While Ashkenazi cuisine in particular shows some overlap with central European cuisine ("Ashkenaz" means "Rhineland") genuinely kosher restaurants are limited to a handful in big cities. Sometimes a synagogue will have an on-site kosher cafeteria, but its offerings may be limited and it may not always be open to those that don't attend services. Kosher ingredients - even "normal" products that one would expect to be kosher by default carrying a kosher label - are rare and virtually only sold in specialist supermarkets. Due to the presence of a sizable ex-Soviet Jewish community, some stores aimed at Russian immigrants offer kosher ingredients.

"Halal" (sometimes spelled "helal" as in Turkish) food is usually available at Muslim-owned businesses and more than half of all Döner stalls proudly display their halal certificate. Vegan and vegetarian products (e.g. gelatine-free gummy bears) are often marked as "halal" despite that being superfluous as vegan non-alcoholic foodstuff is halal by default. Turkish or Arabic supermarkets often carry mostly or all halal product lineups.

In all German regions, pork schnitzel with French fries or potato salad is on the menu. As you'll find it on the menu everywhere in Germany, it is well suited to determine the price level of an individual restaurant or region. The prices vary between €5 and €20. Some of the most well-known variants are enumerated below. The variety of schnitzel variations in Germany is, however, indescribable. One can find a new taste experience each day; many menus offer surprises.

• A Wiener Schnitzel is found on the menu less often. It is prepared from veal and is, correspondingly, more expensive. Usually, the cheaper Schnitzel Wiener Art made of pork is offered.
• Jägerschnitzel (Hunter's schnitzel) is usually a roasted pork cutlet, more rarely made from veal with a mushroom-tomato or mushroom-cream sauce. In some areas it is breaded, in others it is not. The latter is called a natural schnitzel. A further variant, which originated in East Germany and can still be found there, is breaded centimetre thick slices of Jagdwurst or beer ham and served with a sauce of tomatoes with onions. Potatoes, potato salad, mashed potatoes, French fries, croquettes or noodles are served as a side dish.
• Berliner Schnitzel - not a real schnitzel, but breaded cow's udder
• Cordon bleu is a breaded schnitzel filled with cheese and ham.
• Schnitzel Elsässer Art (Alsatian style) - with bacon, onions and crème fraîche
• Hamburger Schnitzel - with fried egg, partly with fried onions
• Hawaii Schnitzel - with pineapple and cheese au gratin
• Schnitzel Holstein, also à la Holstein - veal escalope with fried egg, smoked salmon, oil sardines, capers, anchovy fillets with fried potatoes, beetroot and gherkins
• Kinderschnitzel - (for children) smaller portion with chips and ketchup, mostly with funny names on the menu
• Kochkäseschnitzel - breaded pork schnitzel with cooked cheese (like Cancoillotte), often served with pickled onions and farmer's bread
• Münchner Schnitzel - Viennese-style schnitzel coated with sweet mustard and horseradish under the breadcrumbs.
• Pariser Schnitzel - thin escalope of veal salted, turned in flour and beaten egg, and fried
• Putenschnitzel - turkey escalope, natural or breaded
• Schweizer Schnitzel (Swiss Schnitzel) - breaded and gratinéed with cheese
• Schnitzel Spreewälder Art - breaded pork schnitzel, spread with horseradish after roasting, topped with pickled cucumber and gratinéed with cheese
• Zigeunerschnitzel (Gypsy schnitzel) - natural or breaded with a pepper sauce. The name (which dates to the much less politically correct 1950s) has come under some criticism and you may find it under different names in some menus

Parts of the pig's leg are popular in all parts of Germany. They are offered cooked, fried, grilled and breaded, and there are also many possibilities with the side dishes. There are many names for it: Eisbein, Hachse, Hechse, Haxe, Haspel, Stelze, in the Rhineland Hämmche, Bötel, in Franconia Knöchla, in Bavaria Schweinshaxn.

