Mecklenburg cuisine is typically northeast

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ger ...

. 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 Mecklenburg (; nds, label=Low German, Mękel(n)borg ) is a historical region in northern Germany comprising the western and larger part of the federal-state Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania. The largest cities of the region are Rostock, Schwerin ...

, long dominated by agriculture, and on the other hand, its long

Baltic Baltic may refer to: Peoples and languages * Baltic languages, a subfamily of Indo-European languages, including Lithuanian, Latvian and extinct Old Prussian *Balts (or Baltic peoples), ethnic groups speaking the Baltic languages and/or originati ...

coastline and the abundance of its inland waters. In addition, its vast forests produce a wealth of

game A game is a structured form of play (activity), play, usually undertaken for enjoyment, entertainment or fun, and sometimes used as an educational tool. Many games are also considered to be work (such as professional players of spectator s ...

. 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 Historical Western Pomerania, also called Cispomerania, Fore Pomerania, Front Pomerania or Hither Pomerania (german: Vorpommern), is the western extremity of the historic region of Pomerania forming the southern coast of the Baltic Sea, Weste ...

, and a variety of cooking methods are used to prepare them. Other staples are kale, known as ''

Grünkohl Kale (), or leaf cabbage, belongs to a group of cabbage (''Brassica oleracea'') cultivars grown for their edible leaves, although some are used as ornamentals. Kale plants have green or purple leaves, and the central leaves do not form a head ...

'' 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'' Mecklenburger-Rippenbraten-Carsten-R (retuschiert)

Mecklenburger-Rippenbraten-Carsten-R (retuschiert)

Pork and beef

* Kloppschinken * Topfleberwurst * Mecklenburg roast ribs (''Mecklenburger Rippenbraten'') Birnen, Bohnen und Speck 2b

Stews, vegetable and potato dishes

* Tüffel un Plum (potato soup with plums and bacon) * Fliederbeersuppe * Schwemmklöße * Buttermilchkartoffeln *

Birnen, Bohnen und Speck Birnen, Bohnen und Speck ("pears, beans and bacon") is a North German dish which is especially popular in the states of Schleswig-Holstein, Lower Saxony, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern and Hamburg. It also goes under the names of Bohnen, Birnen und Speck ...

Puddings

* '' Sanddorntorte'' * Black bread pudding (''Schwarzbrotpudding'') * ''

Rote Grütze Rote can refer to: People *Jason Butler Rote, American TV writer *Kyle Rote (1928–2002), American football player and father of: *Kyle Rote, Jr. (born 1950), American soccer player *Ryan Rote (born 1982), baseball pitcher *Tobin Rote (1928–200 ...

'' * '' Mandelkringel'' *

Sour cream Sour cream (in North American English, Australian English and New Zealand English) or soured cream (British English) is a dairy product obtained by fermenting regular cream with certain kinds of lactic acid bacteria. The bacterial culture, wh ...

pudding (''Schmandpudding'') * ''Arme Ritter'' * Mecklenburg ''

Götterspeise ''Götterspeise'' (literally: ''dish / fare of the gods'') is the German name for a dessert made of gelatine or other gelling agent, sugar, flavourings and food colouring, it is similar or identical to jelly or jello and other gelatin desserts. O ...

'' (''Mecklenburgische Götterspeise'') * Swedish

ice cream sundae A sundae () is an ice cream dessert of American origin that typically consists of one or more scoops of ice cream topped with sauce or syrup and in some cases other toppings such as: sprinkles, whipped cream, marshmallows, peanuts, maraschino ...

(''Schwedeneisbecher'')

Christmas dishes

Honigkuchen auf dem Blech (), or , are a honey-sweetened German cake molded cookie or bar cookie that has become part of Germany's Christmas traditions Christmas traditions include a variety of customs, religious practices, rituals, and folklore associated with ...

*White

Pfeffernüsse Pfeffernüsse are small spice cookies, popular as a holiday treat with Germans and ethnic Mennonites in North America. Similar cookies are made in Denmark, and The Netherlands, as well. They are called (plural, singular is ) in German, ' (s ...

