IngredientsSaucesEasy to get wrong
Brühe, Brühwürfelbroth, stock cube
The base of almost every German sauce. It sits under Rouladen, goulash, fricassee and most soups.
In Germany it is fairly neutral: salt, a little root vegetable, not much flavour of its own. Its job is to carry the meat, not to cover it.
Die Verwechslungthe mix-up
Caldo en polvo and consomé are not the same product as a German Brühwürfel. Consomé Knorr Suiza and its relatives are heavily salted and carry a lot of cumin.
Drop one cube into a Rouladen sauce and the sauce tastes like Mexican soup. Against that much salt and cumin, nothing you add later stands a chance.
Ersatzwhat to use
Here it pays to make it yourself. Bones or a stewing hen, root vegetables, bay, peppercorns, two hours at a bare simmer rather than a rolling boil.
If it has to be powder, look for an unseasoned caldo base and salt it yourself. Then you decide how salty the sauce ends up.
Kaufenwhere to buy it
Cubes are in every supermarket. Unseasoned versions turn up in tiendas gourmet.
Read the ingredient list before you buy. If it lists comino, that cube does not belong in a German sauce.