German Words Explained » Food & Drink

Zuckersteuer

Graham — Wed, 22 Jul 2009 22:45:33 +0000

This podcast also talks about Pfeffersteuer (pepper tax) and Schokoladensteuer (chocolate tax).

Zuckersteuer was a tax in Germany on sugar. The tax was originally introduced in Prussia in 1841 – one year after the sugar cube was invented. Sugar had become more popular in previous years following the introduction of the sugar beet.

The tax was discontinued at the end of 1992.

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Osterei

Graham — Wed, 04 Mar 2009 11:01:43 +0000

An Osterei is an Easter Egg, and can refer to different types of eggs. There are boiled eggs that have been coloured, blown-out egg-shells that have been decorated, and chocolate eggs that often have fillings inside them.

As in many countries, the eggs represent the spring and fertility, and is a tradition that goes back to the 13th Century, even though the term “Osterei” was probably first used in the 17th Century.

Many people hang decorated eggs on twigs in their front gardens.

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Zwischenerzeugnissteuer

Graham — Wed, 28 Jan 2009 22:57:29 +0000

Zwischenerzeugnissteuer is a tax that is applied to a range of drinks that do not fall into other categories.

Usually these are the products of wine, which has been further processed. This includes fortified wines, sherry, madeira, and port.

It does not, however, cover sparkling wines.

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Biersteuer

Graham — Wed, 21 Jan 2009 15:07:56 +0000

Biersteuer is a tax that is paid on beer in Germany. The level of tax is based on the gravity of the beer, measured in Grad Pluto, which is effectively a measurement of the amount of sugar and thus ethanol that the beer contains.

The tax is included in the price of beer when you buy it, and is collected by the government from the brewers.

Homebrewers, whilst not having to pay the tax provided that they do not produce more than 2 hectolitres per year, are still required to register their brewing activities with the customs office.

Alcohol-free beer is not usually taxed in this way, although mixed drinks such as shandy (eg. Radler) are.

To hear a simple explanation and a short discussion in German, listen to the podcast:

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Kaffeesteuer

Graham — Wed, 14 Jan 2009 21:47:15 +0000

Kaffeesteuer is a tax on coffee in Germany. The tax is included in the price of coffee that is bought in German shops.

The tax originally started in Prussia, but was confirmed in its current form before the formation of the Federal Republic in 1948 in is even mentioned in the German basic law (Grundgesetz).

This causes problems for people who buy their coffee outside of Germany, for example in Dutch supermarkets or by mail order. Theoretically they should declare the coffee and pay the tax, and failure to do so can cause the tax office to investigate the non-payment.

Whilst the mail-order situation may be clear, buying the coffee for one’s own personal use and bringing it back to Germany causes a conflict between various German tax and custom laws, not to mention EU laws.

To hear a simple explanation and a short discussion in German, listen to the podcast:

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Spekulatius

Graham — Wed, 17 Dec 2008 21:27:55 +0000

Spekulatius is a type of spiced biscuit that is eaten at Christmas in Germany. As well as the normal form of the biscuit, there are variations made with almonds or with extra butter. The form of the biscuits tells the story of St. Nicholas.

Because of the price of the spices involved, these biscuits were expensive to make until the 1950s, so they are considered to be somewhat exotic. These days, however, they are readily available in most supermarkets.

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Dominosteine

Graham — Wed, 03 Dec 2008 22:05:22 +0000

The word Dominostein is used to describe a small baked sweet that is eaten at Christmas time in Germany. It is made up of two or three layers, the base being Lebkuchen, the middle fruit jelly, and the top layer marzipan or persipan. This is then covered in a thin chocolate coating.

Dominosteine are a relatively recent invention. They were created in Dresden in 1936 and were popular during the Second World War as a form of sweet due to the small amounts of ingredients needed to make them.

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Berliner

Graham — Wed, 20 Feb 2008 22:29:29 +0000

Berliners are a form of doughnut, often filled with jam.

The story of their invention is possibly only a legend, but it is said that they were created by a baker from Berlin who was trying to create something that could be cooked on a battlefield without an oven. He placed the balls of dough into hot fat to create the form that we know today.

The Konditorberliner in Hessen are normally filled with raspberry jam, but at carnival time there are Berliners without jam, with strawberry jam, iced, with coffee or even alcohol creams in them.

Other words for Berliner are: Krapfen, Kreppel and Fastnachtsküchle.

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Christstollen

Graham — Fri, 21 Dec 2007 00:05:50 +0000

Christstollen is a traditional cake that is eaten at Christmas.

It takes the form of a rectangle or trapezium and is usually covered in icing sugar.

The main ingredients include raisins, sultanas, currants and citrus peel, but beyond that there a many variations, such as with marzipan, extra butter or nut.

Arguably the most famous version is the stollen from Dresden. This is made to a very strict recipe and the name “Dresdner Stollen” and it’s variants are protected.

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Glühwein

Graham — Thu, 13 Dec 2007 23:06:59 +0000

Glühwein is wine that has been spiced and heated up – although not boiled! It is drunk in winter during advent and as such is strongly associated with Christmas in Germany.

The main spices used are cinnamon, cloves, lemon and aniseed and both red and white wine can be used, although red wine is more common at the markets. It is also available ready-to-drink in bottles and cartons at supermarkets.

In English it is known as mulled wine.

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