East German cooking is older than East Germany. Potato dumplings, grilled bratwurst, Stollen and boiled potatoes with Quark (fresh curd cheese) and linseed oil are at home between the Baltic coast and the Ore Mountains long before 1949. What is new after the war is first the shortage and later the way people eat: lunch in the Schulspeisung (school lunch) and the works canteen, weekends in a restaurant over Soljanka soup and Würzfleisch ragout. After 1990 both remain, the old regional cooking and the dishes of forty years of GDR.
East German cooking before 1945: dumplings, bratwurst, Stollen
Until 1945 the territory of the later GDR produces more food than it eats. Every region has its own cooking: fish and kale in Mecklenburg, pickles, linseed oil and potatoes in Brandenburg, sausages and Baumkuchen (a layered spit cake) in Saxony-Anhalt, dumplings and bratwurst in Thuringia, coffee and cake in Saxony. Thuringian bratwurst is on record since 1404, in the accounts of a convent in Arnstadt, and Dresden Stollen appears on a hospital bill in 1474. In 1936 there are 46.8 kilograms of meat and 117 eggs for every inhabitant.
Companies older than the GDR: chocolate from Halle, sparkling wine from Freyburg
Many food companies are older than the state, too. In Halle a confectioner's shop opens in 1804 that grows into the Halloren chocolate factory. In Freyburg on the Unstrut river the Kloss brothers and Carl Foerster found a wine business in 1856; two years later it becomes the sparkling wine cellar that the Rotkäppchen brand comes from. Halberstadt is regarded as the birthplace of the canned sausage, and in the Spreewald cucumbers have been pickled for generations. In East Germany these firms carry on as state-owned enterprises.
1945 to 1949: ration cards, hunger and new recipes
Food has been sold on ration cards since 1939, and after the war that does not change: in 1946 there are twelve kilograms of meat and 25 eggs per inhabitant for the whole year. At the same time the Soviet occupation zone takes in 4.3 million refugees and expellees, almost a quarter of its population. They bring their cooking with them: poppy seed pastries and Streuselkuchen (crumb cake) from Silesia, meatballs from East Prussia, dumplings from Bohemia. In November 1948 the first shops of the HO, the state retail chain, open. In 1948 and 1949 the first HO restaurants are given recipes from Russian cooking to follow, among them Soljanka and Schaschlik (meat skewers).
What changed after 1949: more meat, the midday meal away from home
The founding of the GDR on October 7, 1949 changes little on the table at first, and ration cards stay in use until the end of May 1958. Consumption rises quickly in those years: 22 kilograms of meat per inhabitant in 1950, already 55 kilograms in 1960, then 99 kilograms and 301 eggs in 1989. What also changes is where people eat at midday. Pupils eat in the Schulspeisung, about 85 percent of them by the late 1980s, and their parents in the works canteen.
What was new in East Germany: Soljanka, Broiler, Würzfleisch
Soljanka catches on, the sour soup with sausage, pickles and lemon, and appears as a starter on many restaurant menus. From Hungary comes Letscho, the stew of peppers, tomatoes and onions. Broiler becomes the word for roast chicken in 1961, when chickens from a Bulgarian poultry farm go on sale. Snack stands sell the Ketwurst, a sausage in a hollowed roll, and the Grilletta, a meat patty in a bun; restaurants serve Würzfleisch and Steak au four, a pork steak baked under ragout and cheese. In canteens and school kitchens Jägerschnitzel made from breaded Jagdwurst (a mild bologna-style sausage), Senfeier (eggs in mustard sauce) and Tote Oma (fried blood-and-groats sausage) become everyday food.
What stayed: regional specialties with protected names
The oldest parts of East German cooking now enjoy special protection. Thüringer Rostbratwurst, Dresdner Christstollen, Spreewälder Gurken (Spreewald pickles) and Halberstädter Würstchen are registered across the EU as protected geographical indications, the pickles since 1999, the Stollen since 2010. Anyone who uses one of these names has to make the product in its region. Dumplings, Eierschecke (a layered custard cake) and potatoes with Quark and linseed oil remain part of the cooking of the five eastern states.
East German dishes still popular today: Soljanka, Jägerschnitzel, Würzfleisch
Many of the dishes from canteens and restaurants have stayed. Soljanka is still a starter on the menus of restaurants and highway rest stops in eastern Germany. Jägerschnitzel with pasta and tomato sauce is still served in school kitchens, canteens and university cafeterias. At home people cook Würzfleisch, Senfeier, Tote Oma and Kalter Hund (a no-bake chocolate biscuit cake) as they always did, and on Christmas Eve many families have sausages with potato salad.
Food from the East today: mustard, sparkling wine, cola and crispbread
Many brands from the Kaufhalle, the state-run supermarket, are still around as well. The Mitteldeutsche Markenstudie by MDR Media, a yearly survey in Saxony, Saxony-Anhalt and Thuringia, named Bautz’ner, Halberstädter, Halloren, Nudossi, Rotkäppchen, Spreewaldhof and Vita Cola, among others, best brand in their product group in 2024. Some are older than the GDR, others date from its first years: the Kathi food factory in Halle is founded in 1951, the crisp wafer bread Filinchen comes from Apolda in 1956, Vita Cola in 1958.
Questions about East German cooking
What did people eat in eastern Germany before the GDR?
Before 1949 people ate the cooking of their region: dumplings and bratwurst in Thuringia, Stollen and Eierschecke in Saxony, fish and kale in Mecklenburg, potatoes, pickles and linseed oil in Brandenburg.
What changed about food after 1949?
After 1949 people ate far more meat, butter and eggs, and the midday meal moved into school lunch and the works canteen. New dishes such as Soljanka, Letscho and Broiler were added.
How long were there ration cards in East Germany?
Ration cards were used in East Germany until the end of May 1958. They had been introduced in 1939, at the start of the war.
Which dishes only became common in the GDR?
Soljanka, Letscho and Schaschlik from Eastern Europe became common in the GDR, as did Broiler, Jägerschnitzel made from Jagdwurst, Würzfleisch and Steak au four. Snack stands sold Ketwurst and Grilletta.
Which East German dishes are still eaten today?
Soljanka, Jägerschnitzel with pasta and tomato sauce, Würzfleisch, Senfeier, Tote Oma and Kalter Hund are still popular. Soljanka is on the menu in many restaurants in eastern Germany, and Jägerschnitzel is served in school kitchens and university cafeterias.
Which East German specialties are protected?
Thüringer Rostbratwurst, Dresdner Christstollen, Spreewälder Gurken and Halberstädter Würstchen, among others, are protected geographical indications in the EU. They may only carry these names if they are made in their region.
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