East German snacks and cold platters
Ketwurst: East German Hot Sausage in a Bread Roll
Ketwurst is a hot Bockwurst, a mild smoked sausage, dipped in ketchup sauce and pushed into a hollowed-out long roll. It appeared at street food stands in East Berlin in the late 1970s, and its name combines ketchup and Wurst (sausage). At home, a wooden spoon handle does the job of the hot metal spike used at the stands.
Käse-Igel: Cheese Hedgehog for the Party Buffet
The Käse-Igel, a cheese hedgehog, stood in the middle of the cold buffet at birthdays, Brigadefeiern (parties of a work team) and New Year's Eve in East Germany. Half a cabbage wrapped in aluminum foil becomes the hedgehog's back, and the spines are skewers of cheese, grapes, pickled gherkin and canned mandarin oranges. No cooking is needed.
Russische Eier: East German Deviled Eggs for the Cold Platter
Russische Eier, or Russian eggs, are halved hard-boiled eggs with a savory filling of yolk, mayonnaise, mustard and pickle, finished with a dusting of paprika. In East Germany they sat on lettuce leaves next to sausage and cheese on the Kalte Platte, the cold cuts platter served at birthdays, weddings and on New Year's Eve.
Grilletta with Würzfleisch: Cheese-Topped East German Burger
The cheese-topped Grilletta with Würzfleisch, a ragout of diced meat, was the deluxe version of the Grilletta, the East German hamburger, in the 1980s. The Grilletta need not fear comparison with West German fast-food burgers. Simply tasty, natural and without artificial additives. A treat then as now.