Talk:German cuisine

Isn't Schnitzel Austrian?
First of all, congratulations and thank you for this superb article. Who would believe it was only a few hours old?

Down to Schnitzel. It is clear from reading the article that it is a popular and widespread recipe in Germany, but isn't it also true that the dish's origins are as Wienerschnitzel, and that internationally it is still most closely associated with Vienna and Austria? If so, wouldn't an image depicting an item of 'native' German cuisine be better as a banner? Or, alternatively, are there enough similarities between German and Austrian cuisines that they could feasibly share one article?

My culinary experience in Germany (/Alsace!) is limited, albeit positive, so I await the input of users with more expertise.--ThunderingTyphoons! (talk) 11:50, 10 February 2019 (UTC)


 * I've thought a lot about what a typical German dish is. Schnitzel is on more than 90 percent of the menus of restaurants with German cuisine. If you, as an outsider, think there would be confusion with Austria, we can also use another banner. Here are 2 examples, do you like one? -- Benreis (talk) 15:29, 10 February 2019 (UTC)






 * I like both, but let's wait for a couple more views. And if Schnitzel is on so many menus, then perhaps it ought to stay. Does my idea for an amalgamation of Austrian and German cuisine in this article have any legs, or are they too different? --ThunderingTyphoons! (talk) 15:39, 10 February 2019 (UTC)


 * A combination of Austrian and German cuisine makes no sense from my point of view. Austrian cuisine is similar to southern German cuisine, but very different from northern German cuisine. I think both deserve their own article. -- Benreis (talk) 15:44, 10 February 2019 (UTC)


 * Given that Bavarian cuisine also has its own article, I'll agree with you on that.--ThunderingTyphoons! (talk) 15:46, 10 February 2019 (UTC)

Continuing the pagebanner discussion
This was never resolved. I like all 3 banners, but the Bratwursts with potatoes one is my favorite, followed closely by the aspic with potatoes. What do you all think? Ikan Kekek (talk) 09:06, 27 July 2021 (UTC)
 * I'm not sure. I like the current banner with the schnitty, but since that's out. I prefer Banner two. SHB2000 (talk | contribs | meta.wikimedia) 09:12, 27 July 2021 (UTC)
 * I still have the same opinion as before. Would anyone like to reconsider whether to change the banner? Ikan Kekek (talk) 04:45, 21 June 2024 (UTC)

Russian and Hungarian influence in the old East?
The only purportedly Hungarian dish I can think of is "Szegediner Gulasch" which is unknown in Hungary (particularly in Szeged), but originates from Austria (and while it may be a bit more popular in the east, it is not unknown in the west). And I am completely unaware of any notable Russian influence on East German cuisine. It is true that differences between East and West exist, but they are mostly based on original East German innovations sometimes due to shortage in ingredients (like "Jägerschnitzel" made of Jagdwurst, Steak au four, Ketwurst or Grilletta) and hardly on foreign influences from the Soviet Union or other Eastern Bloc countries. --RJFF (talk) 11:33, 15 February 2019 (UTC)
 * Solyanka and borscht was made widely available during the times of the GDR, and even today you will find these dishes on the menu at most restaurants in the east. Philaweb (talk) 19:04, 15 February 2019 (UTC)
 * As for Hungarian, Letscho is one example... Hobbitschuster (talk) 19:28, 15 February 2019 (UTC)
 * I see, thank you for enlightening me! I confirm the prevalence of solyanka and Letscho in the East while they are much less popular (if not unknown) in the West. I have however rarely seen borscht on East German menus. Still I do not think that "the adoption of foreign cuisine" was the main distinction between East and West German cuisine. Most distinct features were home-made. --RJFF (talk) 20:34, 15 February 2019 (UTC)


 * Pizza and Döner are among the most ubiquitous foods in west Germany... They were at the very least much less common in the east. The opposite is true for Solyanka... Hobbitschuster (talk) 18:11, 29 July 2021 (UTC)

Rest stops
I think nearly all of that information is ill-suited to this article, but would be much more useful on Driving in Germany, especially the travesty of a pay-to-use toilet (illegal in the UK because being desperate for the loo while driving is unsafe). If this article has to have anything about service stations, I think it should be about the type of food outlets available, typical price, quality etc.--ThunderingTyphoons! (talk) 11:42, 17 December 2020 (UTC)


 * Actually, I can see the information's already listed on the Driving article, so am just going to remove the non-food-related stuff, and maybe copy some content from Driving.--ThunderingTyphoons! (talk) 11:50, 17 December 2020 (UTC)


 * I added it in both articles just now. Sadly, the pay-to-use toilet is getting more and more common (and that despite the original treaty of privatization calling for precisely the opposite)... But that's what you get for selling off state assets below their value... Hobbitschuster (talk) 11:53, 17 December 2020 (UTC)