The "Roulade" is a typical German dish. Thin slices of meat are rolled around a piece of bacon and gherkins, seasoned with onions, mustard, pepper and salt. The meat is fried quickly and then cooked slowly for an hour. The roulade is served with red cabbage and, depending on the region, boiled potatoes, mashed potatoes, spaetzle or dumplings. Roulades are prepared with veal, turkey, beef or pork.

A speciality are Kohlrouladen or Krautwickel (cabbage rolls), blanched savoy cabbage or white cabbage leaves are coated with meat mass and then wrapped.

A Sauerbraten is a traditional sweet and sour stew with different regional variations. Raw meat, mostly beef, is marinated in vinegar for several days. In earlier times, sour marinade was used to protect meat from spoilage. Another welcome side effect is that it tenderises the meat. The meat is then sautéed, infused with diluted marinade and braised for several hours. The meat is then sweetened to obtain the typical sweet and sour taste of the sauce and thickened with gingerbread sauce. The piece of meat is cut into slices and served with potato dumplings, boiled potatoes or noodles, usually served with red cabbage. There are two main types of Sauerbraten, with the emphasis on sauer being cooked in Franconia, Saxony and Swabia, while the Rhenish one is more in the sweet direction.

The famous Rheinischer Sauerbraten used to use horse meat, which is hardly to be found nowadays. Often raisins are added to the sauce, rarely baked fruit. As old workhorses would yield relatively tough meat Sauerbraten was a preferred method of turning the meat into a delicious meal.

The dish is a former East Prussian speciality named for the old German name of the former capital of the region. The dish is now well known throughout Germany and can be found on many menus. It is also called Kapernklopse, Saure Klopse, Soßklopse or Kochklopse. The meatballs consist of minced beef or veal mixed with minced pork, chopped anchovies, onions, soaked white bread, eggs and spices. They are cooked in salt water, possibly with a dash of white wine or vinegar and spices. The broth is sieved, bound with light roux, cream and egg yolk and refined with lemon juice and capers. The meatballs are served with peels, boiled potatoes or mashed potatoes.

They are called Heringsklopse if salted herring was used instead of anchovies.

Stint (European smelt, Osmerus eperlanus) belongs to the same family as salmon and sea trout. Like its big brothers and sisters, the Stint spawns on the Elbe for a few weeks from the end of February to April, depending on the water temperature, a festival for fish lovers. The fish is usually 15 to 18 cm, to a maximum of 30 cm long. Connoisseurs know that the smelt only tastes good if it is not older than one day; you should be able to tell that with your nose, it has a light cucumber smell.

The fish are gutted and the head removed. Before roasting, they are salted and then turned in rye flour. Traditionally, the smelt is eaten with warm bacon and potato salad. During Stint season, it is offered in restaurants on the Elbe in Lower Saxony from the mouth up via Hamburg to about Lüneburg.

Sauerkraut is white cabbage or pointed cabbage preserved by lactic acid fermentation, which is usually eaten cooked as a side dish to meat dishes. Sauerkraut is internationally regarded as a typical German dish, but is also very popular with its eastern neighbours and in Alsace. It gets a peculiar taste when reheated which is mentioned in a rhyme by Wilhelm Busch which many who prefer the re-heated taste like to quote.

In the German-speaking area, in the south the term Kraut is used primarily; in the north, Kohl. In North Rhine-Westphalia and the Rhineland one speaks of Kappes.

Rotkohl (Red cabbage) is used in northern Germany, Rotkraut in central and south-western Germany and Blaukraut (Blue cabbage) in southern Germany, and in North Rhine-Westphalia and the Rhineland it is referred to as red/blue Kappes. The idiosyncratic naming has two reasons: Firstly the mostly lilac colour did not have a widely accepted name when the names were adopted and secondly the cabbage changes hue depending on pH and the traditional preparations in the various regions indeed tend slightly acidic or basic respectively.

Grünkohl (Kale) or also Braunkohl, as it is called in Braunschweig, Hannover, the Magdeburger Börde and Bremen, is a typical winter vegetable from northern Germany. In the south it is virtually unknown. In many parts of Lower Saxony and Schleswig-Holstein it is a real cult to go on a kale trip with clubs, companies and other groups in the autumn and winter months. A typical dish is kale with Pinkel, a smoked black pudding.