(''Weiße Pfeffernüsse'')

Drink

* Grog *Mecklenburg country wine (''Landwein'') from the

Stargarder Land Stargarder Land is an ''Amt'' in the Mecklenburgische Seenplatte district, in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Germany. The seat of the ''Amt'' is in Burg Stargard. Subdivision The ''Amt'' Stargarder Land consists of the following municipalities: # Burg Sta ...

* Sanddorn: sanddorn

wine Wine is an alcoholic drink typically made from fermented grapes. Yeast consumes the sugar in the grapes and converts it to ethanol and carbon dioxide, releasing heat in the process. Different varieties of grapes and strains of yeasts are m ...

, sanddorn

spirit Spirit or spirits may refer to: Liquor and other volatile liquids * Spirits, a.k.a. liquor, distilled alcoholic drinks * Spirit or tincture, an extract of plant or animal material dissolved in ethanol * Volatile (especially flammable) liquids, ...

, and sanddorn

fruit juice Juice is a drink made from the extraction or pressing of the natural liquid contained in fruit and vegetables. It can also refer to liquids that are flavored with concentrate or other biological food sources, such as meat or seafood, such as ...

Beers

* Darguner Pilsener, Dunkelbier, Stierbier, Mecklenburger Pilsener, Schloss

Hefeweizen Wheat beer is a top-fermented beer which is brewed with a large proportion of wheat relative to the amount of malted barley. The two main varieties are German ''Weizenbier'' and Belgian ''witbier''; other types include Lambic (made with wild ye ...

, etc., from the '' Darguner Brauerei'' * Rostocker Pilsener,

Bockbier Bock is a strong beer in Germany, usually a dark lager. Several substyles exist, including: *Doppelbock (''Double Bock''), a stronger and maltier version *Eisbock (''Ice Bock''), a much stronger version made by partially freezing the beer and ...

, Dunkelbier, etc., from the '' Hanseatische Brauerei Rostock'' * Lübzer

Pils Pils may refer to * Pilsner, a type of beer People * Bernhard Pils (born 20 October 1961), Austrian tennis player * François Pils (1785–1867), French soldier and painter, father of Isidore * Isidore Pils Isidore-Alexandre-Augustin Pils ( ...

, Bock, Export,

Schwarzbier , black beer, is a dark lager that originated in Germany. It has an opaque, black colour with hints of chocolate or coffee flavours, and is generally around 5% ABV. It is similar to stout in that it is made from roasted malt, which gives it its da ...

, Urkraft, Nordbräu Pilsner and Duckstein from the ''

Mecklenburgische Brauerei Lübz Mecklenburgische Brauerei Lübz is a brewery in the German city of Lübz. It is best known for the Lübzer brand. With over 160 employees, it is the biggest employer in the city and one of the largest breweries in the region. Holsten Brewery h ...

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 The Michelin Guides ( ) are a series of guide books that have been published by the French tyre company Michelin since 1900. The Guide awards up to three Michelin star (classification), stars for excellence to a select few establishments. The ac ...

are the ''Ostseelounge im Strandhotel Fischland'' in

Dierhagen Dierhagen is a municipality in the Vorpommern-Rügen district, in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Germany. Among the approximately 1,600 inhabitants is Egon Krenz, briefly the leader of the GDR, who has lived there since 2006. Location Dierhagen is on ...

, 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 Krakow am See is a municipality in the Rostock district, in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, Germany. It is situated southeast of Güstrow at lake Krakower See File:Krakow_Rathaus.jpg, Town hall in Krakow am See File:Aussichtsturm_Krakow ...

and ''Der Butt'' in

Rostock Rostock (), officially the Hanseatic and University City of Rostock (german: link=no, Hanse- und Universitätsstadt Rostock), is the largest city in the German state of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern and lies in the Mecklenburgian part of the state, c ...

. The 2015 edition of the

Gault-Millau Gault et Millau is a French restaurant guide. It was founded by two restaurant critics, Henri Gault and Christian Millau in 1965. Points system Gault Millau rates on a scale of 1 to 20, with 20 being the highest. Restaurants given below 10 poin ...

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).

References

External links

Cuisine in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern
{{Regional cuisine of Germany German cuisine by region North German cuisine

Cuisine A cuisine is a style of cooking characterized by distinctive ingredients, techniques and dishes, and usually associated with a specific culture or geographic region. Regional food preparation techniques, customs, and ingredients combine to ...