Customer Reviews

The German Cookbook: A Complete Guide to Mastering Authentic German Cooking

5 star:		(22)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

This German cookbook is specially designed for use by Americans: measures, ingredients, temperatures, cuts of meat, etc. However, all of the recipes are very authenic and wonderfully traditional. One does not have to fear conjuring up some strange variation of a traditional German recipe; something that is bad enough to make a German epicurian flee from the table! Included with the recipes one will find ample text that describes the qualities and goals of the German chef, plus valuable techniques that can make all the difference between average and excellent results. There are two complete recipe indexes: English and German.

For the record, I lived in Germany for a number of years, and worked with Germans in the states for many more. This is the only German cuisine cookbook that I have ever found, which is truly great in all respects.

`The German Cookbook' by Mimi Sheraton and `The New German Cookbook' by Jean Anderson and Hedy Wurz are both written by leading American culinary writers. Although their publication dates are separated by thirty years, Ms. Sheraton's earlier book has been brought up to date at almost exactly the same time the newer book was published by Ms. Anderson and her co-author.

The raw numbers put Ms. Anderson at about 390 pages of recipes for a list price of $30 and Ms. Sheraton at about 500 pages of recipes for a list price of $35. Ms. Anderson includes an excellent bibliography of both English and German sources, including a reference to Ms. Sheraton's book. Ms. Sheraton has no bibliography, but includes the excellent feature of an English and a German index. Ms. Anderson includes a very nice glossary of German culinary terms. Ms. Sheraton's list of terms is much shorter, at the end of a short chapter on cooking utensils, which looks almost identical to such a section you would find in a good book on French recipes. In fact, it has a lot of similarities to a much more complete section in Julia Child's landmark `Mastering the Art of French Cooking' which appeared just a few years before Ms. Sheraton's book. While my primary objective is to compare the two German books, I will say at this point that neither comes close to matching the quality of Ms. Child's classic.

Ms. Sheraton, with the longer book, is claiming to be a complete guide to mastering authentic German cooking while Ms. Anderson specifically aims her book at `new' German cooking and avoids any claim to being a survey of all German cuisine (Ms. Sheraton does say, here and there, that there are some typical recipes which are simply so starchy and plain that she thinks they will be of no interest to American cooks, so she leaves them out). A quick look at the first few chapters confirms this assessment. In appetizers, Ms. Sheraton has 18 recipes while Ms. Anderson has but 10. In the next chapter on soups, Ms. Sheraton has 38 recipes while Ms. Anderson has but 25. And, Ms. Sheraton follows her soup chapter with a chapter on soup garnishes.

Which of these two books one may wish to buy has a lot to do with what you want from a `German cookbook'. I happen to be from a German and Pennsylvania German background, so I am looking for a wide variety of recipes for classic German and Austrian dishes. For this, I certainly prefer Ms. Sheraton's more complete coverage. I think the most typical buyer may be interested in a few famous German / Austrian recipes such as Sauerbraten, Sauerkraut, Spatzle, Wiener Schnitzel, Sausage dishes, and Strudel (It is entirely coincidental that all of these dishes start with an `S'). A comparison of all these dishes in both books shows that in every case, not only does Ms. Sheraton have more recipes, her recipes are also more complete.

One place where this is most dramatic is in the recipes for strudel. Ms. Anderson gives but one recipe for strudel, calling it a `Bavarian Strudel', and accurately stating that it is less like the classic Austro-Hungarian dish than like a cobbler. And, rather than giving a homemade recipe for the dough, Ms. Anderson's recipe uses frozen filo dough. There is absolutely nothing wrong with this, as long as you are not buying her book to get a good classic strudel dough recipe. Ms. Sheraton does give us a full recipe for the classic Austrian strudel dough plus recipes for apple, cheese, cherry, plum, poppy seed, rhubarb, and Tyrolean strudel. Everything but cabbage strudel (however, there is a sauerkraut strudel recipe under sauerkraut recipes)! With sausage dishes, the picture is similar. Ms. Anderson has but three sausage dishes while Ms. Sheraton gives us ten.

Ms. Sheraton's recipes do tend to be just a bit more concise than those in Ms. Anderson's book. This is understandable since Ms. Sheraton says at the outset that her book assumes you know your way around the kitchen and know in practical terms, the difference between blanch and poach, for example. And yet, with very important recipes such as with sauerbraten and spatzle, two dishes which require considerably more than the average amount of technique, Ms. Sheraton's recipes are more descriptive than those from Ms. Anderson.

It is entirely appropriate that Ms. Anderson's co-author is a German travel writer, as one of the things in `The New German Cookbook' which is missing from `The German Cookbook' are sidebar stories describing the origins of most recipes.

The bottom line for all of this for Ms. Anderson's book is that it is very similar to a cookbook of recipes from a popular modern German restaurant. And, restaurant cookbooks are bought primarily to supply the reader with new ways of doing classic dishes and cute stories of how the executive chef came by the recipes. The main difference is that unlike recipes from great French and Italian restaurants, the recipes in Anderson's book are primarily simplified versions of the classics rather than fancy new twists.

