In early February, the week of German Chancellor Angela Merkel’s visit to the White House, The Economist ran an article about German-Americans entitled “The Silent Minority”. German immigrants, America’s largest ethnic group, “flavoured American culture like cinnamon in an Apfelkuchen”, the article said, yet they quietly assimilated and, because of the two World Wars and the Holocaust, tended to hide their origins rather than claim and openly display their heritage. Continue reading
It’s been more than 12 years since I started my ongoing exploration of Germany’s food. As my long-term readers know, I have been a broken record writing over and over again that authentic German cuisine and what Germans eat is diverse, colorful, seasonal, and ranges from tasty to delicious. With the first ZEIT Kochtag today, April 17, there is another living proof that people eat well in Germany. And that they can cook. And how! Continue reading
This might sound rather strange – I was initially introduced to Judaism, Jewish customs and traditions, and Yiddish language by a collection of Jewish jokes. As a teenager in Germany I found a yellowed paperback from 1963, Salcia Landmann’s Jüdische Witze, among my mother’s books. Mind you that these are jokes by Jews, not about them. I read the 200 pages of jokes from beginning to end over and over. It is the only book of jokes I ever read. Continue reading
Spoonfuls of Germany 