Knieperkohl is a typical regional dish in the Prignitz (in the middle between Berlin and Hamburg). It is a sour vegetable similar to sauerkraut. It consists of white cabbage, blue marrow cabbage, or leaves of red cabbage, green cabbage and cherry and grape leaves. The cabbage leaves are boiled up, squeezed out, salted, stamped in layers with the grape and cherry leaves into stoneware pots and then fermented with lactic acid for a few weeks. The knee cabbage is served with knuckle of pork, cabbage sausage, knacker or Kasslerkamm, along with potatoes.

There is a multitude of names from north to south; the number of variations is huge. It is worth going to a bakery in each area and trying out new variations. The local names are often supplemented, e.g. sesame, multigrain and rye rolls.

• Brötchen is mainly used in Lower Saxony, Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, North Rhine-Westphalia, northern Rhineland-Palatinate, large parts of Hesse, northern Saxony-Anhalt and parts of Brandenburg. This term is also understood and, the more so, grudgingly accepted in the rest of Germany.
• In Thuringia, in southern Saxony-Anhalt and in Saxony, Brötchen and Semmel are used.
• Rundstück is used in Schleswig-Holstein, Hamburg and parts of northwestern Lower Saxony.
• Semmel is used throughout Bavaria and southern Thuringia, as well as understood in wide parts of the entire south. It is also the word that - as part of a coumpound noun - is used in the German translation of the Holy Bible for 'breadcrumbs': Semmelmehl (lit. 'roll flour').
• Weck(-en/-e/-a), or Weck(-le/-li/-la) are mainly used in Baden-Württemberg, Rhenish Hesse, South Hesse, the Palatinate, and Saarland. In Franconia, Weggla refers to a milk roll;
• The Schrippe is common mainly in Berlin and Brandenburg, but also in Hamburg, Schleswig-Holstein and Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania.
• Bömmel is the name on Hiddensee Mecklenburg-Vorpommern.
• Kipf(-l/-la/-le), Laabla, Stella/Stolle, Wegg(-la/-li) one says in Franconia
• Stüütkes hot buns in Platt, West Lower Saxony.

The number of snack carts is increasing in Germany, and meals deviating from the usual snacks are finding more and more followers. At foodtrucksdeutschland.de you can find an overview of what is culinary on Germany's streets. The offered courts are creative and the quality of the meals is high. Several times a year the Franconian Food Truck Roundup is held in Nuremberg, a meeting of food trucks from all over Germany and Austria. The food trucks are usually open Monday to Friday at different locations in the greater Nuremberg area and on weekends often at events, details of the locations can be found on the respective homepage. There is also an app for food trucks throughout Germany.

• A classic of German cuisine is the Bienenstich (literally "bee's sting"). A yeast dough is rolled out thinly on a tray and spread with a vanilla, cream or fat cream. A mixture of fat, sugar and almonds is placed on top, which caramelises during baking and forms a firm lid.

• With the Streuselkuchen (crumble cake), the covering of crumbles is the decisive factor. The crumbs that cover the filling are made from sugar, fat and flour. The base of the cake is a thin yeast dough, followed by the filling and the sprinkles. There are no limits to the fillings, from apple and plum to rhubarb and poppy seeds - anything is possible.

Italian Gelato is held in high regard in Germany. As Germany has a lot of Italian immigrants and their descendants (and Germany has had a love affair with Italian cuisine since at least the 1950s), every self-respecting village of any size will have at least one Italian Eisdiele, often combined with a pizzeria. While classic flavours like vanilla, chocolate or strawberry are common in Germany, too, there is the above-mentioned Spaghettieis and an ice-cream flavour that can only be described as "blue", variously called Schlumpf (smurf) Babyblau, Bubblegum, or various other names, but invariably of a hard-to-describe rather artificial flavour – a favorite with the kids. Since about the turn of the millennium, ice cream shops have been experimenting more and more with rather unusual flavours, and you'll usually have at least a dozen to choose from.

