Cologne is an ancient city, and most importantly - a river, port. Hence the conclusion: the gastronomic picture of Cologne was formed not only from the products donated by the land, but also from everything that a large river can give to the city's cuisine.
German cuisine: what to eat in Cologne
There was always a lot of fish on the banks of the Rhine, foreign spices were brought here by river, and the restaurant audience was half made up of sailors who needed a lot of hearty food and what could be taken on a long voyage. This is how sauerkraut appeared (the one from which tourists wrinkle their nose) - a storehouse of vitamin C, it saved sailors from scurvy during long journeys. In a similar way, Russian sailors did not set off without barrels of sauerkraut. Cooking it is a science and an art, only those who know how to do it know about it - Russians, Germans and Czechs, who received a recipe from their neighbors. Of course, not only cabbage, but also all kinds of spicy meat and blood sausages, pork knuckles with stewed cabbage or potatoes, having found grateful eaters, took root in the cuisine of Cologne.
Cologne: where and what to eat
The best embodiment of classic Cologne cuisine is to be found on the banks of the Rhine at the Haxenhaus zum Rheingarten.
According to its owner, they try to cook dishes according to traditional recipes of the 18th century: the sausage is made by hand, spinning the minced meat in old meat grinders and rolling the sausages a meter long into a spiral. By the way, beer is also served in meters - there is a special tray-board on which 10 glasses of light Cologne Kölsch beer can be placed.
The Kölsch Meter helps sailors, who often visit this seaside restaurant, to overcome all those hearty dishes that they are ready to swallow at once. They always came in noisy companies, and their hard work required a hearty dinner. It is for this reason that the dishes are of a huge size, and the beer is served directly to a large company.
Simplicity and at the same time excellent German quality, perhaps, this is how you can characterize a German dinner. German restaurants generally favor eating in large groups. Looking at the relish with which everyone at the table leaves a pork knuckle soaked in ginger-honey sauce, or beef medallions with cabbage, under which more than one meter of Kelsh goes, even vegetarians sometimes renounce their views.
The last chord of a Cologne gastronomic symphony should be a glass of cold herbal tincture of Jagermeister or Kbese, for the sane gourmet understands the benefits of a digestif.
If you prefer fish, the banks of the Rhine will welcome you with cozy restaurants with a fish menu. There are many herring dishes, dried and baked fish of different colors, as well as thick fish soups, which you have not tried anywhere else.
