mainly because these were inexpensive food items.  And so, when you are enjoying your kartoffelsalat (potato salad) and gurkensalat (cucumber salad), remember that a king started it all.

Typical local foods in Berlin are based on other meat and vegetable products as well.  These ingredients include pork and goose as well as vegetables like peas and beans with a few types of fishes added.  Although Berlin is a cosmopolitan city with plenty of foreign influences in its cuisine, most restaurants and homes will serve three traditional dishes based on these local ingredients. 

First on the list is the currywurst, which is grilled pork sausages cut into medium slices, seasoned with tomato paste, and then blended with curry for a spicy dish. It can then be served with friend potatoes or bread rolls for a full meal or a filling snack.

Then there is eisbein mit sauerkraut (pork knuckle on sauerkraut), which requires plenty of preparation time.  The heavily marbled meat is braised for hours resulting in a thick layer of crackling fat and then served with a light beer known as Weisse.  We did say that Berliners like their pork.

For dessert, there is the Berliner.  No, it is not a citizen of Berlin but a donut made of sweet yeast dough and filled with marmalade or jam, which is then fried in oil and topped with icing or powdered sugar.  It is a favorite snack along with spritzkuchen (cream puffs). 

With a strong Turkish presence, another typical food found in many tables in Berlin is the döners. It is made from marinated lamb chopped into small pieces and salad consisting of cabbage, lettuce, onions, cucumber and tomatoes, all of which will be wrapped in a flatbread and then topped with sauce like curry, herb and garlic.   Döners are more popular than hamburgers and you can see many people, young and old alike, munching their way through the often humungous servings.  You can then wash it all down with Germany's favorite beverage - beer. 

Indeed, going on a binge in Berlin is so good considering the variety of delicious foods available that it may be bad for your waist and weight.  Then again, you can always exercise when you go home to your holiday apartment Berlin, which you booked online days in advance before arrival in Berlin.  Or you can just enjoy your vacation and leave the worrying for when you arrive home.

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