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6 Min
03/10/2025
A popular street food fare, pretzels pair perfectly with beer. An iconic German baked goodie, it’s made with flour, salt, malt, yeast, and water. The dough is stretched into that iconic knotted pretzel shape and baked. Usually, coarse salt is sprinkled on its surface, but sesame, pumpkin, sunflower, or poppy seeds might also be used. They are an essential part of Oktoberfest, served with a lager of chilled beer and wursts. The pertzel recipes vary, from region to region, which is why they look, taste, and smell different.
Also spelt as Obazda or Obatzter, this creamy Bavarian cheese spread was first made to make use of ripened soft cheese. This spread is made with cheese, Camembert or Brie, and with butter, onion, paprika, a bit of beer, and seasonings like salt, pepper, caraway seeds, and chives. It might also include the German favourite quark, a kind of local cream cheese. Traditional pairings with this spread include pretzels, dark rye bread, radishes, or raw onion slices, making it perfect for sharing.
Germans have more than 1500 sausage varieties under the term wurst. The term extends beyond just sausages to also include any type of smoked, cured, and preserved meat. The sausages could be raw, parboiled, cooked, or boiled, and could be firm or spreadable depending on the type. Popular ones include bratwurst (pork or veal, grilled), weißwurst (white veal sausage), and nürnberger rostbratwurst (small, spiced, grilled sausages). They’re typically served with mustard, sweet or spicy, and often come with accompaniments. Wurst is deeply ingrained in Bavarian culinary culture, with the oldest mention of wurst dating back to 1432.
Germans and their cheeses are inseparable, and this is another dish that uses plenty of that. Käsespätzle is a noodle dish that has spätzle noodles (a kind of egg noodles) with a creamy cheese mixture (käse), which could be a mix of Edam, Gouda, Emmental, or fontina. The noodles are made fresh by pushing them through a colander or a special spoon into salted boiling water. After cooking, the noodles are mixed with the cheeses. It’s garnished with additional grated cheese, caramelised onions, and chives.
A popular potato salad, straight from the German south, it’s made with potatoes, chopped onions, white vinegar, beef broth (could also be chicken or vegetable), oil, German mustard, sugar, and pepper. This is one salad that tastes best a day old, as its flavours improve with time. It’s often served lukewarm or at room temperature, making it refreshing but still hearty. Potatoes give the needed starch component, besides meat, cheese, and bread, perfect to go with beer.
Fish on a stick is a staple at beer gardens in Germany, and it looks exactly as it sounds. A whole fish is skewered lengthwise and grilled over hot coals. Usually, freshwater fish (trout) are used, but saltwater fish (mackerel) might also be used, depending on the availability. The fish might be marinated or dusted with seasoned flour before being grilled. Lemon slices might be served along with the fish or even stuffed inside them. It’s the ultimate beer snack alongside pretzels and is also commonly known as Oktoberfest fish on a stick.
This might remind you of kimchi, minus the spices. But why mention the East? Because sauerkraut or pickled cabbage has its origin in China, where shredded cabbage used to be fermented in rice wine. It might have been brought over to Europe via the infamous Genghis Khan. Instead of using wine, Germans use salt to draw out the water from the cabbage and use that water itself to ferment the cabbage. You will spot this as Oktoberfest, for it's an inseparable item from the meat, which is another iconic pairing with chilled beer.
Celebrate Oktoberfest with authentic German bites, as Oktoberfest isn’t complete without indulging in the traditional food that has stood the test of time. From crispy pretzels and gooey cheese noodles to savoury wursts and sour sauerkraut, these snacks are an integral part of the celebration itself.
