Professor at Hochschule Düsseldorf
Studied Political Science & Sociology at Ruhr University BochumGraduated 1999
Some traditional dishes were the same or almost the same, but GDR cuisine was significantly different.
First, they adopted some dishes from the Soviet Union:
Soljanka, a Russian soup, was extremely prominent in East German cuisine.
Letscho, a dish of bellpeppers and onions which originated in Hungary, was something like the standard vegetable in East German restaurants, often served with meatballs (Bouletten). Letscho was easily available in tins.
Second, there were also East German dishes which did not exist in West Germany, like Jägerschnitzel made from breaded sausage:
(West German Jägerschnitzel was pork steak with mushroom sauce, so entirely different.)
Würzfleisch was an East German adaptation of Ragout Fin. First, since veal and sweetbread were hardly to get, they made a stew from pork or chicken. Second, it was gratinated with cheese. Third, the French name “Ragout Fin” was eliminated because it was politically not correct to eat a dish with a decadent capitalist name.
On the other side, East German cuisine did not adapt most of the Mediterranean influences which changed West German cuisine, partly because ingredients were not available. From a West German view, GDR cuisine was somewhat old-fashioned and lacked refinement.
Currently, we have a strong GDR nostalgia (“ostalgia” from “ost” for “east”) and many cookery books on East German cuisine are published.
