Wiki | Oktoberfest Nayarit

Willkommenwelcome

Here we take German food apart: what it is made of, how it is made and why it tastes the way it does. Names stay in German with the translation underneath, so you reach the tent and order without pointing.

Whole anise seeds packed close together, grey green, ribbed lengthwise, many still carrying their thin stalk

IngredientsSpices

Anisaniseed

Sweet and liquorice like, at home in Christmas baking and in some bread spice blends. Anís estrella is a different spice and hits far harder.

Apple cider vinegar in a small glass bowl, amber and slightly cloudy

IngredientsSauces

Apfelessigapple cider vinegar

Fruity and mild. The vinegar for salads and for the Sauerbraten marinade, and in Mexico it is sold as vinagre de manzana.

Apple sauce in a glass, pale and slightly chunky, topped with cream and apple slices

IngredientsPreserves

Apfelmusapple sauce

The side for potato pancakes and the sweetener in sweet mustard. Mexican puré de manzana is usually sugared and spiced with canela.

Dark, thick malt extract in a small glass bowl

IngredientsFlour & grain

Backmalzmalt for baking

Hands the yeast sugar it can use straight away. The crust browns deeper and the flavour rounds out.

A heaped teaspoon of white baking powder on a green background

IngredientsBakingEasy to get wrong

Backpulverbaking powder

Polvo para hornear, not bicarbonato. One German sachet is about two level teaspoons, and the Mexican product usually lifts harder.

Fresh basil leaves close up in a dark mortar

IngredientsSpices

Basilikumbasil

More of a guest than a regular in German cooking, but fixed in tomato dishes and herb quark. Heat strips it, so it goes on at the end.

Mugwort shoot in a field, deeply cut leaves with pale undersides

IngredientsSpices

Beifußmugwort

The herb for fatty poultry. Its bitters cut through goose and duck fat like nothing else, which is why the roast does not sit heavy.

Young summer savory in a bed, narrow leaves on reddish stems

IngredientsSpices

Bohnenkrautsummer savory

Named after its one job: green beans. Peppery and close to thyme, it cooks in the water with them instead of going on top at the end.

Flowering borage, blue star-shaped flower above bristly hairy stems

IngredientsSpices

Borretschborage

It tastes of cucumber though it is a herb. Second of the seven Grüne Soße herbs. Young leaves only; older ones scratch.

Five unwrapped stock cubes on their foil, light brown to dark brown

IngredientsSaucesEasy to get wrong

Brühe, Brühwürfelbroth, stock cube

German broth is a base note, Mexican consomé is seasoning. One consomé cube keeps tasting through whatever sauce you build on it.

A stick of butter beside a butter knife on a white background

IngredientsDairy & fat

Butter, ungesalzenunsalted butter

Always the unsalted one. Fat coats the flour and keeps the crumb short and soft; salt from the butter counts towards the recipe.

Two glasses side by side on a wooden board, buttermilk on the right and milk on the left

IngredientsDairy & fatEasy to get wrong

Buttermilchbuttermilk

What is left after churning butter: low fat, slightly sour, a little thick. Mexico has no real equivalent, and suero de leche is whey, not this.

IngredientsDairy & fat

Butterschmalzclarified butter

Butter with the water and the protein taken out, so it holds far above 200 degrees. It is clarified butter, not shortening.

A small heap of golden yellow curry powder on pale paper, finely ground

IngredientsSpicesEasy to get wrong

Currypulvercurry powder

No curry powder, no Currywurst, and it goes in twice: once cooked into the sauce, once dusted dry over the sliced sausage.

A dill umbel in flower close up, small yellow flowers on fine green spokes

IngredientsSpices

Dilleneldo

The herb for fish, cucumbers and mustard sauce. Cooking destroys it, so it always goes in last.

A heap of spelt flour, cream coloured with visible bran

IngredientsFlour & grain

Dinkelmehlspelt flour

A close wheat relative, but the gluten is more fragile. Knead spelt dough the way you knead wheat dough and you break it.

Dried tarragon, fine grey-green leaf pieces

IngredientsSpices

Estragontarragon

Aniseed and headstrong. It carries sauce béarnaise and herb vinegar; without it remoulade tastes of nothing in particular.

