Cuisine of Hamburg

Due to its centuries-old history as a major port town the cuisine of Hamburg is very diversified and sapid as ingredients' supply was safe.

Until the 20th century, the cuisine of Hamburg was predominantly characterized by the extensive choice of different kinds of fish from the river Elbe and the nearby Baltic Sea.

International trade in the Port of Hamburg made spices and exotic nutrition items from India and South America available since the 16th century, which were soon incorporated into civic kitchens.

But due to its high economic importance, Hamburg does feature many internationally recognized gourmet restaurants from which 11 were repeatedly awarded with a Michelin star in 2010.

[1] For much of its history Hamburg has been a major trading hub, resulting in both the development of a wealthy mercantile class, and a wide availability of goods from around the world.

Another famous fish dish is Räucheraal, which is a smoked eel and was already featured by street vendors since the early 19th century and could be found on the dinner menus of many local restaurants.

Carp is traditionally served for Christmas dinner or on New Year's Eve, and the omnipresent Fischbrötchen is a roll with raw or fried fish inside that is sold as street food.

: round piece) and those that were not eaten for breakfast are plated with slices of roasted pork, smothered in sauce and are then called "Rundstück warm" for lunch (lit.

Franzbrötchen are also very popular: Despite the name contains the word Brötchen, it is not a roll but a kind of flaky pastry typical only for Hamburg and baked with much butter and cinnamon.

In Christmas times, there's Klöben (also called 'Stollen' in other parts of Germany), a bread-shaped pastry made of yeast dough with raisins and succade.

: brown cakes) are crisp rectangular biscuits baked with molasses and gingerbread spice that are based on a recipe developed back in 1782 from the Konditorei Kemm.

: hot rolls) are a yeast dough product with raisins that are dusted with confectioner's sugar and filled with cream and are traditionally eating during lent.

The recipe was guarded like a secret treasure and since the time of the Hanseatic League which opened the trade the export of beer formed the base of Hamburg's wealth, the city being considered the 'brewery of the Hanse'.

[9] The predominant kinds of schnapps until the mid of the 20th century were Köm, the northern German version of Aquavit or Korn (distilled from rye or wheat).

The main focus was laid on the import of wines from Médoc which were stored in barrels with little temperature variabilities in a humid and foggy climate to mature and incorporated the typical 'Rotspon' flavor.