Spice up your inbox with FREE German recipes and a free recipe ebook!

Regional Traditional German Food: Thuringia

Oma Gerhild

by: Gerhild Fulson  / Oma Gerhild shares easy, authentic German recipes you can trust—rooted in family tradition and featured in her cookbooks.

Thuringia ~ Green Heart of Germany

Guten Tag,

What do Luther, Goethe, Napoleon, Bach, Schiller, and Wagner have in common? Thuringia.

Located in the geographical center of Germany, the Free State of Thuringia (Thüringen) was once called a “patchwork of principalities” and helped shape not only German, but European, history.

Its central location made it a main hub of trade and commerce, giving the area a great diversity of customs and traditions.

With its abundance of forests and mountains, this “Green Heart of Germany” has one of the best known hiking routes in Europe.

The “Rennsteig Walk” is a 105-mile trail runs along the spine of the mountains.

The remaining half of this region is blessed with rich, fertile soil that provides for its flourishing agriculture.

Wheat, rape, sugar beets, barley, cauliflower, white cabbage, broad beans, onions, and cucumbers are among the most common crops. This shows itself in the favorite foods of the area.

Well known are its bratwurst sausages, dumplings, and cakes.

Even the onion is celebrated with its own festival in Weimar held on the second weekend in October. The famous Quiche Lorraine is rumored to have originated with the Weimar Onion Tart (the recipe taken by Napoleon's troops.)

The best invention of regional cuisine are Thüringer Klösse (aka Rohe Klösse, Hüts or Hebes). Passed down through the generations, this potato dumpling recipe varies from family to family.

Popular quote: "A Sunday without dumplings is no Sunday at all."

The dumpling is often regarded as the main dish and everything else, including the meat, just being mere accompaniments.

Thuringia's Favorite Foods

  • Potato Dumplings using varying amounts of raw and/or cooked potatoes and additions such as eggs, seminola, prunes, spices, or yeast. Known by names such as Thüringer, Fauleweiber (Lazy Wives'), Halbseidene (half­silk), and Hefe (yeast)
  • Onions in onion soup (Zwiebelsuppe) and onion tart (Zwiebelkuchen)
  • Cauliflower (Blumenkohl), kohlrabi (Kohlrabi), broccoli (Brokkoli), and red, white, and savoy cabbages (rot, weiß, und wirsing)
  • Game meats such as deer (Reh), wild mountain sheep (Wildscharf), boars (Wildschwein), hare (Hase), pheasant (Fasan), and duck (Ente)
  • Mushrooms (Pilze) cultivated and wild
  • Sausages (Wurst) such as spreadable dry­-cured pork & beef (Mettwurst) and a smooth pork & beef (Teewurst); hard­-cured salami and cervelat which are often smoked as well. The famous Thüringer Rostbratwurst is a scalded sausage and the liver (Leber) and blood (Blut or Rot) sausages are steamed
  • Cakes (Kuchen) are served at breakfast and morning coffee as well as a late night snack. Classics are crumb cakes (Streusel) and yeast cakes covered with a cream mixture, fruit, and custard.

From Oma's heart to your table

Complete your set today - order now!

Paperback books - Just Like Oma!

My Favorite Thuringian Recipe

Thüringer Klösse

Here's the recipe that was handed down from my father's family – I spent many hours as a girl peeling and grating potatoes for our Sunday dinner.

These potato dumplings are made from grated raw potatoes, unlike the more popular German potato dumplings that are made from cooked potatoes.

Here's my recipe (and unhappy memories) for Thüringer Klösse. I think you'll love them as well!


More Recipes from Thüringen ...

German potato dumplings 600 2020Dumplings from Cooked Potatoes

Visit more of Germany's Regions  and States ...

You might like these



Join Oma's Kaffeeklatsch
Come for coffee & cake (virtually!), & you’ll discover new things about German food, recipes, & all things German.
 
Get my “Top 10 Favorite German Recipes” ebook & more … all delivered free right to your inbox from me, Oma Gerhild 🥰
 
Thanks for joining!
Keep your eyes on your inbox for my email. 

Follow Oma on Social Media:

Buy Me Coffee - thank you!

Comments?  Questions?

You can leave a comment about this recipe or ask a question...

Pop right over to my private Facebook group, the Kaffeeklatschers. You'll find thousands of German foodies, all eager to help and to talk about all things German, especially these yummy foods. 

Meet with us around Oma's virtual table, pull up a chair, grab a coffee and a piece of Apfelstrudel, and enjoy the visit.

Recent Articles

  1. Oma’s German Sausage Recipes: A Taste of Tradition

    Apr 24, 25 01:16 PM

    German Grilled Bratwurst
    Oma’s easy German sausage recipes — classic German dishes made with bratwurst, smoked sausage & more. Hearty, flavorful, and full of tradition!

    Read More

  2. White Asparagus with Easy Hollandaise Sauce: Oma's Spargel mit Sosse.

    Apr 24, 25 09:22 AM

    how to cook asparagus and ham 500
    ​This white asparagus (Spargel) recipe is a traditional German favorite, served with easy Hollandaise sauce, boiled potatoes, and ham.​

    Read More

  3. German Apple Strudel Recipe – Oma's Apfelstrudel Rezept

    Apr 21, 25 08:05 PM

    german apple strudel 600 2020
    ​This German Apple Strudel (Apfelstrudel) is a quick and easy dessert made with frozen puff pastry, delivering classic flavor without the fuss.​

    Read More

Words to the Wise

"The bloodthirsty hate blameless people, but the upright seek to help them."

Proverbs 29:10 NLT

Just Like Oma

Copyright © | Quick German Recipes (Just like Oma) | All Rights Reserved

Powered by: Make Your Knowledge Sell!

AFFILIATE DISCLOSURE: Quick German Recipes participates in various affiliate advertising to provide a means to earn advertising fees by linking to retail websites. This website is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to amazon.com and affiliated sites. I will not promote products I do not own or would not buy myself. My goal is to provide you with product information and my own personal opinions or ideas.  At times, I will showcase services, programs, and products. I aim to highlight ones that you might find interesting, and if you buy future items from those companies, I may get a small share of the revenue from the sale. We are independently owned and the opinions expressed here are our own.

PHOTOGRAPHY: Throughout my site, you'll find mostly photos that I've taken in my kitchen. I also feature some reader-contributed images and curated stock IMAGES BY Deposit Photos and others, offering further perspectives on recipes and all things German.

YOU SHOULD ALWAYS PERFORM DUE DILIGENCE BEFORE BUYING GOODS OR SERVICES ONLINE.

Quick-German-recipes.com does not sell any personal information