A slice of bread thickly spread with pale goose fat on a black plate

IngredientsDairy & fat

Gänseschmalzgoose fat

Mexico does not sell it. The closest thing is manteca de cerdo rendered again with apple, onion and marjoram.

Clear gelatin sheets soaking in a white bowl of cold water

IngredientsBaking

Gelatinegelatin

It sets as it cools, not in the heat. Stirred into something boiling it loses its power completely. In Mexico it is powder, sprinkled onto cold water.

Loose pearl barley packed together, pale rounded grains with a dark groove

IngredientsFlour & grain

Gerstengraupenpearl barley

Polished barley. It releases starch as it cooks and thickens the stew by itself, with no flour and no cream.

Whole pickled cucumbers in a glass bowl, dark green and still wet with brine

IngredientsPreservesEasy to get wrong

Gewürzgurkendill-brined pickled cucumbers

Sour, with dill and mustard seed. The sweet pepinillos on the shelf are not these, and in Rouladen or remoulade it shows at once.

Rolled oats in a bowl, flattened and pale

IngredientsFlour & grain

Haferflockenrolled oats

Thick oats keep their bite, thin ones fall apart. Thick for muesli, thin for porridge and for binding meat patties.

German braided yeast loaf with coarse white sugar grains that survived baking

IngredientsBaking

Hagelzuckerpearl sugar

Coarse sugar grains that hold their shape in the oven instead of melting. That is the crunch on a Hefezopf. Ordinary sugar melts and leaves nothing.

Coarse wheat semolina up close, cream coloured granules packed together

IngredientsFlour & grain

Hartweizengrießcoarse durum semolina

Coarse semolina from durum wheat. Bite in pasta dough and a dusting for the baking tray, but wrong for milk semolina pudding.

Hazelnuts in the husk, in the shell, cracked open, and a shelled kernel

IngredientsNuts & dried fruit

Haselnüssehazelnuts

The German baking nut. Toasted and ground they carry Nusskuchen, Bienenstich and nougat. In Mexico they are avellanas: available, but dear.

A cube of fresh yeast, pale beige, crumbling at the edges

IngredientsBaking

Frische Hefefresh yeast

The 42 g cube German recipes are written for. It rises faster and tastes rounder than dry yeast. In coastal heat, use half of it.

Dried ginger pieces in a glass bowl, next to a dish of ground ginger

IngredientsSpices

Ingwerginger

German recipes usually mean dried, ground ginger: in the Weisswurst mix and in Lebkuchen. Fresh and dried are not the same thing.

Set plain yogurt on a white plate, no fruit and no sugar

IngredientsDairy & fat

Naturjoghurtplain yogurt

Plain means unsweetened. Most Mexican yogur natural is sugared, and in a cold sauce you taste it at the first bite. Look for sin azúcar on the tub.

Pickled capers in a grey bowl, olive green and glossy with brine

IngredientsPreserves

Kaperncapers

Cured flower buds, salty and sour. They carry Königsberger Klopse and remoulade on their own. Salt-packed ones need soaking first.

Green cardamom pods in a stone mortar, seen from above

IngredientsSpices

Kardamomcardamom

Floral and resinous at once. It sits in Lebkuchen, in Stollen and in the Weisswurst mix. Buy green pods: ground cardamom is empty within weeks.

A heap of long, earthy potatoes with rough skin

IngredientsVegetables

Mehligkochende Kartoffelnfloury potatoes

High in starch, the flesh falls apart as it cooks. That is what holds Klöße, mash and Reibekuchen together. Almost everything sold in Mexico is waxy.

Potatoes on a cloth with a heap of white potato starch in front

IngredientsFlour & grain

Kartoffelstärkepotato starch

Fécula de papa, not de maíz. It binds clear and tasteless. Corn starch binds cloudy and leaves a floury note underneath.

Fresh chervil close up, finely divided pale green leaves

IngredientsSpices

Kerbelchervil

One of the seven herbs in Frankfurt's Grüne Soße. Peppery with an anise note. Heat strips it, so it goes in raw and last.

IngredientsVegetables

Knoblauchgarlic

The same ajo, but German cooking uses far less of it. Two cloves in a recipe means two cloves, not half a head.

