To be fair, it was hard to come up with this list as I’m pretty open-minded when it comes to food. I do my best to try everything and give it a fair chance. Sometimes, I even try things twice just to give it the benefit of the doubt. But, when it comes to these things, I tried them once and only once. My husband (and son) love all of these things, but they are just not for me. I tried to find “appetizing” pictures, but for you non-meat eaters out there, you’ve been warned. ;-)
1. Leberwurst
Otherwise known as Liver Sausage, you can buy this fresh from the butcher, already packaged in the store or in a glass jar that obviously already has the casing removed. Typically, it’s eaten on an open-faced, buttered slice of bread or in a buttered brötchen.
2. Rouladen
From what I’ve read, Rouladen is typically rolled beef filled with onions, pickles, bacon and mustard, but the recipes vary by region and generational traditions. For instance, M’s mom serves it filled with a hard-cooked egg which is the only way I have ever tried it. I know many cultures, including my own, have different ways of serving beef and eggs together. Whatever the country, I’m not interested. M has also made a dish that has ham stuffed with ground beef in a sort of cream sauce. No, thanks. I like all of these things separately on their own, but let’s not start mixing them, k?
3. Fischfrikadellen
These are basically fish cakes, which I think are similar to crab cakes, and while I quite enjoy the latter, for some reason I don’t like these. The one time I tried it, I almost spit it out, but to be fair, I’ve never had one fresh from a restaurant or home-made. So, if that were ever the case, I might be willing to give it another go.
4. Mezzo Mix
Okay, so in case you didn’t know, Germans really enjoy combining drinks. You’ve got Radler (beer with lemonade), Cola Bier (beer and coke) Banane Weizen (banana juice with Hefeweizen) and in this case, Coke and Fanta mixed (well cola and orange soda to steer clear of brands). This is another one I almost spit out the first time I tried it, however, if I make the mix myself, it is quite good. I still have to be in the mood for it and can;t drink it regularly, but when doing it myself, I can add less coke which I think is why I don’t like the pre-made version. The cola is very strong and overpowering, in my opinion. I know I’m in the minority as it’s very popular here. (And no, my son hasn’t tried this one before I get any crazed comments, “you let your toddler have caffeine/soda?”)
5. Schokolade Croissant
I can hear you all gasping, running to unfriend or unfollow me as fast as possible. I know it’s an awful thing to admit, but I hate these. I have tried them multiple times because my boys love them and somehow, I always end up holding them, but every time I do I regret it. For me, it’s like biting off a huge piece of chocolate wrapped in a small amount of bread. For me to like it, you’d have to flip that scenario and make it a whole-lotta bread with a dash of chocolate. I know. The horror! Please forgive me.
So, what about you? Any foods from where you live or your home country that you can’t stand? I’d especially like to hear the ones that are popular with everyone else (like my mezzo mix and croissant).
Nice list, I have to say I like most of the items listed ;) But I have never eaten Rouladen with egg. I am picky about Rouladen, I think often the meat is too dry and then I don’t like them either. You should try out your own version of this traditional recipe!
Haha. Well, I figure I am in the minority for most. I don’t know….maybe. Do you make the one I mentioned with pickles and such?
no my mum always made it ( and i copy her recipie) with a fresh onion mustard and bacon. cant go wrong with bacon!:-)
Maybe, but the German bacon I’ve tried is always fatty and thick, not at all like American bacon. And honestly, I prefer Turkey bacon. I know….such a priss. ;-)
That’s funny the bacon from my local grocery stores is too thin! But I have had some that I like :) I have to say Speckwürfel are very handy!
Was ist Speckwürfel? :-)
They are little diced up pieces of bacon/Speck. Great to add to various recipes for added flavor.
I live in Australia and I have to say our bacon is fantastic. Lean and full of flavour.
Yum! Sounds perfect. Another reason to love Oz.
Yes we use pickles but my husband loves flavorful food so we change it up sometimes! He made spicy Rouladen once with a great sauce but unfortunately he didn’t write it down. Maybe ours are not so traditional but very tasty. They are a great slow cooker meal too :) You really should give them a try, experiment a bit!