Chocolate in Germany is generally of high quality and quite dark unless you ask for Kinder Schokolade ("children's chocolate", their name for milk chocolate), whether you are getting it in solid or liquid hot chocolate form.

• Sweet Schorle is made by mixing wine with lemonade. Sour Schorle is made by mixing wine with mineral water. One of Germany's most popular non-alcoholic drinks is Apfelschorle (apple juice with sparkling water), which is usually mixed with slightly more juice than water.

• Beer mixed with lemonade is called Radler ("the cyclist") in the south and Alsterwasser in the north. In East Germany (particularly Berlin/Brandenburg), there is often a variation in which red raspberry soda is used instead of lemonade. This mixed drink is known as Potsdamer.

• Berliner Weiße, slightly sour wheat beer is often drunk mit Schuss, i.e. with some sweet syrup, often raspberry or woodruff. These can be bought pre-mixed in many supermarkets.

• Spezi is a mixed drink of cola and orange lemonade. The original has actual orange juice in it, but many restaurants will just mix orange soda and coke if no pre-mixed Spezi is on hand.

Germany does not have a tradition of sugary fizzy drinks but the usual US-inspired beverages can be had in most places. The generic term for a sugary carbonated drink is Limo, short for Limonade and the usual flavours are gelb ("yellow" or orange-flavour) and weiß ("white", actually transparent and lemon-flavoured). To some extent, sugary soft drinks are seen as being for children in restaurants, with adults usually ordering sparkling or still mineral water, an alcoholic drink, juice or Schorle. Apfelschorle can be bought premixed in supermarkets but restaurants will accommodate all Schorle wishes by mixing juice with sparkling water if they have the required juice. Domestic soft drink innovations are Bionade, a fermented non-alcoholic beverage with organic ingredients and Mate (pronounced with two syllables: mah-tay), a sweetened and carbonated derivation of mate-tea which gives a certain caffeine boost. Both those drinks were especially popular with the urban boheme before finding a more widespread audience.

When ordering water, it will be assumed that you mean sparkling water unless you explicitly order stilles Wasser ("still water"). The cost of sparkling and still (non-bubbly) water is usually the same. The non-carbonated version may contain various salty minerals; if it's important to have plain water, a request for "Etwas wie Evian?" ("Something like Evian?") will give the servers the right idea. If you need plain old tap water, you can ask for Leitungswasser ("pipe water").

With the exception of East Frisia which is particular to tea more than most of the rest of Germany, coffee is the caffeinated beverage of choice. Germans have a high opinion of the Italian and French coffee traditions and thus coffee is often sold under Italian and French names and even a German proud of domestic engineering will appreciate an Italian espresso machine. Coffee chains like Starbucks and domestic clones of it abound in all towns of any size and attract the usual urban boheme, but Kaffee und Kuchen (coffee and cake) is a well-honoured tradition for a lazy afternoon or an informal gathering, albeit with more of a focus on the cake and pastry than the coffee.

In traditional beer gardens in Bavaria, you can bring your own food if you buy their drinks. Most places will offer simple meals. Some Biergärten are also known as Bierkeller (literally beer cellar), especially in Franconia. Historically, Bierkeller originate from the need to store beer in a cool place prior to artificial refrigeration. Thus underground structures were dug and soon beer would be sold directly out of storage in the summer months, giving rise to the Bierkeller tradition as we know it today. Many are set in quite beautiful natural surroundings, but probably the best known ensemble of Bierkeller can be found in Erlangen where they gave rise to the Bergkirchweih, one of the biggest beer festivals in the area. They were dug through a mountain just out of town and gave the city an edge in beer storage and consequently higher production capabilities, which led to beer from Erlangen becoming a household name once the railway connection enabled export. The invention of artificial cooling ended that advantage, however. The cellars still exist and besides their role in Bergkirchweih one of them operates as a normal Keller (as it is often shortened to) year round.