Several trimmed celeriac bulbs with rough beige skin

IngredientsVegetables

Knollensellerieceleriac

The floor under every German stock. When a recipe just says Sellerie it usually means the root, not the stalk. In Mexico apio nabo, and hard to find.

Two pale green kohlrabi bulbs with leaf scars and young leaves

IngredientsVegetables

Kohlrabicabbage turnip

Not a root but a swollen stem sitting above the soil. Crisp and sweet raw, tender cooked. In Mexico it is colinabo and almost unknown.

Evaporated milk being poured into a white cup of black coffee

IngredientsDairy & fat

Kondensmilchevaporated milk

Evaporated milk, no sugar. In Mexico ask for leche evaporada. Leche condensada is sweetened and turns coffee and muesli into dessert.

Whole coriander seeds packed tight, straw coloured balls with fine ribs running along them

IngredientsSpicesEasy to get wrong

Koriandersamencoriander seed

Citrusy and warm, nothing like the green of the same plant. Ask for cilantro in Mexico and you get leaves. Ask for semillas.

Garden cress seedlings very close up, pale stems with small green leaves

IngredientsSpices

Gartenkressegarden cress

Tastes of radish and hot mustard, raw and only raw. It grows on a kitchen windowsill in a week, in Nayarit too.

Whole cumin seeds close up, paler and slimmer than caraway

IngredientsSpices

Kreuzkümmelcumin

Comino, the spice already in your kitchen. The German name sounds like Kümmel, but it is another plant with another aroma, and it stays out of the Sauerkraut.

Whole caraway seeds close up, curved and ridged along their length

IngredientsSpices

Kümmelcaraway

Alcaravea, not comino. Caraway carries Sauerkraut and roast pork; swap in cumin and the dish walks over to Mexico.

Blocks of dark couverture side by side, matte broken edges

IngredientsBaking

Kuvertürecouverture

More cocoa butter than an eating bar. It runs thinner and sets glossy. Chocolate de mesa is not a stand-in, it has cinnamon in it.

A whole leek with white shaft and dark green leaves

IngredientsVegetables

Lauchleek

Milder than an onion and sweet in its own way. In Mexico it is poro. Grit sits between the leaves: halve it lengthways and wash it properly.

The single spices of a gingerbread blend side by side: cinnamon sticks, nutmeg, cloves, white peppercorns and ground ginger

IngredientsSpices

Lebkuchengewürzgingerbread spice

Not one ingredient but a blend. Mexico does not sell it ready made, so you mix it yourself. It tastes better that way anyway.

Young lovage in a bed, glossy leaves on reddish stalks

IngredientsSpices

Liebstöckellovage

One leaf seasons a whole pot of soup. It smells exactly like Maggi seasoning, hence the name Maggikraut. Dose it like parsley and it takes over.

Dried bay leaves laid out on pale cloth, stiff and olive green

IngredientsSpices

Lorbeerblattbay leaf

It gives nothing up on a short simmer. Bay needs time in the pot, and then it carries stew, marinade and Sauerbraten.

Marjoram just before harvest, dense little leaves

IngredientsSpicesEasy to get wrong

Majoranmarjoram

Mejorana, not Mexican oregano. Sweet and warm rather than resinous, which is what carries liver sausage, fried potatoes and potato soup.

A single almond inside its cracked shell, kernel still in its brown skin

IngredientsNuts & dried fruit

Mandelnalmonds

Blanched and ground they are the base of marzipan; flaked, they top the Bienenstich. Sold everywhere as almendras.

Piece of marzipan with a green coating; the broken edge shows the pale, moist almond paste

IngredientsBaking

Marzipanrohmassemarzipan paste

Two parts almond to one part sugar. Mexican mazapán is peanut, and the pasta de almendra sold for decorating carries a great deal more sugar.

Horseradish in flower on a stream bank, white flowers above large leaves

IngredientsPreserves

Meerrettich, Krenhorseradish

The heat goes into your nose, not onto your tongue, and cooking destroys it. That is why it always goes in last.

Bunches of carrots with their tops on a market stall

IngredientsVegetables

Möhrencarrots

Sweetness and colour in stock, stew and the Sunday roast. In Mexico zanahoria, everywhere. Thin ones are sweeter, thick ones carry a woody core.

