Course correction insures that we are indeed preserving and transporting a legacy from generation to geneation. Maintenance of the tradition requires occasional monitoring, research and correction back to the traditional methods and recipes. Because of this tendency of recipes and practices to drift.

These temporary adaptations are often perpetuated. To call something modern or American 'German' or 'traditional' is lying.Īt times ingredients or equipment may not be available. What you do can be your contemporary or recent tradition but it is not for example 'traditionally German' or traditionally 'ethnic'. The challenge is not to break the chain for convenience but to make the sacrifice and investment of protecting and passing on the treasures. Your DNA and ancestry do not enter in to it. Declaring that whatever you happen to choose to do is 'traditional' is incorrect. Close adherence to the oldest traditions is important. For holiday cookery especially cookery is a religious sacrifice. Convenience and expense both in terms of finances and labor do not enter into the equation. Traditions and recipes, including correct processes and ingredients are treasures which require time, effort energy and attention to detail. Why it is important to be 'historically accurate'.? When did people first start making sauerbraten? and why is it important to be historically accurate You may say that marinating meat is not so unique everyone does it all the time, but with Sauerbraten you not only let it sit in the marinade but use the marinade as a braising liquid and the gravy as well.

Still in other areas such as Thurgau which is in Switzerland but close to the border of Germany a, Sauerbraten uses apples and Apfelwine as the marinade.

In other areas of Germany sweet or sour cream is used to mellow the flavor of the sauce. In the Rhineland they simmer raisins in the sauce to give it a nice sweet and sour flavor also the addition of crumbled lebkuchen type cookies or in some areas gingersnap cookies balance the tartness of vinegar and wine. The gravy varies as do the side dishes depending mostly on the area of Germany. This is how Sauerbraten is marinated then after a few days to a week or more it is dried off, browned and then braised with vegetables till tender. The answer has been to marinate the meat with wine, vinegar, beer or even buttermilk and spices to help over come that flavor. Most cultures have dealt with meat that is tough and not the best tasting due to gamey flavors or even when the cut is past it's prime. While there is no hard evidence of who exactly the author of this popular dish is, I think after you read you will feel as I do, an appreciation for Cologne, an area in Western Germany called the Rhineland where so much or the development of this dish happend.įrom the Romans that traveled with their meat preserved in wine and settled in Cologne, to great leaders like Charlemagne and 'Albert the Great', and bakers in Aachen near Cologne that brought us the first Lebkuchen.Īlso similar with Spaetzles is my grandma's Sauerbraten is considered to be one of the national dishes of Germany, so I think is worthy of some time to appreciate it's origins.

Sauerbraten in english