Der Schnellkochtopf and das Sauerkraut
Having just passed the 8-month anniversary of our arrival in Germany, Dave and I decided tonight to try making our first 'real' homemade German-style dinner. This of course does not include the multiple times last summer and that we ate dinners that consisted of beer and grilled bratwurst (okay, sometimes onions as a vegetable). But we realized that it's time we learned how to make at least one real German meal.
The dinner began yesterday at Kaufhof, the 6-floor department store right in the middle of Alexanderplatz, the old center of East Berlin. On the top floor is a wonderland of kitchen gadgets proudly marked MADE-IN-GERMANY, everything from five different contraptions to crack the top of your soft-boiled eggshell to a metal device made to hold a flaming cone of sugar as it drips slowly and deliciously into your pot of mulled wine. One (large) section of this paradise holds pots made by all the major German makers (WMF, Fissler, Te-Fal, and Silit, to name a few), and each one has several models of an essential piece of the German kitchen - the 'Schnellkochtopf,' better known to us Americans as a pressure cooker.
Dave and I have noted to all of our German friends that 'pressure cooker' is actually an English euphemism for being ready to explode, and that our moms taught us that these are scary things that could potentially destroy your house. Perhaps it's the fact that they have been so genially called 'fast cooking pot' in German (kind of like 'Death Tax' instead of 'Estate Tax,' right?), but the Germans don't seem to be afraid of these things at all, and use them regularly to make potatoes, meat, and sauerkraut. Being sauerkraut fans ourselves, and also having witnessed our friends Tina and Angela separately (and expertly) manage to prepare food without endangering their (or our) lives in the process, Dave and I forked over a little of the wedding money and made an investment in our very own 'Schnellkochtopf.'
So tonight, Dave put the pressure cooker to work (okay, I'm still a little afraid of the thing, so I let him try it out first). To those of you following along in the US-of-A, sauerkraut is not something that Germans actually make from scratch, at least not the way we had expected. Pre-fermented cabbage (sauerkraut) is available in just about any package you can imagine here - can, jar, freezer package, box, refrigerator package, and tube - and then the Germans add their own spices (bay leaf, juniper berries, cumin, smoked meat) and heat the stuff up in their Schnellkochtopf. There's a little rubber nipple that slowly rises up as the pressure builds up inside, eventually revealing a yellow ring that tells you the thing has reached its limit and it's time to remove it from the heat. Then you press a little valve and (if you're being dramatic, like Tina), you let all the steam go shooting out the top of the pot like some 19th-century train engine. Once the pressure is equalized, you can open up the pot and marvel at how hot everything is in there - ours was ready in about five minutes.
We went a little overboard on the liquid and smoked meat this time, but the taste seemed right. We balanced the sauerkraut with Schweineschnitzel auf 'Wiener Art' (pork schnitzel Vienna style) and Semmelknödel (bread dumplings). Overall, it was more of a success than some of our earlier cooking experiments (ask us sometime about our failed Valentine's day butternut squash ravioli adventure). Right now Dave is on the phone with Angela getting some feedback on what we did...hopefully next time we'll be on target (and avoid the exploding Schnellkochtopf again, too).
Update from Dave...
So I just got off the phone with Angela and talked to her about how the kraut came out and what I did wrong. Unfortunately, it was as I was reading the recipe (as I had written it in December) that I realized I am an idiot...No matter how much I wish it to, garlic cloves just cannot transmutate into cloves. Mistake #1. Anyway, the number of mistakes and how I made them are a bit too numerous (at least 5), so let me just give you the recipe and you can try it your self.
Before I do though, I do want to let you all in on a funny thing...Erin really is scared of the pressure cooker. As I went to let out the steam she yelped and as I opened the lid she cowered in the corner. It's cute...it's also a little funny.
Angela Bohrer's (kickass) Bavarian Sauerkraut
1 medium onion or 3 shallots, chopped
2-3 Tbl butter
2 tsp cumin seeds
2 tsp cloves
2 tsp juniper berries
2 bay leaves
6 oz smoked meat (with fat)
1 cube beef broth
1 large can sauerkraut (6 portions / 800 gram / 28 oz)
1 large can water
optional: apple, chopped
In a pressure cooker pot, use butter and lightly sauté onions until soft. Add cumin, cloves, juniper berries, and bay leaves. Add sauerkraut, water, beef broth cube, and meat cover and lock pressure cooker (setting the heat on high as you would for any newer pressure cooker and setting the cooker itself to the higher cook setting 119C° or 250F°). Cook until cooker indicates that it is finished; remove from heat and slowly release pressure.
Some people really like the juice, and so you might want to keep it for them, but most of us will just want to strain or remove the kraut from the juice.
Before serving, remove bay leaves, cloves, and juniper berries.
(Angela is also very keen to note that every time you reheat the kraut the taste will get better and better.)
Having just passed the 8-month anniversary of our arrival in Germany, Dave and I decided tonight to try making our first 'real' homemade German-style dinner. This of course does not include the multiple times last summer and that we ate dinners that consisted of beer and grilled bratwurst (okay, sometimes onions as a vegetable). But we realized that it's time we learned how to make at least one real German meal.