Three storage jars of blue, grey and white poppy seed next to dry poppy pods

IngredientsBaking

Mohn, gemahlenground poppy seed

Whole seed gives nothing up, it only crunches. The aroma sits inside the seed coat, and unless grinding breaks it the filling stays grey and dry.

IngredientsSpices

Muskatnussnutmeg

Grated fresh it is a different spice from the jar. Mashed potato, béchamel and Weißwurst live on it. Buy the whole nut.

Freshly baked pretzels with coarse salt on a wooden board

IngredientsBaking

Natronbicarbonate of soda

Bicarbonato de sodio. It needs acid in the dough or nothing happens. Dried in the oven it becomes the mild lye bath for pretzels.

Whole dried cloves on a white background, each with its round bud head at the tip of the stem

IngredientsSpices

Gewürznelkencloves

Brutally dominant. Three cloves season a Sauerbraten, ten turn it into a dentist's office. You count them, you do not spoon them.

Plate of diced candied orange peel, orange and glossy

IngredientsBaking

Orangeatcandied orange peel

Candied orange peel, the sweeter counterpart to Zitronat. Making it at home pays off here, because the oranges are good and cheap.

Two white spoons of red paprika powder against a black background

IngredientsSpicesEasy to get wrong

Paprikapulver edelsüßsweet paprika

It is ground fruit, not chilli: mild, sweetish, deep red. Chile en polvo is hot and usually salted and cumin-laced, which makes goulash a different dish.

A small heap of dark red paprika powder on a white ground

IngredientsSpices

Paprikapulver rosenscharfhot paprika

The hot sister of the sweet powder: heat that still carries paprika aroma. Plain chilli powder cannot do that, it burns without the fruit.

Flat leaf parsley close up, dark green, three lobed and toothed at the edge

IngredientsSpicesEasy to get wrong

Petersilie, glattflat leaf parsley

Perejil, not cilantro. The flat leaf sort carries the flavour, the curly one mostly the shape. In Mexico perejil is usually flat leaf, so it fits.

Whole black peppercorns close up, wrinkled and dark brown

IngredientsSpices

Schwarzer Pfefferblack pepper

Ground pepper loses its aroma in weeks. The mill by the pot is not a pose: whole corns keep, the jar of powder goes flat.

White peppercorns in a stone mortar, pale and smooth

IngredientsSpicesEasy to get wrong

Weißer Pfefferwhite pepper

The same berry without its skin: hotter, earthier, invisible. That is why it belongs in pale sauces and mashed potato, where black specks show.

Dried allspice berries close up, round, matt and red brown

IngredientsSpices

Pimentallspice

A berry that tastes of clove, cinnamon and pepper at once. The German name means clove pepper. The tree is Mexican, so this one is easy here.

Salad burnet in a garden, saw-edged leaflets and round reddish flower heads

IngredientsSpices

Pimpinellesalad burnet

Nutty and cucumber-like, third of the seven Grüne Soße herbs. Barely sold in Mexico: grow it, or use more borage instead.

Lingonberry shrub close to the ground, red berries among leathery leaves

IngredientsPreserves

Preiselbeerenlingonberry

Tart and bitter, not sweet. They are the counterweight to fatty game and to fried camembert, not the jam sitting next to it.

Close up of icing sugar collapsed into small soft lumps

IngredientsBaking

Puderzuckericing sugar

Ground sugar that dissolves cold, which is why glazes use it. Mexican azúcar glas usually carries cornstarch: the glaze turns matt and sets faster.

IngredientsDairy & fat

Quarkfresh curd cheese

Mexico has no direct equivalent. Requesón drained for 30 minutes and then blended smooth comes closest. Queso crema makes a different cake.

IngredientsDairy & fat

Rapsölrapeseed oil

Aceite de canola is rapeseed oil, the same plant. Neutral and heat stable. In German recipes it is the oil meant when none is named.

Floured Roggenbrot loaf on a wooden board, tomatoes and pumpkin seeds beside it

BreakfastCold plateBreadSourdoughFlour & grain

Roggenbrotrye bread

Without sourdough this loaf spreads out in the oven: rye builds no gluten frame, and it carries enzymes that eat its own starch. The acid stops them, and leaves the bread tangy and good for days.