Maybe you should post your favorite recipe and I’ll try it. ;-)
Adding that to my list right now ;) Maybe for my husbands birthday next week!
I’m with you on the Mezzo Mix! Why would anyone mix coke and Fanta together?! Whyyyyy? But is mixing beer and lemonade not a thing in the US? We do it in the UK as well… it’s called Shandy. Although most people would be too embarrassed to order it in a pub.
I can’t stand Wurstsalat. My boyfriend loves it, but I don’t like the meat it’s made with. And I’ll never understand how anyone can call a pile of shredded meat “Salat”.
Yes, we have Shandy in the US too and I have to say, the German version is much better. But we don’t really mix things as often as it seems to be done here. I don’t mind the mixing really….I tend to like it all, except Mezzo. Yuck.
lost me at rouladen was always my fave when mum made it and it was never ever dry :-) mmmmmmm ( I do a pretty good version of it myself).
Haha, I’m sure I’ll lose a few with many of these things! My husband is quite surprised by my list, but it is what it is I suppose. ;-) Thanks for stopping by and commenting!
I made the mistake of ordering Leberknodel soup and ew I don’t eat liver but didnt’ know what it was. Not trying to be vulgar but it looked like slimy turds in a bowl. Did taste it but my husband did and he said it was gross. I normally don’t eat a lot of pork but I did try a Rouladen once during Game Weeks and it had like a cream sauce inside, it was actually good but I never order them otherwise. Haven’t tried the fish cakes either. They have them at fests but they look gross and I love crab cake but I dont think they are comparable. In Bavaria the Mezzo Mix is call Spezie. It’s not bad IMO but I don’t drink soda. The chocolate croissants I think are yummy but sorry, German croissants don’t even compare to French croissants. Great post!
So….what you’re saying is Brittany, you agree with me! haha! I’m so glad you agree about the crab cakes, because my husband doesn’t get how I like those and not the fish ones. I don’t know either. I just know they taste different and I don’t like it. Thanks!
Fantastic post! My Mom always filled the Rouladen with cornichons, mustard and Schinken. My American husband can’t stand German Sauerkraut which I will never understand. I really don’t understand that Americans eat chips with their lunch or dinner. I mean, fries are okay but why would you choose chips as a side? :) It’s a snack. Plus I feel like everything in America is way too sweet for me, especially the icing on cakes. Nobody can understand that.
I’m not a huge fan of Sauerkraut, but I love the Apfel-Rotkohl (? the red cabbage). I don’t get the chips thing either. I think it’s just a cheap and easy way, which Americans are all about convenience. Not that there is anything wrong with that, but I tend to think that’s where many things come from. The icing is really sweet, especially on those really sugary store bought cakes!
Thanks Katrin!
Germany isn’t famous for making the prettiest looking food. What is it with beef and eggs?! I can get behind some ham and eggs, or bacon and eggs, but beef….?
Also, I love the new blog design too!
LOL! No, they sure aren’t Amy. My husband is almost offended at how grossed out I get sometimes, but it’s no offense to Germany. I’m just not a huge meat eater and in fact, I much prefer to eat more meals without. But, my boys would never go for that. ;-)
And I agree….I like ham and eggs or bacon and eggs, but that’s it. I know in the states we have a lot of places that serve hamburgers with a fried egg on top….nope. Never even tried it.
Thank you!
O I love liverwurst 9 out of 10 days, but there is that odd day that I do not like it! As far as Swedish foods I cannot get into sill, pickled herring in many kinds of sauces, but my husband does not mind since it means at holidays he can have the whole jar!
Yeah, I think I’m with you on that! I’m not sure I could even try it. :-)
Love all these things… except for the chocolate croissant. Weird, I know, seeing as I love all things cakey, and I certainly love chocolate.
Have you tried Mettwurst? That could well be the start of your next list ;-)
That is weird as I would’ve assumed you’d be against me on that one too. ;-)
Yes. I actually did a post that included Mettwurst about things I would’ve never eaten had I never moved here. It’s one of my favorites actually!
