A kitchen cupboard around 1980, somewhere between Rostock and Suhl. On the shelf lie white paper packets of caraway, marjoram and sweet paprika. Next to them stand a tub of mustard, a bottle of Speisewürze (a dark liquid seasoning), a small bottle of Worcester sauce and vinegar essence. With this stock the East German kitchen cooks almost everything, from Soljanka to Senfeier, eggs in mustard sauce. It seasons mildly and roundly, often a little sweet and sour, and it starts with what grows at home.
The taste of East German cooking: mild, round, sweet and sour
The base is almost always the same: onions, bacon or margarine, and Suppengrün, the bundle of soup vegetables. Then come salt, pepper and one or two spices, rarely more. Heat plays almost no part; the balance of sugar and acid matters more. The tomato sauce for Jägerschnitzel is slightly sweet, Soljanka gets its sourness from pickles and their brine, and Letscho and red cabbage take a pinch of sugar. The final seasoning happens at the end, often with a dash from a bottle.
Caraway, marjoram, dill: spices grown at home
Marjoram is the herb for fried potatoes, meat patties, liver sausage and pea stew. It comes from the area around Aschersleben in Saxony-Anhalt, home of the state-owned VEB Majoranwerk, which ran a spice-processing branch in Magdeburg. Caraway goes on cabbage, sauerkraut and roast pork and into onion tart. Dill, parsley and chives come from the garden or the Datsche, the weekend plot, while bay leaves, allspice and juniper are kept for Sauerbraten and brawn. The spices are packed at plants such as the Konsum spice mill in Schönbrunn, Thuringia, and VEB Gewürze Gera.
Paprika, Letscho and garlic: flavors from Hungary and Bulgaria
Sweet paprika colors Soljanka red and seasons goulash, Broiler (roast chicken) and Letscho. This stew of peppers, tomatoes and onions comes from Hungary. Bulgaria supplies peppers, later eggplants and zucchini too, and vacationers return from the Black Sea with recipes using garlic, dill and yogurt. TV chef Kurt Drummer turns the Bulgarian summer soup tarator into a chilled yogurt soup. Garlic still remains a spice for the initiated: readers ask cookbook author Ursula Winnington where in Berlin they can buy it.
Liquid seasoning, Worcester sauce, vinegar essence: flavor from the bottle
Three bottles belong to the stock. The first is Speisewürze. A well-known brand is Bino, named after the Bitterfeld-Nord plant and made by the chemical combine VEB Elektrochemisches Kombinat Bitterfeld. The name also covers stock granules, stock paste, stock cubes and gravy cubes. The second bottle is Worcester sauce from VEB Exzellent Dresden. The Dresden style is mild and slightly sweet and belongs on every Würzfleisch, a small baked ragout. The third is vinegar essence, diluted for cucumber salad, pickled eggs and brawn. A 200-gram bottle from Bitterfeld, filled in October 1982, costs 1.40 Mark.
Mustard: the seasoning that was always there
In the GDR, mustard is more than something to go with a Bockwurst. Seventeen plants make it; the best known is the medium-hot one from Bautzen, produced since 1953 by the state-owned food works there. Because it is always available, it goes into the pot: into mustard sauce for eggs, into mustard-braised meat, into soups and salad dressings. Horseradish and pickles also add flavor that does not come from a spice packet.
Baking spices: vanillin, bitter almond and Kandinat
For baking there are cinnamon, cloves, vanillin sugar and the little tubes of bitter almond and lemon flavoring. Stollen calls for candied lemon and orange peel, and both are scarce before Christmas. The food industry makes do with Kandinat: Kandinat M is candied carrot and replaces orange peel, Kandinat T is candied green tomato and replaces lemon peel.
Kurt Drummer and Ursula Winnington: who taught the country to season
Kurt Drummer stands in front of the camera as a TV chef from 1958 to 1983 and presents more than 2,000 dishes in over 600 shows. His recipes season sparingly and precisely: marjoram on the onions, ground caraway on the onion tart, nutmeg in the pea purée. Ursula Winnington writes the column “Liebe, Phantasie und Kochkunst” (love, imagination and the art of cooking) in the monthly Das Magazin and brings dishes from around the world into the kitchen. Where an ingredient is missing, she names the substitute. Through the country’s trading partners, chili, cardamom, mace and turmeric arrive as well.
A basic spice rack for East German recipes
These seasonings cover most of the recipes on this site. Adjust at the end: first with salt, then with a dash of liquid seasoning, Worcester sauce or lemon.
From the spice packet
- Salt and black pepper: for everything savory
- Sweet paprika: Soljanka, goulash, roast chicken, Letscho
- Caraway, whole and ground: cabbage, sauerkraut, roast pork, onion tart
- Dried marjoram: fried potatoes, meat patties, pea stew, potato soup
- Bay leaves: Soljanka, Sauerbraten, red cabbage, brawn
- Allspice: Sauerbraten, brawn, groats sausage, red cabbage
- Juniper berries: sauerkraut, Sauerbraten, game
- Nutmeg: pea purée, mashed potatoes, white sauces, Würzfleisch
- Mustard seeds: pickles, brawn, marinades
- Cloves: red cabbage, stewed dried fruit, Christmas baking
- Cinnamon: rice pudding, Quarkkeulchen, applesauce
From bottle and tub
- Medium-hot mustard: Senfeier, mustard-braised meat, dressings, Bockwurst
- Dresden-style Worcester sauce: Würzfleisch, ragouts, Steak au four
- Liquid seasoning: stews, soups, bread soup
- Vinegar or vinegar essence: cucumber salad, pickled eggs, brawn, lentils
- Tomato paste: Soljanka, tomato sauce, Letscho
- Pickles with their brine: Soljanka, potato salad, beef roulades
Fresh and for baking
- Onions and soup vegetables: the base for soups, stews and sauces
- Parsley, dill, chives: potatoes, cucumber salad, eggs, fish
- Lemon: Würzfleisch, Soljanka, schnitzel
- Vanillin sugar, bitter almond flavoring, candied lemon peel: pound cakes, quark desserts, Stollen
Questions about East German spices
What were the typical spices of East German cooking?
Typical East German spices are caraway, marjoram, sweet paprika, bay leaf, allspice and pepper. Mustard, liquid seasoning, Worcester sauce and vinegar add flavor in liquid form.
What is Bino?
Bino is an East German brand of liquid seasoning, stock cubes, stock granules and gravy cubes. The name stands for Bitterfeld-Nord; it was made by VEB Elektrochemisches Kombinat Bitterfeld.
Which Worcester sauce goes with Würzfleisch?
Würzfleisch is served with Dresden-style Worcester sauce. In the GDR it was made by VEB Exzellent Dresden, and it is still sold today.
Where did spices in the GDR come from?
Herbs such as marjoram were grown in the country, mainly around Aschersleben. Paprika came from Hungary and Bulgaria. The spices were packed at plants such as the Konsum spice mill in Schönbrunn and VEB Gewürze Gera.
What is Kandinat?
Kandinat is a substitute for candied orange and lemon peel developed in the GDR. Kandinat M is made from candied carrots, Kandinat T from candied green tomatoes.
Who showed East Germans how to season?
TV chef Kurt Drummer showed in over 600 shows between 1958 and 1983 how to cook with just a few spices. Ursula Winnington brought recipes from other countries into the kitchen through her column in Das Magazin.