The Forgotten German Food Of The GDR | Euromaxx

During its time as an isolated state, the GDR developed its own culinary culture. In 1989, after some 28 years of isolation, the Berlin Wall came crumbling down - and while East and West Germany have grown ever more entwined over the past 30 years, to this day there are still culinary differences. People who grew up in the West have often never even heard the names of dishes created in the East. In Berlin, the "Volkskammer" restaurant strives to retain the tastes and memories of many of these typical dishes from the former GDR.

#GermanFood #Germany #GDR
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[karlas]

I love how they pretend like we don’t eat most of this food anymore. This is typical school canteen food. And I‘m 22

[manuel]

All of this is still regularly served in our canteens...so none of this has disappeared or is forgotten.

[Markov]

I live in post-Soviet republic. Not far from my home there is cafeteria near industrial area, that used to be much bigger during Soviet era, that works since early 80's. According to my father, who went there for lunch as he worked back then in nearby car manufacturer, it still serves same simple and tasty dishes and has same classic Soviet interior. Place is still very popular during lunch time, many local workers from different companies now go there.

[danidejaneiro]

I still cannot believe that I was alive at a time when Germany’s capital was divided by a wall separating it into two distinct countries. It feels like it belongs only in history books but I remember having products at home that had tags “Made in West Germany”

[Your.Uncle.AngMoh]

In the USSR, that Jägerschnitzel would probably have been made with Doktorskaya sausage. Andong has done a great video on the history of that Soviet "mystery meat".

[raimohoft]

Tote Oma... dead grandma... was one of my favourites. Very hearty. 😋

[cioccolateriaveneziana]

I don't know. I remember visits at our East Berlin friends in the late 1980's. To me as a child, it was like a cornucopia. So many kinds of salami and ham that we didn't have. An incredible selection of cakes in the pastry shops. Everything seemed more colourful to me - perhaps because I was small, perhaps because it had the exciting aura of a "foreign country", but still. In Czechoslovakia of the 1980's, I didn't see such rich selection of goods. On the other hand, we didn't have those drastic shortages like Poland or - according to the footage in this video - East Germany. In Czechoslovakia, basic stuff was always there. It just lacked the colour, so to say.

[acetop]

I visited East Berlin twice in 1988 in the same week ( one trip official and the other unofficial ) when I was in the British Army
During the 2nd we found a pub in the back streets of the Alexanderplatz and had Broiler chicken all washed down with the local beer which was so weak it was like water !
And the staff made a fuss of us because we paid in West German Deutsche Mark ( black market currency in the East) they threw in a few extra rounds of the beer !

[kevincarlson]

If you're ever in San Francisco, there's a great restaurant named Walzwerk.It's decorated with DDR memorabilia and the portions are obscenely huge.

[Diaz]

Ketchup, tomato, and pickle juice... “that’s real tomato sauce westerner!”

[neilfoster]

In Krakow, Poland, I love to go and eat at one of the Soviet era "Milk Bar" type cafés. The food is very similar to food of the DDR. Basic, but wholesome and filling, cheap too!

[holzi]

1:33 "Das ist echte Tomatensoße, mein Lieber Wessi" To the people who dont speak German. In Germany, we sometimes differ between "Ossi" (people living in the former DDR region, east) and "Wessi" (people living in the BRD region, west). Both are words used to mock (mostly in a funny way) the other one, because of cultural differences that evolved in those areas and which are sometimes in a (light) conflict.

[williamegler]

I had Oma' s from both the DDR and FDR.
Both were excellent cooks but the food my Oma from the DDR prepared was more basic but still delicious.

[BelloBudo]

That's kind of interesting. 2 things I liked most were the guy saying that the chairs were just as uncomfortable as in the old East Berlin, and Avec Gunther (the cook) changing his mind about emigrating once the wall came down. I think I can relate to Mr. Gunther's philosophy. Doing something because you want to is Freedom. Doing the same thing because you must, is not.

[HoBBySOLDIER]

Junge so ein richtiges Jägerschnitzel ist schon was feines...if you grew up with this kind of food it just comforts you even now a days

[jensnimike]

I was in East Germany many times. The biggest problem was availabilty of foods. The usual answer was "Hamwernich" (we don't have) I only got to try 2 dishes. Goulasch many times and once Hackepeter (raw ground meat) We were scared to eat the Hackepeter so we ordered vodka (Korn) to pour over it😂

[gautamsarkar]

If I remember correctly, fresh tomatoes were not always available in "Hauptstadt der DDR". In West Berlin Jägerschnitzel, always had mushrooms. As a matter of fact, the word "Jäger" in any menu meant that there will be mushrooms in a sauce.

Wow...i spent some days in DDR...in 1987...i remember Ketwurst and grilleta...a little bit rare flavour ...but interesting... Nice video...

[robertrichter]

Oh yeah! The GDR was very isolated. I don't understand. I have a cooking book from the GDR with recipes from other countries in europe. But I think, some ingredients were sometimes or often difficult to get. Long ago I have eaten a Jägerschnitzel. It's time for it. Also a school remembering.

[vito_keys]

The jägerschnitzel basically introduced me to German cuisine, and European meat dishes in general

As an Indonesian, I did several twists to it . Instead of the pasta and tomato paste, I served it with fried rice