Really? I love Mettwurst… but I can feel my arteries clogging up just looking at it. I’ve only recently discovered that Spain has an equivalent, called sobresada (I think).
Oh, no I meant that I love Mettwurst! It (not the post) is one of my favorites. :-)
I got that, I got that!
And now I want some… on a freshly baked Roggenbrötchen… aaaah.
I love mettwurst too, especially zwiebelmettwurst. I wish I could find some around here.
Oh I’ve never had zwiebelmettwurst?! Sounds good! Where do you live?
Right now, in the southern U.S. However, it seemed like every grocery store and butcher shop in Germany carried zwiebelmettwurst and I passed through several regions.
Oh yes, Zwiebelmettwurst!!! I do love Leberwurst, too. Especially grobe Leberwurst.
We have a lot of interesting foods here but I have yet to try some of them that I already fear I will regret, rotten shark for example, no thank you.
Rotten shark? Yowser! I’m not sure i’m THAT brave.
Some of those drinks that Germans mix together are crazy! Banana with Hefeweizen?! No thank you :) Denmark has a few similar foods, specifically a liver pate (similar looking to leberwurst) and a frikadeller which is a meatball that can be made with anything from fish to pork. I could do without either. But the one thing I’ve eaten here and just cannot eat again is the Danish salty licorice. UGH!! It has to be tasted to be believed.
Oh, but the Banane Weizen is one of my favorites! It’s just filling though it’s more like a meal. haha I wonder if it’s like the salty licorice here? It’s not bad, but not something I would buy.
I’m imagining a banana smoothie with beer in it :) Though I’m not sure if that’s actually what a Banane Weizen is. The salt licorice uses this chemical to get the salty taste, so it doesn’t really taste like salt. They actually have big signs on the stronger stuff that says “not for children!” because it can hurt your stomach if you have too much. I’m not a big black licorice fan anyway, so adding this weird salty taste to it just really puts me off. They seriously love it here, though, and are always eating it.
Ewww. No. It’s just beer and banana juice and I know it sounds weird but it’s really good. If you like beer and banana.
Yeah I think they have that here too. I remember my husband mentioning something about it but I’m not sure I’ve tried. I’m a huge black licorice fan and so is he, but he doesn’t like the salted stuff.
I could probably handle three out of the five but the Leberwurst and the Mezzo Mix would be absolute no go’s for me. Yucky yuck yuck ;)
Amen to that! ;-)
I’m well versed in leberwurst, because I lived in the Alsace for ten years and liver’s all the rage there too.
In France, the only thing that really made me want to heave was “pieds paquets” at a family dinner - pig trotter stew. Oh, and when we lived in Tahiti we were invited to a traditional birthday party and treated to “Fafaru” - raw fish that has rotted in a bucket of sea water in direct sunlight for three days. When I discovered that the smell of putrid dustbin emanating from below a huge cloud of fies was our lunch, I practically barfed on the spot.
Wow, MM. Just your descriptions made my stomach turn a little. Yuck!
I’m with you on this entire list! Well, maybe I’d like the fish cakes, but depends on the fish. I don’t like it to taste too “fishy”…does that make sense? haha.
Leberwurst? Ewww! The “dash of chocolate”! Here in Holland I find the chocolate in chocolate croissants very fake. It’s similar to fondant chocolate and that’s just not tasty. The best on I’ve ever eaten is from Paris. I probably should call it “pain du chocolat” haha.
Yes it does and that’s the problem! I think they are too fishy! I don’t know if the chocolate seems fake, but it’s just too much. I know what you mean though. And I’ve heard that about Paris, but the only thing I tried when I went were the ham and cheese crepes. Yum!
Such an interesting list, Deanna! I’d probably like everything on it, except the soda mixture.
I lived in Maryland for 15 years - I LOVE crab cakes, and bring a fresh supply of Old Bay seasoning back with me when I visit family in the States to use and bring back the memories!
Norway has fish cakes also, and I liked them the first time I visited. But after moving here, that “liking” quickly disappeared and I find I can’t even stand the smell anymore!