Really want good recipes from the authentic, traditional German cuisine, get Ms. Sheraton's book. If you are so devoted to German recipes that Sheraton's book simply does not supply enough variety, get both books. Both books give good sketches of wine and beer production in Germany and there is little redundancy. Ms. Sheraton adds the extra touches of recipes for wine and beer based drinks and punches.

Ms. Sheraton's book is a reasonable addition for German cuisine to the great one volume treatments of ethnic cuisines done by Diane Kochilas on Greece, Diana Kennedy or Rick Bayless on Mexico, Penelope Casas on Spain, Barbara Tropp or Virginia Lee on China, Shizuo Tsuji on Japan, and Jean Anderson on Portugal!

Recommended as a standard on its subject.

Recipes are easy to follow and always turn out. Ingredients are easy to find. Out of 15 or more German cooks that I own, I use this one the most. I find that it is on a level with the old TIME-LIFE Foods of the World Series with many more recipes.

This cookbook is one of the few that actually makes German cooking intelligible for an American. The recipes are fully "translated" by which I mean the measurements and such are ones that we use in the USA. Other German cookbooks do not have this. The author does a wonderful job in explaining how the food is served and cooked. This is the best German cookbook I have ever seen.

I had never tried cooking German food before I bought this book. The other German cookbooks I have all make it seem so difficult. Now though, I have many recipes I want to try! The ones I've tried so far have been easy to follow, used mostly basic ingredients that are easy to find, and turned out tasting authentic. I find the book to be well-researched, well-written and informative, and easy to understand. It not only gives recipes, but information on when, where, and in what circumstances different foods may be served. There are everyday recipes and also some to be used for special occasions. This is an all-around great cookbook for anyone wanting to try German food.

This book has a TON of recipes in it. Many of these recipes are for German fare that I have never tried. I've made serveral dishes from the book, and I have a few comments based on these experiences.
-Some of the ingredients are difficult to find in my neck of the woods (parsley root, celery root, juniper berries)
-Some of the dishes are a bit bland if you follow the recipe exactly as written. I've found that I need to season some of the dishes a little more strongly to make them taste like anything.
-There are NO PICTURES. I don't have any idea as to how most of these dishes are supposed to look.
-The book has a very good variety of recipes including casseroles, meat dishes, side dishes, and desserts.
-Most of the recipes are quite easy to follow, other than those that call for live fish. Those are tough to come by in Iowa unless you are a fisherman.
In short:
Pros:
-Very complete
-Great variety of recipes
-Recipes are a great starting point for experimentation
Cons:
-No pictures
-Some Ingredients difficult to find
-Some dishes a bit bland if made exactly as printed.

After looking at many German cookbooks and receiving recipes from friends, a family friend found an older copy of this in storage. She immediately thought of my stay in Germany and sent the book my way. First of all, all the measurements are in American terms! Never again will you need to convert grams of sugar/flour to cups. If you aren't fluent in German, it's also a great help to have all the culinary terms in English (braised, sauted, roasted, etc.). If you still are unsure, the introduction shares types over cooking methods and terms. The best part is that the index and glossary are cross-referenced in both English and German, allowing you to find that old family favorite, for which you don't know the English name!

Additionally, I have yet to try a recipe from it that DIDN'T closely match what I sampled in Germany. The variations are accurate clips of regional flair within certain recipes. I've also found that you can improve on the directions -- if you're a veteran, it's easy to do and if you're a novice when it comes to German cooking, the directions are detailed, but still easy to follow. I'm never letting this book go! I've recently shared it with local friends (I live in a region that is largely German heritage - nearby town still speaks a dialect), they were astonished by the book's accuracy in ingredients and scope of recipes. German approved, American approved. Can't get much better than that!

This book will actually teach you HOW to cook....great for learners. The directions are excellent in each recipe. After growing up with German ancestors, and living there for 2 years.....I learned to LOVE German food. The book will help you replicate those tastes again.
Our favorite is the "Roast Saddle of Venison" on p.240
and try the Frankfurter Goulash on p.254
The Cabbage Roll recipe on p. 294 won us a prize in a contest!
The Germans do the best soups too!
Trinkspruch!

Having spent several years in Germany, I was anxious to try and replicate various dishes I had experienced in restaurants and gasthauses there. What I have produced from the recipes in this book have been excellent. They may vary slightly from restaurant faire which is subject to the individuality of the chef, but they all seem genuine and have been quite enjoyable. If I have any complaint at all, it's that not all of the ingredients specified in the recipes are readily available in my area (suburban Philadelphia). It would be helpful if the author provided acceptible substitutes for the more aesthetic ingredients.

This book has been around for over 30 years, and to my mind it is still the difinative tome on German cookery. In 1975 my husband decided to open a restaruant featuring German cuisine, and I was to develop and prepare the menu meals. Never mind that I knew nothing whatever about German cooking!
This book literally saved my life. The location of the restaurant was in a community with a large German immigrant population...people who knew and appreciated the authentic dishes of their homeland. They became loyal and frequent patrons of our restaurant, ordering sauerbraten, rouladen and wienersnitzel, as well as other dishes I prepared on a regular basis.
This cookbook will serve you well in mastering German cooking.