Customer Reviews

Cooking the German Way (Easy Menu Ethnic Cookbooks)

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3 star:		(1)
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I thought I owned or had at least evaluated every German cookbook available. When I realized I'd never even seen Cooking the German Way before, I took it out of the library to help me decide if it ought to join the ever-increasing cookbook collection (not to mention add to my waistline). I'm glad that I looked through the book before purchasing it, because... it can go back to the library.

Let me hasten to add that there's nothing wrong with this cookbook. It's just that it's not a good value, and if you're looking for some old favorite "like Grandma used to make" you may be disappointed. There are only 22 recipes in the entire book -- though almost everything has a very pretty photo, which I know matters to some people.

Perhaps that would be okay if this was the Top 20 German Dishes (for those who are on a mission to cook one or two old family recipes). But it isn't. For instance, the first chapter gives an overview of Germany's culinary history and discusses regional specialties, such as, "A marinated beef pot roast called sauerbraten is popular throughout Germany, except in the Rhine River area." However, there is no recipe for sauerbraten in this cookbook; nor is there one for trout or Lebkuchen or other dishes mentioned in the intro text.

What's here IS good. There's a recipe for fish with mustard sauce that appeals to me, and the recipe for Rindsrouladen in Rahmsosse (beef rolls in cream sauce) is a good one. The book is part of a series of "easy menu ethnic cookbooks" and these are indeed relatively simple. (Which still does not excuse the absence of a sauerbraten recipe.)

The spaetzle recipe is just plain weird, though; it has you create the noodles with a teaspoon -- not a knife (which is how my husband's grandma did it; we have a dedicated spaetzle cutting board, which tells you the importance it holds here) or one of the specialized spaetzle-cutters my husband sneers at.

If you are shopping for a German cookbook, there are quite a few better options. I won't insist that a beginner get a "serious" tome, but I do suggest you consider Modern German Food (which has plenty of photos), Spoonfuls of Germany (no photos but a lot more recipes -- and all kept very simple), or my favorite, The New German Cookbook (which has many pages with honorable food stains, though no pictures).

This cookbook is easy to use. It has many of my favorite foods I remembered as a child.

The cookbook is awesome, I bought the cookbook for my wife and she uses it all the time. The recipes are great. Brings us back when we were stationed in Germany. Thanks.