Mecklenburg cuisine

Mecklenburg cuisine is typically northeast German. Many dishes in the region today, whilst retaining their original characteristics, frequently add new facets, whilst old dishes are being rediscovered and combined with current recipes.

Mecklenburg food has traditionally been considered as rather down-to-earth and hearty. It reflects, on the one hand, the simple life of the region of Mecklenburg, long dominated by agriculture, and on the other hand, its long Baltic coastline and the abundance of its inland waters. In addition, its vast forests produce a wealth of game. Potatoes, known locally as ''Tüften'', play a particularly important role in the region also, as evinced by the existence of a potato museum (the ''Vorpommersches Kartoffelmuseum'') in neighbouring West Pomerania, and a variety of cooking methods are used to prepare them. Other staples are kale, known as ''Grünkohl'' and a sweet-and-sour flavour produced, for example, by using dried fruit. Although Mecklenburg and Western Pomerania have both had long, independent histories, the similarity in living conditions and landscapes in both regions has resulted in both populations having similar eating habits.

Carl Julius Weber reported in the 18th century on the eating habits of the Mecklenburgers: .

Specialities

Fish

*''Gebratener Räucheraal'' or ''Gebackener Spickaal'' (baked, smoked eel)
*''Gebratene Maischolle'' or ''Braden Maischull''

Pork and beef

* Kloppschinken
* Topfleberwurst
* Mecklenburg roast ribs (''Mecklenburger Rippenbraten'')

Stews, vegetable and potato dishes

* Tüffel un Plum (potato soup with plums and bacon)
* Fliederbeersuppe
* Schwemmklöße
* Buttermilchkartoffeln
*Birnen, Bohnen und Speck

Puddings

* '' Sanddorntorte''
* Black bread pudding (''Schwarzbrotpudding'')
* ''Rote Grütze''
* '' Mandelkringel''
* Sour cream pudding (''Schmandpudding'')
* ''Arme Ritter''
* Mecklenburg ''Götterspeise'' (''Mecklenburgische Götterspeise'')
* Swedish ice cream sundae (''Schwedeneisbecher'')

Christmas dishes

*Honigkuchen auf dem Blech
*White Pfeffernüsse (''Weiße Pfeffernüsse'')

Drink

* Grog
*Mecklenburg country wine (''Landwein'') from the Stargarder Land
* Sanddorn: sanddorn wine, sanddorn spirit, and sanddorn fruit juice

Beers

* Darguner Pilsener, Dunkelbier, Stierbier, Mecklenburger Pilsener, Schloss Hefeweizen, etc., from the '' Darguner Brauerei''
* Rostocker Pilsener, Bockbier, Dunkelbier, etc., from the '' Hanseatische Brauerei Rostock''
* Lübzer Pils, Bock, Export, Schwarzbier, Urkraft, Nordbräu Pilsner and Duckstein from the ''Mecklenburgische Brauerei Lübz''

Gourmet food

Several leading restaurants in Mecklenburg have been given awards for excellence this century.

Amongst the starred restaurants listed in the 2015 Michelin Guide are the ''Ostseelounge im Strandhotel Fischland'' in Dierhagen, the ''Gourmet-Restaurant Friedrich Franz'' in Heiligendamm, the ''Alte Schule Fürstenhagen'' in the Feldberg Lake District, the ''Ich weiß ein Haus am See'' restaurant in Krakow am See and ''Der Butt'' in Rostock.

The 2015 edition of the Gault-Millau culinary guide lists the ''Gourmet-Restaurant Friedrich Franz'', headed by chef Ronny Siewert, in Heiligendamm as their top gourmet restaurant with 18 points out of 20. In second place, each with 16 points are chefs, Daniel Schmidthaler from the ''Alten Schule Fürstenhagen'' (Feldberg Lake District), Matthias Stolze from ''Der Butt'' restaurant (Rostock-Warnemünde) and Pierre Nippkow of the ''Ostseelounge'' (Dierhagen). On 15 points are Alexander Ramm from the ''Jagdhaus Heiligendamm'' and Raik Zeigner of ''Ich weiß ein Haus am See'' (Krakow am See). Other leading restaurant guides, like the ''Varta-Führer'', the ''Bertelsmann Guide'', ''Der Feinschmecker'' and the ''Schlemmer Atlas'' assess that gourmet restaurants in Mecklenburg are of high quality.MV Gastronomie-Rangliste
restaurant-ranglisten.de, retrieved 13 November 2014

Literature

* Frieda Ritzerow: ''Mecklenburgisches Kochbuch''. Fifth edition, Hinstorff, Rostock, 1990 (unabridged replica of the 1868 edition).

See also

* Pomeranian cuisine

References

External links

Cuisine in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern

{{Regional cuisine of Germany

German cuisine by region
North German cuisine
Cuisine