 * Privatised or not, all that's needed is legislation to ensure the toilets are free.--ThunderingTyphoons! (talk) 12:08, 17 December 2020 (UTC)

Eat listings
Oh yeah, this edit reminded me of something I forgot to ask yesterday. What are individual restaurant listings doing in this article? --ThunderingTyphoons! (talk) 08:54, 27 July 2021 (UTC)
 * Deleted accordingly. What about the listings for chain restaurants? Should we keep them in this article, or should those be in Germany, instead? Quite a few do not serve German food, based on their descriptions, so I tend to think they should be in Germany. Ikan Kekek (talk) 09:01, 27 July 2021 (UTC)
 * I follow your reasoning, but would err more towards keep, since this article isn't just about German food, but rather common food eaten in Germany (hence döner kebaps and gelato). Several of our cuisine articles are like this.--ThunderingTyphoons! (talk) 09:05, 27 July 2021 (UTC)
 * Understood. Though, correct me if I'm wrong, but I think döner kebaps, though undoubtedly of Turkish origin and typically bought in eateries operated by people of Turkish origin, are more or less considered German food now, similarly to the status of couscous in France and curry in Britain. Ikan Kekek (talk) 09:09, 27 July 2021 (UTC)
 * Well there's a growing chain in London called "German Doner Kebab", which sells distinctly different food to the classic UK kebab shop. No idea how authentic (i.e. German) it is.--ThunderingTyphoons! (talk) 09:26, 27 July 2021 (UTC)
 * What is "German food"? Is a potato "German food" given that it "immigrated" in historical times? Is there even such a thing as American cuisine if all that has immigrated or can be summed up with a hyphenated term would have to be excluded? Hobbitschuster (talk) 14:36, 29 July 2021 (UTC)
 * This is really a tautological question. If Germans consider something to be German food, it's German food. If they consider it not German, it's not German. Ikan Kekek (talk) 15:49, 29 July 2021 (UTC)
 * Potatoes are definitely Peruvian. Schupfnudeln and Bratkartoffeln, on the other hand, are German as far as I can tell, but I am no expert on German cuisine. Ground Zero (talk) 17:03, 29 July 2021 (UTC)
 * The same can be said for ingredients in other cuisines. Malay, Indian, Thai, Korean and Burmese food all feature heavy use of chillis, which come from Central America. And Hawaiians consider macadamia nuts to be part of Hawaiian cuisine even though it originally came from Australia. The dog2 (talk) 17:40, 29 July 2021 (UTC)

I think we should also consider the converse.

Americans might consider spicy meatballs "Italian food" but Italians sure as hell wouldn't. So that points me to calling that food "American" or mayhaps "Italian-American". To at least some extent similar things apply to localized dishes in Germany... Hobbitschuster (talk) 18:09, 29 July 2021 (UTC)


 * Similarly with American-Chinese food. Point well taken. Though I doubt it would be the least bit impossible to find spicy meatballs in some regional Italian cuisine. Ikan Kekek (talk) 18:22, 29 July 2021 (UTC)
 * I have eaten Kenyan-style British food in Nairobi (greasy sausages, chips), and "chifa", which is a very popular variation of Chinese food in Peru and Ecuador. It is interesting how cuisines adapt to local ingredients and tastes as they travel the world. I am sure that German-Canadians adapted the cuisine of their homeland after coming here, especially since most of the German immigration happened in the early and mid-20th century. Cuisine in Germany has no doubt continued to evolve, while the Canadian version will have developed separately. And we should be sure to make these distinctions. Ground Zero (talk) 18:55, 29 July 2021 (UTC)

Beer and wine a part of "cuisine"?
I think there is is enough information on these to split this section out into a German beer and wine article. Comments? Ground Zero (talk) 12:36, 30 April 2022 (UTC)


 * That's a different question. Are they a part of German cuisine? You bet your buttons they are! Could they be a different article? If you believe so, plunge forward. Ikan Kekek (talk) 18:32, 30 April 2022 (UTC)
 * Pretty much this. Cuisine is food and drink, so there should still be some limited coverage on this article with links to the main article if it gets created.--ThunderingTyphoons! (talk) 11:20, 1 May 2022 (UTC)

Poor distribution of images
Per Image policy, thumbnails are not only not supposed to extend below the end of the article (which I remedied, at least on my computer screen) but are not supposed to be bunched up, with other sections left imageless. I'm not up to thoroughly overhauling the placement of the images, at least not tonight, but whenever anyone does it, they'll be greatly improving the reading experience for computer-users. Ikan Kekek (talk) 04:38, 21 June 2024 (UTC)


 * I made an attempt to fix this – is this better? -- SHB2000  (t &#124; c &#124; m) 04:47, 21 June 2024 (UTC)
 * Much better, thanks! The "Going out" section lacks any images so far, on my screen at least. I'll move something there. Ikan Kekek (talk) 06:02, 21 June 2024 (UTC)