Flavors of Germany

A German Christmas Fairytale

Se also : Christmas with Johann Lafer, Number 1 on the german TV cooking show.

As you wander through the many traditional Christmas markets, discover a piece of German hospilitality. Sniff the aroma of freshly roasted almonds and gingerbread spices. Warm your hands and your heart with a hearty swig of mulled wine and let yourself be enchanted by the sound of christmas trumpets and choirs.

In Germany, Christmas is symbolized by the famous stollen, a traditional holiday bread that derives from a tradition more than 500 years old. Stollen are traditionally made from the end of September until the end of December. They are a breakfast fruit bread, filled with marzipan, served either hot or cold. The pleasure of stollen is even greater the second day at breakfast explains Bernd Kütscher, when you bite into a toasted slice, slathered with butter! There are numerous varieties of stollen, including one that looks like a large filled crêpe. In fact, it's a cake studded with rum-soaked candied fruits, filled with almond cream and folded over to enclose the filling. This particular variety symbolizes the baby Jesus wrapped in his swaddling clothes. If you ask bakers in Dresden for their recipe, they won't tell you. What they will say is that you'll need the finest candied fruits and nuts, the freshest eggs and butter for this holiday sweet bread.

But The Worldwide Gourmet knows the secret! Click here for the recipe! (see below)

Glühwein (Mulled Wine)
At Christmas many German town centers have street markets with stalls selling cookies, arts and crafts, wooden toys and other festive items. Almost every street corner seems to boast Bratwurst and Glühwein stalls. It's amazing how revived one can feel after a small glass of warm, spicy red wine. This is a basic recipe, but in Germany, stalls will offer you additional flavorings such as elderberry cordial or a shot of dark rum. Heat your Glühwein in a large saucepan on the stove or in a large jug in the microwave, but don't let it boil or the alcohol will evaporate.