A small heap of rye flour on a dark surface, grey with pale specks of bran

IngredientsFlour & grain

Roggenmehlrye flour

No gluten network, just pentosans that bind only in acid. That is why rye dough needs sourdough and not yeast alone.

Grated piloncillo, damp brown shreds in a plastic container

IngredientsBaking

Brauner Zuckerbrown sugar

The molasses in it is what keeps a dough moist and gives the caramel note. In Mexico the better version is piloncillo, grated rather than spooned.

IngredientsNuts & dried fruit

Rosinenraisins

Dried grapes: in Stollen, in Rhenish Sauerbraten and in raisin rolls. Here they are pasas, in every supermarket.

A sprig of rosemary on white, needle shaped leaves, green above and silver underneath

IngredientsSpices

Rosmarinrosemary

Resinous and bossy. One sprig seasons a whole roast, three make it inedible.

Beetroot with leaves and red stems in a basket at a market stall

IngredientsPreserves

Rote Betebeetroot

It is betabel, sold in every mercado. Raw grated and boiled are two different ingredients, so read the recipe before you grate it.

A halved red cabbage showing the violet leaf layers around the white core

IngredientsVegetables

Rotkohl, Blaukrautred cabbage

Rotkohl in the north, Blaukraut in the south. The name follows the acid in the pot: with vinegar or apple it stays red, without it goes blue grey.

A mound of whipped cream on a slice of cake

IngredientsDairy & fat

Sahnesteifwhipped cream stabiliser

Keeps whipped cream standing. Mexico has no equivalent: per 200 ml of cream use a teaspoon of cornstarch with a teaspoon of icing sugar, or dissolved gelatine.

Sage leaves close up, grey green, velvety and finely notched at the edge

IngredientsSpices

Salbeisage

Furry and camphor-like, and very dominant. Crisped in hot butter it turns nutty and mild. Chopped in raw it runs over the whole dish.

A small heap of fine grained white table salt on a black ground

IngredientsSalt

Feines Salzfine salt

For seasoning and for dough. In bread, two percent on the flour weight is the standard, weighed rather than spooned.

A small heap of coarse white salt on a wooden board

IngredientsSalt

Grobes Salz, Brezensalzcoarse salt

The grain survives the oven and stays visible on the pretzel. That is the whole point. In Mexico sal de grano, in every mercado.

A handful of anchovy fillets in oil in a bowl

IngredientsSalt

Sardellenfiletsanchovy fillets

They melt away as you stir and leave no fish flavour behind, only depth. Classic in remoulade. In Mexico filetes de anchoa, on the supermarket shelf.

Fresh sorrel leaves close up, arrow-shaped and light green

IngredientsSpices

Sauerampfersorrel

The acid in Grüne Soße comes from the leaf, not from vinegar. Lemony and green, and it turns grey the moment it is cooked.

Ripe sour cherries on the branch, wet with rain

IngredientsNuts & dried fruit

Sauerkirschensour cherries, morellos

The acid that holds up against cream. Sweet cherries flatten any cherry cake. In Mexico they come jarred in syrup: drain them well and put the acid back with lime.

Raw sauerkraut close up, finely shredded white cabbage in a wooden bowl

IngredientsPreserves

Sauerkrautfermented cabbage

White cabbage fermented in its own brine, not pickled in vinegar. Two percent salt and time, nothing else. Nayarit heat speeds it up a lot.

Active sourdough starter in a jar seen from above, the surface full of bubbles

IngredientsFlour & grain

Sauerteigsourdough starter

With rye this is technique, not taste. The acid holds back the enzyme that would otherwise take the starch apart.

One whole shallot and one cut in half, the layers of the cut face visible

IngredientsVegetables

Schalotteshallot

Finer and sweeter than an onion, without the bite. For sauces where an onion would be too coarse. In Mexico it is chalote and hard to find.

Whipped cream in a metal bowl, seen from above

IngredientsDairy & fatEasy to get wrong

Schlagsahnewhipping cream

Under 30 percent fat nothing whips. That is the only number on the carton that counts.

