Vegan German Potato Salad (Swabian-Style) - Recipes From Europe (2024)

FAQs

What is German salad made of? ›

German Potato Salad Ingredients

Bacon: Bacon (and its grease) adds tons of meaty flavor to the hearty German potato salad. Onion: An onion, cooked in bacon grease, lends even more complexity and flavor. Vinegar: White vinegar adds tanginess that cuts through the richness from the potatoes and bacon.

This southern German recipe for potato salad—which uses broth, vinegar, onions, and mustard for flavoring—is a pleasant change to the one more often made using mayonnaise. The warm cooked potatoes are marinated in the beef broth is what adds a distinctive and rich flavor.

American style “German Potato Salad” originated from German immigrants based upon the German Kartoffelsalat. But the true origin of this recipe may be southern Poland.

Potatoes originally came from the Americas, but now it's hard to imagine German cuisine without them. The reason they became so popular is because of the war and strife that was common at the time. Germany was split into hundreds of little dukedoms and kingdoms that were warring with each other.

There are two main differences between American and German Potato salads. American potato salad is usually tossed in a mayonnaise-based dressing and served cold. German potato salad is tossed in a vinegar-based dressing and is traditionally served warm (but you can totally serve it cold too! It's still delicious!).

German potato salad is a whole different animal from American potato salad. First off, there is no mayonnaise to speak of. Instead, it was a pleasant dressing of vinegar, oil, mustard, red onion, and bacon.

Swabian cuisine has a reputation for being rustic, but rich and hearty. Fresh egg pastas (e.g., Spätzle noodles or Maultaschen dumpling wrappers), soups, and sausages are among Swabia's best-known types of dishes, and Swabian cuisine tends to require broths or sauces; dishes are rarely "dry".

1. Bratkartoffeln (Fried Potatoes): Bratkartoffeln are a common side dish in Germany. Sliced or diced potatoes are usually pan-fried with onions, bacon, and various seasonings until they are crispy and golden brown.

Field salad (Valerianella locusta), known as feldsalat in German, is used like lettuce in salad. It is also famously known as Rapunzel Lettuce, after the vitamin-rich food that cost a peasant family their only daughter in the Brothers Grimm fairy tale.

In Scandinavia, which is nearly as potato-heavy as Ireland, turnips were a primary staple crop before the potato came around, so much so that in much of the world the rutabaga, a large version of the turnip, is known as a "swede".

What was the staple food in Europe before potatoes? ›

Cereals remained the most important staple during the Early Middle Ages as rice was introduced to Europe late, with the potato first used in the 16th century, and much later for the wider population. Barley, oats, and rye were eaten by the poor while wheat was generally more expensive.

Asparagus: An ode to Germany's favorite vegetable.

The following top 3 explains how these favourites can be kept tasty longer. The tomato is the most beloved vegetable in Germany. The average German eats about 57 pounds of them each year. Nevertheless, the tomato is still wrongly used as an ingredient in many drinks, where it loses its flavour.

In German supermarkets, vorwiegend kochende potatoes are often labeled in red. Well-known varieties include: Bolero, Christa, Désirée, Finka, Gala, Hela, Maja and Saskia.

Whilst there are regional variations in food culture, most German recipes focus heavily on bread, potatoes, and meat, especially pork, as well as plenty of greens such as types of cabbage and kale. Cake, coffee, and beer are all highly popular elements of German cuisine too - which will be good news to most!

One of the most popular salads in Germany is the iceberg lettuce. Iceberg lettuce tastes very fresh for a long time long due to its tight and well-hydrated leaves.

The white vegetable in the photo above is actually asparagus. The green variety is more popular in other countries, but Germans love their white asparagus and anxiously await its arrival in spring, keeping a lookout in late April for the first stalks of their "white gold" to appear in stores and roadside stands.