German Food

does sauerkraut und schweinefleisch count?

 

Bratwurst lol, German food is probably one of the most used subjects in jokes at my school xd (I live about 5 kilometers from the German border)

 

Schnitzel? I think thats the only german food besides bratwurst that i have had.

 

You should be able to buy sauerkraut at your local grocery store. Its just pickled cabbage. Very vinegary. I like eating it with sausage or a good pork roast.

 

hah Limburg is close to any border, including the Belgian border

 

true that

you know in the Netherlands we call sauerkraut, "zuurkool", and that translates literally as "sour cabbage"

 

Yes lol, I even live quite close to Vaals.
For all you non-Dutch people, in Vaals there is this 'drielandenpunt', which is a point where the Netherlands, Germany and Belgium meet. It is quite special to have a place where three countries meet, at least that's what they tell you if you go there xd

 

Pork and sauerkraut.

Pennsylvania Dutch country.. with very Pennsylvania Dutch grandparents who like cooking.

 

You know that used to be a 4 countries point, due to the existence of the neutrality called Moresnet (it was about twice the size of Monaco). Moresnet ended with the treaty of Versailles, that's why it's nowadays a 3 countries point.

 

I don't like the name 'Pennsylvania Dutch', it makes people think that you're German.
Random British/American person: Where are you from?
Me: I am Dutch
Them: ah, from Germany?
Me: No, from the Netherlands...

We don't like being called German...

 

0.o I have never thought anyone who said they were Dutch meant they were Germany. lol

 

But Pennsylvania Dutch people are actually German.

Dutch people are Dutch.

Simple really.

 

That's what I meant

Tell that to the people who call me German xd

 

Pennsylvania Dutch, the word "Dutch" is a corruption of the word "Deutsch", which is the German word for "German", though etymologically it means "people".

This confusion stems from the fact that when the Netherlands became independent from the King of Spain, they were still a part of the Holy Roman Empire. That empire at its height included what is nowadays, the Netherlands, Belgium, Luxembourg, Germany, parts of France, the northern parts of Italy, a small southern part of Denmark, Austria, parts of Poland, a big chunk of Slovenia, the whole of Switzerland and the Czech republic.

The Dutch kept using the word Dutch to distuingish themselves up until the time of Napoleon Bonaparte, which is what confused the English and French (and hence also Americans). This use stems from the fact that most Dutch in those days, spoke "Diets" or "laag-Duits", which is a flat-German or lower German dialect. We started to use the word "Nederlander" (translates as Netherlander) more frequently as late as the middle of the 19th century, it probably became more commonplace from 1830 onwards. Before that time we also used the word Belgian to distuingish ourselves. Belgian or rather Belge is the corrupted latin word for "our country", so to confuse you even more, if you are from your country you're Belgian.

Now to make it even more complicated and confusing. Some parts of what is nowadays modern Germany, were a part of the republic of the Netherlands, or later on the Kingdom of the Netherlands, or (but only for a few years) part of the French Empire.

Germans call themselves Deutsch (consistently used from early middle ages onwards), which sounds a lot like Dutch in the English language. And as if this didn't make matters worse enough, the Pennsylvania Dutch forefathers are primarly from the Rheinland-Pfalz area in modern Germany (not that far from the province of Limburg actually). They fled to what is today the United States of America, a safe place then, because the area they settled at was near a Dutch colony called New Netherlands, which included places such as New Amsterdam (nowadays known as the city of New York). Although the Duke of Marlborough John Churchill (the forefather of Winston Churchill) tried to save their homes in the Rhione area, they were too far from the English headquarters near the Northsea and hence in an undefendable position, so they had to flee, because of their involvement in the War of the Spanish succession. You see the state of Pfalz was allied with Great Britain, Portugal and the Dutch Republic at that time and hence in war with King Louis the 14th of France, who invaded the Rhine area about 1700.

So that's why it is so confusing.


But don't feel bad.

Just imagine how difficult it is for us, if we Dutch have to communicate in the English language to another Dutch person or a foreigner whose maternal language isn't English.

For example when I was on holiday in Eurodisney near Paris in France some years ago, I asked for a Dutch information leaflet from a woman who worked in that theme park. She gave me the German leaflet by mistake, it's how I accidentally discovered she was from the Netherlands or Flanders, because only a Dutch speaking person could make such a mistake.

 

Uh no you won't. Sauerkraut is awesome.

And pffffttt.. Schnitzel is just toast.
How Germany Lost the War. - YouTube

 

It is good. If you like vinergary things like pickles, pickled eggs, etc you should like Sauerkraut. I love mine piping hot and smothered with butter too. YUM!