As the name implies, a beer garden is in a garden. It may be entirely outdoors, or you may be able to choose between an indoor (almost always non-smoking) area and an outdoor area. They range in size from small, cozy corners to some of the largest eating establishments in the world, capable of seating thousands. Munich's Oktoberfest, which happens at the end of September each year, creates some of the most famous temporary beer gardens in the world.

In addition to the international fast-food chains that everyone knows, there are also restaurant chains that have their origins and their main focus in Germany. That said, chains don't dominate the food scene and there are a lot of independently-owned restaurants or small "chains" with a handful of locations, especially in the higher price and quality rungs.

• Block House operates more than 42 steak restaurants. The brand Jim Block is a burger chain with the special feature that the burgers are prepared in front of the guest.

• Cafe Del Sol is a restaurant chain with a bar offering a Mediterranean ambience. The restaurant offers international cuisine as well as pizza and pasta with a manageable menu, a second emphasis is a bar with cocktails.

• Cafe Extrablatt is a franchise often found in the centers of smaller cities. They offer anything from breakfast in the morning to cocktails in the evening.

• Gosch specialises in seafood such as fried and cooked fish, lobster, oysters and others. There are over 12 businesses on Sylt and 26 businesses spread across Germany as well as restaurants on the cruise ships Mein Schiff

• Kochlöffel Gastronomy chain with grilled chicken, curry sausage, various burgers, salads and soft drinks.

• Maredo has over 50 restaurants and is known for high quality steaks.

• Nordsee is a fast-food restaurant chain focusing on fish and seafood with several hundred locations, from the pedestrian zone to the motorway service area. It's often your best bet for decent if not outstanding fish dishes when far from the coast.

• Peter Pane another chain of burgers and associated dishes

• Sausalitos is a restaurant chain that offers Californian-Mexican cuisine food and drinks.

• L’Osteria is a restaurant chain with Italian cuisine. The pizza has a diameter of 45 cm, there are also antipasti, pasta, salads, and desserts.

• In Vapiano branches, Italian fast food is prepared in front of customers. The chain attaches great importance to the style of its restaurants, designed by the South Tyrolean architect Matteo Thun. There are antipasti, pasta, pizzas, salads and desserts. The pasta dishes combine pre-portioned fresh noodles, 180 g, of various shapes with various sauces. A lot of their outlets shut down in the late 2010s and early 2020s but they're still a pretty common sight.

• Wienerwald is mainly represented in larger cities with chicken products, the grill chicken is famous. The chain used to be one of Germany's most successful domestic fast food outlets, but tastes have changed and now they have become a much rarer sight.

• Hans Im Glück - Burgergrill is a quick restaurant chain in contrast to the American chains, with high quality products, freshly prepared, vegetarian burgers, alcoholic beverages.

• Tchibo a chain that started selling only coffee but branched out into various consumer goods. You can also have a sit down coffee with surprisingly edible cake there.

Autobahn rest stops in Germany have a reputation for being shabby, unpleasant and overpriced places that take advantage of a captive market. Most of them are owned by Tank&Rast, who run their own restaurants under the brand "Serways", as well as hosting franchised brands. Road signs will inform you of the next rest stop and what's available in terms of food and drink facilities. If the usual suspects of global fast food are available, they'll announce their presence via a tall illuminated signpost with their logo.

• Die Internationale Grüne Woche, the world's largest fair for food, agriculture and horticulture, takes place at the beginning of the year in Berlin.
• Carp and shellfish seasons in months with "r" (using the English names)
• Kale is a typical winter vegetable from northern Germany; in the south, it is not popular. The traditional kale meals take place from November to Maundy Thursday (which falls somewhere between late March and mid-April). In many parts Lower Saxony and Schleswig-Holstein it is a real treat to go on a kale ride with clubs, companies, and other groups in the autumn and winter months. A typical dish is Kohl mit Pinkel, a smoked Grützwurst.

• Carp and shellfish seasons in months with an "r"
• The smelt fish (Stint) spawn in the Elbe for a few weeks from the end of February to April. The fish are gutted and the head removed, salted and then turned into rye flour, fried. And eaten with warm bacon and potato salad. The speciality is offered on the Elbe from the mouth up via Hamburg to about Lüneburg.
• Kale is a typical winter vegetable from northern Germany, though in the south, it is largely unknown. The traditional kale meals take place from November to Maundy Thursday.