Potato pancakes on a plate with a small dish of thick soured cream

IngredientsDairy & fat

Schmandsoured cream

Crema mexicana works straight off. Thick, mild, soured: it binds cold sauces and keeps cakes moist. Let it boil and it splits.

A bed of chives in flower, thin green stalks and purple flower heads

IngredientsSpices

Schnittlauchchives

Onion bite without the onion weight. It goes on raw and last, over the finished plate, because heat cooks the aroma away.

IngredientsDairy & fat

Schweineschmalzpork lard

Manteca de cerdo, the real thing. It takes more heat than butter and brings its own flavour. Manteca vegetal is something else.

Fine pale breadcrumbs in a blue glazed bowl

IngredientsFlour & grain

Semmelbröselbreadcrumbs

Pan molido, but the plain kind. It breads, it binds, it catches juice. Semmelknödel need stale rolls, not powder.

Four spoons holding different mustards: smooth yellow, coarse and sweet, Dijon and wholegrain

IngredientsSaucesEasy to get wrong

Mittelscharfer Senfmedium-hot German mustard

The default mustard of German recipes. Mexican mostaza amarilla is sweetish and vinegar-heavy and falls flat in them; Dijon sits closer.

Two Weißwürste with a pretzel and a spoonful of coarse sweet mustard on a blue and white plate

IngredientsSauces

Süßer SenfBavarian sweet mustard

Coarse, sweet and brown, made from cracked seed. It belongs with Weißwurst and is not the medium-hot mustard. Mexico has none, so make it.

Yellow mustard seeds on a grey background, round beads in slightly different shades of yellow

IngredientsSpices

Senfkörnermustard seeds

Whole in a pickle they stay mild. The heat is only born at the grinder, when broken seed and liquid meet.

Small white onions close up, raw, with papery skins

IngredientsPreserves

Silberzwiebelnpickled silverskin onions

Small white onions pickled in vinegar, firm and sharp. Mexican cebollitas en vinagre usually come with chilli in the jar.

Two pieces of bacon side by side: fatback above, streaky smoked belly below

IngredientsSaltEasy to get wrong

Speck, durchwachsen geräuchertstreaky smoked bacon

Not breakfast bacon but seasoning fat from streaky belly. It goes into a cold pan as cubes and renders slowly, never as a thin slice.

Corn starch stirred into cold water in a metal bowl, with a wooden spatula

IngredientsFlour & grainEasy to get wrong

Speisestärkecooking starch

In Mexico this is fécula de maíz, sold as Maizena. Harina de maíz is corn flour and will not bind. Always slake it cold first.

A celery stalk with its pale green leafy top

IngredientsVegetables

Staudenselleriecelery stalks

The stalks, sold as apio. In Germany mostly raw, in salad. In stock it only stands in for the root: use more and cook the leaves with it.

Golden sultanas tipped out of a small bowl

IngredientsNuts & dried fruit

Sultaninensultanas

Pale seedless raisin from the sultana grape. Bigger, softer and sweeter than the dark raisin, which is why it goes into fine yeast baking.

Soup greens on a wooden board: parsley, two carrots, a leek and a halved celeriac

IngredientsSpices

Suppengrünsoup greens

Not a spice, a bundle: carrot, leek, celeriac, parsley. In Mexico you tie it yourself, and celeriac is the hard part. Without it the broth has no floor.

Thyme in flower, small firm leaves and pale purple blossom

IngredientsSpices

Thymianthyme

It takes heat like almost no other herb. That is why it goes into the roast and not over it.

A spoonful of thick, dark red tomato paste, firm enough to hold its shape

IngredientsSaucesEasy to get wrong

Tomatenmarktomato paste

Concentrado or pasta, not puré. Triple concentrated and almost solid: it brings colour, savour and body, not liquid.

Strawberry cake in a springform tin, the fruit under a glossy red layer

IngredientsBaking

Tortengussfruit cake glaze

The clear layer over a German fruit cake. Not sold here, but 250 ml of juice boiled with 2 teaspoons of cornstarch does the same job.

Dry yeast granules, a spoonful resting on a heap of loose yeast

IngredientsBaking

Trockenhefedry yeast

One third the weight of fresh yeast. At thirty degrees room temperature halve it again, or the dough over proves.