There’s all sorts of fishy-tomatoey things in tins and jars that are really healthy — but I just can’t bring myself to eat them. My Norwegian husband likes them, and I have to leave the room when he eats them, they gross me out so much.
(But something I thought I’d hate — fish soup — has really grown on me … as long as I don’t have to smell the stock as my husband is making it!)
Isn’t exploring other country’s food interesting?!
Ugh. Fishy-tomatoey things in cans that are healthy? That sounds pretty gross. Lol
Yes, it really is. I’m glad that it was hard to make a list of dislikes. There’s so much I love a little TOO much! :-)
I love this series - very clever! I must admit that I have become a fan of the Leberwurst. But I do recommend avoiding the cheapest versions as my usually discount-friendly stomach rebelled at the cheap stuff.
Thanks, Ebe! That’s a lovely compliment. I can’t do it. Even the smell forces me away. I tried it once and that’s it. I can’t even make it for my son. Lol
Schmalz! It’s rendered fat Germans use in place of butter and it is really, really gross. Taste like you buttered your bread with lard. Also Mett (raw ground pork) and canned fish.
Yuck! Glad I know nothing of those things yet! (At least as far as needing to try or eat them)
I know I had some weird meat on the meat/cheese plate (wurst teller) I once had in Germany. I didn’t like weisser Spargel (white asparagus) either!
Good list!
Thanks! I definitely prefer the green to the white, but I still like them ok. Yeah,those plates make me nervous. :-)
Sometimes it’s better not to know what you’re eating, right?! I felt that way often in Japan.
The only thing I liked (before the chocolate croissant) was Radler - the meat stuff looks VILE! This is great to know before I move there! You’ve saved me spitting everywhere and embarrassing myself ;)
So are you moving here?? I’ve neglected to get over to read you (I’m sorry) so I don’t know if I missed an announcement? It seems I’m always behind these days. Darn children. Always interfering in my reading and writing time. ;-)
Darn life in general! Nothing definite yet but I really want it to happen!
LOVE liverwurst on toasted bread with Gulden’s mustard; love it. The rest… well, hard to say. #2 looks like it might be good… the cola: bleh! I’ll ignore number 5, and pretend it never happened. ;-)
Haha! Aww a chocolate fan I see. Glad you can look beyond my shortcomings. Or at least ignore them. ;-)
Actually, I’m not really a chocolate fan… but I recognize the oddity of not liking a choc. croissant! ;-) Add bread/ pastry/ gluten and I’m in… even if it makes me sick.
I. Love. Leberwurst. Does that make me completely disgusting? My grandmother was German so I practically grew up on the stuff. I always put it on my sourdough bread. ;)
http://postcardsfromrachel.com
Hi Rachel! Haha. No of course not. My boys love it too. I’m sure it makes a difference when you grow up with it. Thanks for coming by!
I am in the habit of mixing beer and spirits in the same stomach. Does that count?
Haha. Well, no, but I hope the beer is after the liquor as the saying goes! ;-)
I have not tried a single thing on this list!! Of course, I was in France, not Germany lol. I do love a good currywurst though when the occasion arises. ;) As for French food I detest, I had a particularly “flavorful” andouillette sausage once, and by flavorful I mean it tasted exactly like how I thought an intestine would taste. Couldn’t even take two bites. I went hungry instead!
Oh I love Currywurst! Surely you had a chocolate croissant in Paris? :-) And seriously,what you described almost made me lose my coffee this morning. Lol
I definitely had a few pain au chocolat in Paris! My favorite was once when I was up very early in the morning, and caught a bakery just as it opened… that ooey gooey chocolate was magical! ;)
Ugh leberwurst… ugh ugh ugh. My dad loves it and waxes eloquent about it; he lived in Bavaria for a few years and thinks everything German is the best. But I think leberwurst is AWFUL. Eww. I love bratwurst in the German style (which, as you likely know, is nothing like American bratwurst) especially the ones traditional in Munich. YUM. And I’m supposed to be vegetarian… but who am I kidding, I freaking love those brats especially with some delicious mustard. Also, when I was in Munich 4 years ago, I had a delicious piece of cake with red currants… oh lordy. Divine.
