Weihnachtsmarkts part I

The Christmas season in Germany is the season for Christmas markets (Weihnachtsmarkts).  Tons of them pop up in Berlin, some of them for just a weekend and some of them starting at the beginning of Advent and continuing through the beginning of January.  Like most things Christmas-y there is a range of how commercial, how tacky, and how traditional the markets are.  So far we have been to two different markets.

The Saturday after Thanksgiving we celebrated the holiday, so Sunday was fair game to start going to the Christmas markets.  The first one we went to was at a Swedish church near Berliner Strasse.  It was only open for the 1st weekend in Advent, so we took the opportunity to go.  It was a nice small market in the open courtyard of the church and also in the school that is associated with it.  We tasted our first glühwein (German mulled wine).  It turned out to be more Glogg than glühwein. Glogg is the Swedish version, with different mulling spices, and with nuts and raisins in the wine.  I didn't love the wine, but the nuts and raisins were good. We watched as a girl's choir walked with lighted candles and sang traditional Swedish songs (we assume they are traditional Christmas songs).  As they celebrate the Feast of St. Lucia in Sweden, they had the lead girl dressed as St. Lucia with the traditional crown of candles on her head.  We wandered through the stalls where they sold imported Swedish food, Christmas cards and ornaments, knitted things, and other crafts.  We didn't end up buying anything, but it was fun anyway. 

Last weekend we went to the Alt Rixdorf Weihnachtsmarkt.  We have heard that this is the nicest one, although we will have to keep going to others to truly decide.  What makes this market unique is that they use lanterns to light the stalls at night.  Also, the stands are run by not-for-profits and charities.  We went twice to this one, once at night and once during the day in hopes that was a bit less crowded to see more of the things for sale.  The less-crowded part didn't work out, but it was nice both times.  This market was bigger than the Swedish one and was in a large square called Richardsplatz.  We tried glühwein again, the more German version with no nuts and raisins.  It was generally less spiced as well, which I liked.  You could also get shots of liquor in it if you wanted.  I also tried Eierpunsch (egg liquor punch) and Kakoa (a chocolate-y drink) with amaretto, both of which were okay.  All of these were nice and warm.  We also had Feuerfleisch, which is a grilled beef sandwich, and a Blütengemüse, which is a big patty of fried vegetables.  It looks a bit like funnel cake, but with veggies.  Both were amazing!  The stalls besides food had everything from crafts, to candy, to cookies, to mistletoe.  In the middle of the market there was a big stage set up and bands played Christmas music.  On Sunday St. Niklas was there giving small treats to children (see picture below) and Santa Claus was there as we think of him in the US to take pictures with.  We have only been to two Weihnachtsmarkts, but this is my favorite so far.

The Christmas markets are a really nice way to wander around in the cold.  It gets dark here by 4pm, but it doesn't matter so much when you go to a place that looks nicer in lights anyway.  I think they should probably keep them open longer through the winter to help people get out more.

Things I Always Took for Granted

Tis the season to be thankful for the things you have.  And I am very thankful for all the wonderful things in my life.

It is also the season for baking and making wonderful things in the kitchen.  And every time I cook I think about the things that I took for granted in the food world.  I will share them with you, so that you can be appropriately thankful for these things when you use them in the future.

1. Sticks of butter that mark tablespoons and cups.
    The butter here comes in blocks.  When I bake with my US recipes, I have to estimate how much butter I am using.  Luckily I have done a lot of baking in my life so I know what a tablespoon of butter looks like.  I convert all of the measurements to tablespoons and then measure them out by eye.  The butter here is also different.  I'm not sure how it's different, but when you melt it it doesn't look the same as I am used to.

2.  Food can be had no matter what season.
     Other than the time that I had an amazing plum recipe and could not find plums, I have had very little trouble finding produce I need at the stores in the US.  Now, it might be more expensive and may not taste as wonderful, but it does exist (except for some exotic things- plums apparently being in this category in VA.)  Here though most things exist only when they are in season.  Luckily they import more produce from Europe and Africa than they did even 10 years ago, so I think that the supply is better than in the past.  However, while making stuffing for Thanksgiving we could not get celery!  Celery.  What a silly thing not to have.  We made due with what they did have- celery root.  It is definitely more of a pain to cut, but it tastes similar.  And I can't say that I have ever used it before being in Berlin.
     While I am used to fruits and veggies being there all year, one of the nice things about Berlin is that people really appreciate the things that are in season.  They also don't eat tasteless fruits and veggies just to have them.  For example, in the spring when asparagus come out, it is celebrated.  When is the last time you celebrated asparagus?

3.  Don't mix up the baking powder and baking soda!
   In all of my baking years I have known that it is bad if you mix baking powder for baking soda or vice versa.  I always check many times both the recipe and the label to make sure that I do not get it wrong.  However, here there is something called backpulver.  It is a combination packet of baking powder and baking soda.  Mixed together!  Such that you cannot use one without the other.  I did find baking soda in the American food section in Karstadt, a big department store with a large grocery store in the basement level, but not baking powder.  In recipes I have gone between using backpulver (more than I would of either baking powder or soda because in the US we use double strength and this is single, but no defined amount more) or using baking powder for soda (1/3 of the amount) and omitting some of the salt.  I have actually done both of these for the same recipe and I haven't noticed that much of a difference.  Of course when my measurement of butter is a bit random, it could also be a difference with that.

4.  Staples for baking and cooking will be at every grocery store.
   Funny thing about this is that it has to be a staple in the place you are.  You won't see a store here without a selection of yogurt that outdoes the US as does the amount of sausages and salamis.  But don't try to get brown sugar or chocolate chips.  I was so excited to see brown sugar one day I bought two.  In my excitement I didn't realize until I got home that the sugar swished around.  It was raw sugar, hence brown.  When I've needed chocolate chips, I've bought chocolate bars and chopped them up.  The upside to this is that I buy better quality chocolate and it is so cheap!
You want easy to squeeze caramel sauce instead of the kind you need to use a spoon for?  Ha!  You have to melt the caramel first.  There are also no containers of pre-made frosting.  You have to buy glaze which you have to melt down.  Not a good snacking item to keep in the fridge.  (Okay, these may not be a staples, but I really wanted to make chocolate caramel sea salt cupcakes.)  Cornmeal and black beans are also not at our main grocery store and things we use a lot.  We have branched out and found places to get them, but it takes more effort.  And I have yet to see a whole turkey at the store.  I'm not even sure where our friend got one for Thanksgiving.  But I was grateful that she found one.


5.  Preservatives will make our food last.
  We have a general idea how long food will last.  Or so we thought.  Here they use less preservatives, which really is a good thing.  But we have had to readjust how much we buy and quickly we use things.  Some of this is made easier in that they sell things in smaller packages.  For example, flour comes in 1kg bags (2.2 pounds).  But not everything lasts until we are done with it.  A little thing of red pesto that would sit in our fridge for several months and be fine got moldy after about 2 weeks.  In the end, it will be healthier at least.



I like the challenges of cooking.  I like making new things and trying new ingredients.  Being in a place where things often seem the same, it is funny how different they are.  It does make cooking an adventure.