Back to street foods....

When I went to Germany with my friend Inge, we arrived in Bavaria just in time to meet her relative at the pretzel cart. Yep, the pretzel cart. Not only was it a permanently placed cart and landmark, but it sold the biggest, most gorgeous pretzels you could ever find!

In Germany as in most countries, street food is regional, but the most popular and best known is the pretzel and sausage, and of course, beer. Throughout Germany you will find small structures, similar to a kiosk, for selling fast food. Each Schnell Imbis is situated near a busy location, such as a castle, a ski lift, a busy intersection, etc. There you can buy a sausage on a roll, a pretzel and even a beer. You will find a selection of sodas and candy.

German pretzels are huge, unlike the skinny pale pretzels you find here in our malls and stadiums. In Bavaria, pretzels are fat, and shiny dark golden brown with a split showing the wonderful chewey white interior. Unlike in the US, Germans eat soft pretzels with butter, not mustard or cheese sauce for dipping. The bakeries also sell pretzel rolls, which are good with liverwurst or other "Aufschnitt" (bologna) in the middle.

There are possibly thousands of recipes for pretzels available. Some use a lye solution in the preparation, some use a solution of baking soda and water, some don't use a wet solution but are instead brushed with beaten egg to produce the shiny brown crust. To prepare a truly authentic German pretzel, you must use the extremely caustic lye solution. "Why on earth would you add it to your baked goods? Apparently, the brief contact with lye sort of precooks the surface; it breaks up the gluten so it caramelizes in the oven. The pretzels are perfectly safe once they've been baked. Some other foods are treated with lye before cooking, but hominy is the only one that comes to mind. Anyway, if a pretzel is still wet from the dip, then it's still dangerous, so be careful with it." That statement is from an excellent webpage on making German pretzels. Go to http://www.cs.uml.edu/~dm/brezla/ There is a recipe on the page.

Now, for the grilled sausages. German's never grill their sausages until they pop open. When they "explode", they quickly become dry. It is very common for them to eat their sausage with out a bun....very different from the American hotdog at the baseball game. Instead of that soggy soft bun, they pair their sausage with a big delicious pretzel!

If you live in the Kansas city area as I do, you are very fortunate to be close to Werner's Specialty

Foods. http://www.wernerswurst.com/ 5736 Johnson Dr. Mission, KS 66202-3325 (913) 362-5955.

David and Judy Miller have been making excellent German sausages for years, particularly their Bratwurst. Try them, you will be happy. When the weather gets warm, particularly on a Saturday, they will be out in front of the store with their grill....no, it isn't quite a schnell imbis, but yes, German street food in Kansas! Come back Toto, life is good!

Street foods in France

The French used to think it was bad manners to grab a snack out on the street. They felt the proper place for dining was in a Paris restaurant or sidewalk cafe. How times change! Today you will see Parisians munching on sandwiches, hot dogs, pizza, pastries while strolling along the street or sitting in the sun by the Seine.
So, a hotdog isn't French enough for you? Then maybe you should stop for crêpes at a booth on the sidewalk. Many cafés and restaurants have crêpe booths from which you can buy freshly-made crêpes, plain and simple with butter and sugar, or fancier filled with chocolate and nuts, ham and cheese, apricot jam, or some other treat.
BASIC CREPES
3 eggs

1 1/2 c. flour

2 tbsp. vegetable oil

1/8 tsp. salt

1 1/2 c. skim milk
In mixing bowl, combine eggs and salt, add flour alternately with milk, beating until smooth after each addition. Add oil and beat. Refrigerate for at least 1 hour. Cook on upside-down crepe griddle according to manufacturer's directions, or in skillet with non-stick coating. (If using skillet, allow 2 tablespoons batter per crepe, turning skillet to coat evenly in very thin layer. Cook over medium heat until bottom is brown, turn brown other side a few seconds).
Crepes may be made in advance, wrapped in foil or plastic wrap, and stored in refrigerator for 2 or 3 days; for easier separation, a layer of waxed paper or foil may be placed between crepes. They may be kept in freezer if tightly sealed in freezer bags. When ready to use bring crepes to room temperature before separating.

What you put on these is up to you. The famous Crepe Suzette is orange flavored and flambéed. You will find those in the sidewalk cafes. On the streets, you will find them filled with Nutella, that delicious Chocolate Hazelnut spread, maybe sliced bananas with a caramel sauce. They also sell them with savory fillings like wonderful french cheeses, maybe some ham.

Sorry I am not much on Japaneese street foods, but I understand octopus, bean paste and rice cakes are big. I don't think I will be going to Japan anytime soon. I am thinking about Great Britain. I'll let you know what I find out!

As usual, photographs provided by Fotosearch.com