Six cured vanilla pods, dark brown, on a white background

IngredientsBaking

Vanillevanilla

The plant is Mexican. A cook here gets a better pod at the mercado than any baker in Germany gets at home. The problem is the cheap bottled vainilla.

Glass jar of white sugar with two scraped vanilla pods lying on top

IngredientsBaking

Vanillezuckervanilla sugar

The 8 g German sachet does not exist in Mexico, and you do not need it. Vanilla is Mexican: one scraped pod in 200 g of sugar for a week and you have it.

Coarse wholemeal flour in a bin with a metal scoop stuck in it

IngredientsFlour & grain

Vollkornmehlwholemeal flour

Bran and germ stay in: more flavour, less rise, shorter shelf life. In Nayarit heat, keep it cool and tightly sealed.

A glass of whole milk seen from the side, white and opaque

IngredientsDairy & fat

Vollmilchwhole milk

3.5 percent fat. In Milchreis and Grießbrei that is not optional: less fat gives you a thinner result.

Dried juniper berries in a glass bowl, blue black and dull

IngredientsSpices

Wacholderbeerenjuniper berries

Resinous and sharp, the forest note behind Sauerkraut, game and every brine. Two berries do the job, five wreck the pot.

A walnut cut in half, shell and kernel seen from above

IngredientsNuts & dried fruitEasy to get wrong

Walnüssewalnuts

Ask for nuez de Castilla. Ask only for nuez and you get pecans: milder and sweeter, and the baking loses its bitter edge.

A small heap of fine wheat semolina in a dish, nearly white and even

IngredientsFlour & grain

Weichweizengrießfine soft wheat semolina

The fine semolina for milk pudding and semolina dumplings. It swells in milk into a velvety mass; the coarse one does not.

A firm white cabbage head in the bed, with smooth blue green outer leaves

IngredientsVegetables

Weißkohlwhite cabbage

The base for sauerkraut, Bayrisch Kraut and Krautsalat. In Mexico it is col blanca or repollo, in every mercado and cheap.

Wheat bran spread in an even layer, fine light brown flakes

IngredientsFlour & grain

Weizenmehl Type 1050medium wholemeal wheat flour

It does not exist in Mexico. Mix 80 percent harina para todo uso with 20 percent harina integral, and add a little more water.

Hulled wheat kernels packed close together, light brown and glossy

IngredientsFlour & grain

Weizenmehl Type 405cake flour

The finest, lowest-protein wheat flour. For cakes and sponge, where a strong gluten network gets in the way.

White wheat flour heaped in a glass bowl

IngredientsFlour & grainEasy to get wrong

Weizenmehl Type 550all-purpose flour

Type 550 is plain all-purpose flour. Harina preparada already holds baking powder and salt, so yeast dough will not rise with it.

A savoy cabbage in a field bed, its green leaves deeply crinkled

IngredientsVegetables

Wirsingsavoy cabbage

Crinkled cabbage with a loose head. Cooks faster than white cabbage and tastes milder. In Mexico it is col rizada and rarely on the shelf.

Two cinnamon sticks side by side, on the left the pale Ceylon quill made of many thin layers, on the right the dark, thick cassia bark

IngredientsSpicesEasy to get wrong

Zimtcinnamon

German recipes assume cassia: strong, sweet, dominant. Mexican canela is Ceylon and far milder. The same spoonful leaves the dish short of cinnamon.

Diced candied citron peel, glassy, green and pale yellow

IngredientsBaking

Zitronatcandied citron peel

Candied peel with the white pith left on. It brings bitterness and bite against the sweetness of a Stollen. Glacé cherries and acitrón are something else.

Ripe blue plums with their bloom, piled up at the market

IngredientsNuts & dried fruit

ZwetschgenItalian prune plum

Firm, oval, and the stone comes away clean. That is why the Datschi holds together. A round plum wets the base, so scatter breadcrumbs first.

White onion cut in half, the cut face and its rings facing forward

IngredientsVegetables

Zwiebelonion

Braised it turns sweet, raw it bites, taken too far it goes bitter. Three dishes from one bulb. In Mexico buy cebolla blanca, not morada.