Customer Reviews

A Culinary Voyage Through Germany

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

There are a lot of things I like about this cookbook. Unlike a lot of "American" German cooking, the recipes represent regions outside Bavaria. Hannelore Kohl (who, yes, is the wife of the ex-chancellor) divides the book into 9 regions, and presents typical recipes you'd find in each one. About half the recipes are accompanied with a photo of the finished dish, which can be somewhat inspiring. ("Yum, that looks good! Maybe I'll make this Winemaker's beef stew tonight!")

The recipes themselves are of mixed value. Several are excellent. Since we bought this cookbook about five years ago, her recipe for pork goulash with beer and mustard-pickles has become one of our standbys. The Harz potato salad with jagdwurst (smoked ham sausage) makes it worthwhile to search for the ingredients. (Fortunately, I have a good German deli nearby.) The Frankfurt Green Sauce (essentially herbs and sour cream served over hard boiled eggs or boiled potatoes) is really delicious, and one of the simplest versions I've found for this recipe.

And, if you're hankering for a huge collection of meat-and-potatoes recipes -- heavy on the meat! -- you need look no further. There's little here for a vegetarian. Not much for chicken and fish, either, though there are a few moments for goose and duck fans. Helmut Kohl must like his pork and beef.

A few recipes are less successful. I made her pork roast stuffed with onions; it called for 6 onions. I managed to pry 2 sliced onions into the cavity, and had 4 left over. (Oh well, it's not like onions will go to waste around here.) The meal tasted great, but I do like to think I can rely on the instructions.

You'll find plenty of regional specialties, from maultashen (Germany's answer to ravioli) to saurbraten to the Frankfurt specialty "hand cheese with music." Sometimes, the recipes are good but not superlative. I always consult this book, but often I use the instructions from another cookbook.

The index, frankly, stinks. It's organized only by region and an alphabetical list, using the (often useless) English translation. No ingredient list, which is always necessary when you come home with red currants and want to know what you can do with them.

Oh dear, all of that sounds very critical. I like this book, honest I do, or I wouldn't have given it 4 stars, and I wouldn't reach for it when I'm in the mood for something with double-smoked bacon. This is the essence of comfort food: lots of dinners with variations of pot roasts, onion quiches, quark-and-cherry desserts, and butter cake. I do recommend _A Culinary Voyage Through Germany_. I just don't think it should be the only German cookbook you own.

Great book!! I have over 30 German cookbooks and this is absolutely the finest!! Not only does it include the best and most popular German fare but also information on the folklore and customs of this beautiful country. The book also features lavish full color photos of almost every dish. Don't miss out on this one!!!!

I own a lot of German cook books. This one has the advantage that it covers all regions. It also has some very nice descriptions of the different areas und good pictures. I grew up in Germany and I do not remember that we ate so much meat. But I liked it because it gave me all the English translations and it contains every major dish, dessert and cake eaten in Germany. It would have been nice to add an index with the German names, as I had no idea of the English names.

If you ever want to try some German food beside Bavarian dishes, this is a very helpful book. There are recipes for Pumpernickel Puddings, Leek tarts, blushing virgins and beer soups

Enjoy

Former chancellor's wife Hannelore Kohl with able assistance from her husband and Chef Schuhbeck guide us through Germany region by region.

Spectacular in its photography and intros to each region, they then share some of the local specialty dishes of each with great flair and color.

Lots of good basic dishes here with some exotic, more complex as well. Technique and availability of ingredients should be no barrier to even the average home cook.

Hannelore and Helmut Kohl have put together the most enticing and instructive cookbook on German cuisine that I have seen. About twenty pages in, I was struck by how similar my reaction to this food was to learning about 'real' Italian food. German cuisine can be both lighter and more imaginative than I realized from eating in German-American restaurants. Mrs. Kohl is the wife of former German Chancellor Helmut Kohl and she worked with master chef Alfons Schuhbeck to put together traditionally-based recipes from each of Germany's political regions as a money-raising project for her foundation, which supports research into rehabilitation of brain-damaged people. Culinary regions explored include the Baltic coast, the Saxon Alps and Thuringian Forest, the Lower Rhine Valley, the area bounded by the Rhine, Moselle and Saar Rivers, the Main River Valley and Franconia. Recipes are clear as to ingredients and do not require many specialized ingredients (a few require specialty meat ingredients.) Each recipe is accompanied by beautiful and enticing photographs of the plated dish and suggested accompaniments. Dishes that might sound 'heavy' in their name look very digestible on the plate. Of course, there are plenty of meat dishes: pork, beef, lamb, duck, goose and so on. I was struck by how often Germans use fresh or dried fruit in these meat braises and by how often bulb fennel is used. There is a wonderful light fish soup based on poached flounder and baby shrimp seasoned with fresh lemon juice. There is a recipe for a light fresh pea soup, lifted in flavor with a bit of minced bacon. Other vegetable-based soups appear with each region. Cabbage and sauerkraut dishes are found but they have not been cooked to death and the cabbage is made more interesting with the addition of mixed meats or with meat and fruit. Salads, breads and some very interesting desserts are also offered. I liked the 'Blushing Virgin' dairy-based pudding with mixed bushberries for its colorful appearance and its light, refreshing textures and flavors. Roasts, dumplings and sausages find their places as well.

Recipes include American measures and names for each dish are given in both German and English (which helps the tourist when similar items are seen on restaurant menues.) I heartily recommend this book...and I am not a German-American!

Great book - got it after seeing it at a friend's house.
Some great recipes that may or may not be authentic - the photos are great and the whole thing has a kitchy feel with Kohls wife.

The recipes do not reflect the REAL German cuisine and believe me German cuisine EXISTS My German favorites (Knodel,Sauerbraten ...) have been "entstellt".

This is probably one of the least health-conscious cookbooks to come out in quite some time. The 300-lb-plus Helmut Kohl took time off from his work impersonating dirigibles & blimps to try and kill us all with he & his wife's recipes. Granted, German cuisine is not exactly renowned for being low in calories or cholesterol, but this cookbook takes the cuisine's tendencies to their ugly extremes. The photography is great, and the recipes (at least the ones I had the nerve to prepare) are pretty tasty, but unless you want to kill yourself in short order, you should use this cookbook with great discretion.