1. Flammkuchen – Tarte Flambé
Tarte Flame is one of the staple dishes not only at the German Christmas Market but also any wine market here in Germany. The pie comes from historic regions of Alsace, Saarland, Bade and Palatinate and it’s very popular in the regions at the French-German border. But don’t worry, you can also find it throughout the year at food markets, previously mentioned wine markets and some Christmas markets as well.
Flammkuchen in shape is similar to pizza, but the dough is made without the yeast so it’s much thinner. The traditional one it’s prepared in wood-fire oven. Wood fire oven makes the crust perfectly imperfect and that’s not only from the visual point of view.
At first the dough was a product that would be used to test wood-fire ovens temperature – to check if they have the right temperature for preparing other baked goods, like bread.
Thought Germany there are different varieties available, but the most traditional one is served with Creme Fraise, bacon stripes and onion slices. At some of Frankfurt food markets you can also find vegetarian options and those are topped with Creme Fraise as well as bell pepper stripes, slices onions and cheese.
2. Bratwurst and other sausages
There wouldn’t be a trip to Christmas Market without eating Bratwurst! Bartwurst is one of the most popular German sausages and at food markets we usually serve it in a wheat bread roll with a bit of mustard. Depending on where you get the Bratwurst from, you usually get really good quality, therefore we always serve our Bratwurst with just those few ingredients.
Traditionally Bartwurst is made on the grill or on the stove.If you have a good quality Bratwurst you want to prepare it in a traditional German way.
3. Kartoffelpuffer – Potato Pancakes
- Those thick, fried cakes are just mouthwatering and a staple dish that you can find at every Christmas market. Potato pancakes are made of grated or ground potato, potato starch, egg and some seasonings. The mixture is deep fried and usually served with apple sauce. Thankfully at the Frankfurt Christmas Market it is also possible to have them with garlic or herb sauce – I like the more savoury version.
Käsefondue – Melted Cheese
Cheese Fondue is very special dish because is one of the best street foods that you can get at the German Christmas Market. The dish originally comes from the Western Alps, French speaking Switzerland, Savoy and Piemont and it has nothing to do with Germany. But because is such a perfect dish to eat outside it became very popular in winter time.
The taste of the dish depends on what cheeses you use, and there are different traditional variations. Apart from melted cheese we also add garlic, white wine and starch. Cheese fondue would be served traditionally with white bread or hard boiled potatoes. At the Frankfurt Christmas Market you can choose between different types of bread. I always go for the onion one:)
Maronen – Chestnuts
- Chestnuts are popular winter street food and from what I have heard – not only in Germany. This is one of those dishes that you can find at every bigger German Christmas Markets. And one of the staple dishes that you can get at the German Christmas Market.