I didn’t recognize Mezzo Mix until someone in the comments referenced Spezie; my dad made jokes about spezie when we mixed our Coke and Fanta.
I had a sparkling lime and salt drink in Mexico recently… it wasn’t too bad at first, but then after I’d swam in the salt water… I wanted to spit the stuff out on contact. Eww. I also had grilled nopales (cactus) and a hibiscus quesadilla… both were absolutely delish. My stomach is growling.
I’m with your dad in most instances in thinking everything German is wonderful, but some things, especially leberwurst. Yuck.
Yeah Spezie is apparently the Bavarian version. It’s so interesting to me how different yet similar Bavaria is to the rest of Germany. I try to compare what that would be like in the states…..maybe west coast vs. east coast!
And that salt drink makes my belly hurt just reading it. :-)
Bavaria seems massively different! I feel like it’s almost more like “north to South” in the US… correct me if I’m wrong. That’s at least how the dialects run… as a result of my dad being fluent I can hear German dialects and Bavarian sounds so much different than other German dialects, it’s obvious.
Oh yeah! that salt drink got nasty real quick. However I’m still obsessed with their agua fresca. YUM.
I’ve heard people call it Spezie here as well. As far as I know, Mezzo Mix is technically a brand name.
Ah ok! That makes sense. :)
Bev is right. Mezzo Mix is the Coke version. Schwip Schwap is the Pepsi version. Spezi is the not-brand-specific name for the same.
Yep. My husband quickly educated me about that. I’m usually better about these things but you can’t be perfect all the time. ;-) kidding!
Ah, it turns out I’m wrong again. Spezi *is* a brand name, but it’s become generalized, like Kleenex for tissues or Xerox for copies. Spezi is the original one, and it’s not sold as commonly as the coke and pepsi versions.
The more you know!
Hahaha! Yeah that’s what lead to me making the mistake.
The German LOVES Mezzo Mix…I’m like you, I don’t see what the love is all about! The German’s mum does make some good rouladen though! I can’t agree with you on that one. There isn’t an egg in sight with hers though…if there was I might have a different view on them!! I’m with you on Leberwurst too!
Oh and have you tried to get your German to say squirrel? I saw this on Mary’s blog - http://www.pickthewildcard.co.uk - German’s can’t say it!! Hours of fun!!
My husband can say squirrel?! Boo. I was looking forward to laughing at him trying to say something for a change! Haha.
Have you tried lard on bread with sliced onions? Such a strange combination! Love your blog btw. New follower!
Ummm no….have you tried it? Do you like it? It doesn’t sound good. Haha.
Yay! So glad you enjoy and thanks for following!
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I am surprised to actually say I have enjoyed and even purchased Leberwurst.I was amazed to discover this. I’ve never tried Rouladen or Fischfrikadellen, although I do enjoy frikadellen. The fish version does not sound nice. I LOVE croissants and chocolate too, so the combo is rad - when fresh - IMO.
Have you tried the meats in gelatin? THAT sounds so nasty!!
Mixed drinks, like Mezzo mix seem really German and odd to me. I know we do some of the same mixes in the US, but growing up I never experienced any of them. I am more amazed at the number of actually good non-alcoholic beers are available here. They were a blessing when I was pregnant. All of the non-alcoholic beers in US that I have tried have been gross!
I haven’t tried that jellied meat and think it will be on my list of “just can’t do it”. And yes!!! Erdinger alcohol-frei is my favorite. They are so good! Thanks for coming by and reading. :-)
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Total agreement on the Mezzo Mix - such a weird combination of flavors. I do like Leberwurst, although I’m used to an American version (made by a German-style butcher/sausage shop, though) and not sure that I remember having at the German version. Chocolate croissant, though - I’d happily eat one every other day if I could!!
Considering where I grew up and my heritage, I should like beer, but I never ever have.
Hi Daina! Thanks for stopping by, reading and sharing your likes and dislikes. I think the chocolate croissant is just a little funny because I know I’m an odd ball! ;-)