The dinner began yesterday at Kaufhof, the 6-floor department store right in the middle of Alexanderplatz, the old center of East Berlin. On the top floor is a wonderland of kitchen gadgets proudly marked MADE-IN-GERMANY, everything from five different contraptions to crack the top of your soft-boiled eggshell to a metal device made to hold a flaming cone of sugar as it drips slowly and deliciously into your pot of mulled wine. One (large) section of this paradise holds pots made by all the major German makers (WMF, Fissler, Te-Fal, and Silit, to name a few), and each one has several models of an essential piece of the German kitchen - the 'Schnellkochtopf,' better known to us Americans as a pressure cooker.
Dave and I have noted to all of our German friends that 'pressure cooker' is actually an English euphemism for being ready to explode, and that our moms taught us that these are scary things that could potentially destroy your house. Perhaps it's the fact that they have been so genially called 'fast cooking pot' in German (kind of like 'Death Tax' instead of 'Estate Tax,' right?), but the Germans don't seem to be afraid of these things at all, and use them regularly to make potatoes, meat, and sauerkraut. Being sauerkraut fans ourselves, and also having witnessed our friends Tina and Angela separately (and expertly) manage to prepare food without endangering their (or our) lives in the process, Dave and I forked over a little of the wedding money and made an investment in our very own 'Schnellkochtopf.'
So tonight, Dave put the pressure cooker to work (okay, I'm still a little afraid of the thing, so I let him try it out first). To those of you following along in the US-of-A, sauerkraut is not something that Germans actually make from scratch, at least not the way we had expected. Pre-fermented cabbage (sauerkraut) is available in just about any package you can imagine here - can, jar, freezer package, box, refrigerator package, and tube - and then the Germans add their own spices (bay leaf, juniper berries, cumin, smoked meat) and heat the stuff up in their Schnellkochtopf. There's a little rubber nipple that slowly rises up as the pressure builds up inside, eventually revealing a yellow ring that tells you the thing has reached its limit and it's time to remove it from the heat. Then you press a little valve and (if you're being dramatic, like Tina), you let all the steam go shooting out the top of the pot like some 19th-century train engine. Once the pressure is equalized, you can open up the pot and marvel at how hot everything is in there - ours was ready in about five minutes.
We went a little overboard on the liquid and smoked meat this time, but the taste seemed right. We balanced the sauerkraut with Schweineschnitzel auf 'Wiener Art' (pork schnitzel Vienna style) and Semmelknödel (bread dumplings). Overall, it was more of a success than some of our earlier cooking experiments (ask us sometime about our failed Valentine's day butternut squash ravioli adventure). Right now Dave is on the phone with Angela getting some feedback on what we did...hopefully next time we'll be on target (and avoid the exploding Schnellkochtopf again, too).
Update from Dave...
So I just got off the phone with Angela and talked to her about how the kraut came out and what I did wrong. Unfortunately, it was as I was reading the recipe (as I had written it in December) that I realized I am an idiot...No matter how much I wish it to, garlic cloves just cannot transmutate into cloves. Mistake #1. Anyway, the number of mistakes and how I made them are a bit too numerous (at least 5), so let me just give you the recipe and you can try it your self.
Before I do though, I do want to let you all in on a funny thing...Erin really is scared of the pressure cooker. As I went to let out the steam she yelped and as I opened the lid she cowered in the corner. It's cute...it's also a little funny.
Angela Bohrer's (kickass) Bavarian Sauerkraut
1 medium onion or 3 shallots, chopped
2-3 Tbl butter
2 tsp cumin seeds
2 tsp cloves
2 tsp juniper berries
2 bay leaves
6 oz smoked meat (with fat)
1 cube beef broth
1 large can sauerkraut (6 portions / 800 gram / 28 oz)
1 large can water
optional: apple, chopped
In a pressure cooker pot, use butter and lightly sauté onions until soft. Add cumin, cloves, juniper berries, and bay leaves. Add sauerkraut, water, beef broth cube, and meat cover and lock pressure cooker (setting the heat on high as you would for any newer pressure cooker and setting the cooker itself to the higher cook setting 119C° or 250F°). Cook until cooker indicates that it is finished; remove from heat and slowly release pressure.
Some people really like the juice, and so you might want to keep it for them, but most of us will just want to strain or remove the kraut from the juice.
Before serving, remove bay leaves, cloves, and juniper berries.
(Angela is also very keen to note that every time you reheat the kraut the taste will get better and better.)
posted by Erin at 8:12 PM
1 Comments:
Kickass again!!!!
Note: Never ever sauté the juniperberris, bayleaves or clover!!!
After sauting (or what the hell this is in English)the onions you next add sauerkraut, water, broth, bayleaves, juniper berries,cloves and meat.
(:-)Angela
Stefan - by the way - recommends Hengstenberg Mildessa Champagner Kraut, preferably to be eaten cooled right out of the fridge, which might be helpful for those who are frightened by pressure in a pot.
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