• Carp and shellfish seasons in months with an "r"
• The smelt fish (Stint) spawn in the Elbe for a few weeks from the end of February to April. The fish are gutted and the head removed, salted and then turned into rye flour, fried. And eaten with warm bacon and potato salad. The speciality is offered on the Elbe from the mouth up via Hamburg to about Lüneburg.
• The "hop asparagus weeks" in the Hallertau take place from mid-March to early April. The tender root shoots of the hop plant are harvested by hand and offered in the local gastronomy as a speciality. They can only be used as long as the shoots grow under the ground protected from light. The growth is strongly dependent on the weather, therefore the harvest time, of about three weeks, can only be determined shortly before. When the plant shoots grow out of the soil, the harvest is over.

• In March and April, on the Mecklenburg Baltic Sea Coast, e.g. in Wismar, Warnemünde on Usedom and Rügen there are Heringswochen'

• From March to mid-May is wild garlic season; this forest-growing herb smells intensely of garlic and animates many dishes.

• The "hop asparagus weeks" in the Hallertau take place from mid-March to early April. The tender root shoots of the hop plant are harvested by hand and offered in the local gastronomy as a speciality. They can only be used as long as the shoots grow under the ground protected from light. The growth is strongly dependent on the weather, therefore the harvest time, of about three weeks, can only be determined shortly before. When the plant shoots grow out of the soil, the harvest is over.
• Carp and shellfish seasons in months with an "r"
• From March to mid-May is wild garlic season; this forest-growing herb smells intensely of garlic and animates many dishes.
• The smelt fish (Stint) spawn in the Elbe for a few weeks from the end of February to April. The fish are gutted and the head removed, salted and then turned into rye flour, fried. And eaten with warm bacon and potato salad. The speciality is offered on the Elbe from the mouth up via Hamburg to about Lüneburg.
• The asparagus season starts from the beginning to mid-April, depending on the soil temperature
• The Day of Beer is celebrated on April 23rd, because on this day in 1516 the German Purity Law was proclaimed. In many places there are many beer events (Deutscher Brauer Bund).
• At the end of April and in May there is the Maischolle (may plaice), it is caught in the North Atlantic or in the North Sea, measures approximately 35 to 45 cm and has particularly tender meat. It is often served Finkenwerder style with bacon.

• Asparagus season
• At the end of April and in May there is the Maischolle (May plaice) season
• From March to mid-May is wild garlic season; this forest-growing herb smells intensely of garlic and livens up many dishes.
• The Weindorf is a culinary wine festival at the market place in Würzburg. It lasts 10 days from the last Friday in May.

• The asparagus season ends on St John's Day, 24 June.
• From mid-June, Matjes is served, garnished with potatoes in the skin or black bread and fresh green beans.

• July/August is chanterelle (Pfifferlinge) season with many different chanterelle mushroom dishes.
• The world's largest Labskaus meal takes place on a Saturday mid/end of July in Wilhelmshaven. Thousands of portions of Labskaus are sold, the record was reached in 2005 with over 10,000 portions.
• July is the beginning of cherry and plum season. Look for cherries and plum cakes in the bakeries. In the south, Zwetschgendatschi is a seasonal cake that is topped with a solid layer of plums.

• July/August is chanterelle season with many different chanterelle dishes.
• The Internationales Berliner Bierfestival takes place on a weekend at the beginning of August, 2.2 km between Strausberger Platz and Frankfurter Tor, where around 340 breweries from 86 countries presented 2400 types of beer and well over 800,000 visitors from all over the world are expected.
• A weekend at the end of August in Coburg is Dumpling Market. Everything revolves around the Coburg dumpling, also called the Coburger Rutscher. There are various roasts to the dumplings, such as sour and pork roast and roulades with the appropriate sauces
• August/September is mushroom season, porcini mushrooms and other wild mushrooms enrich the menu.

• The new carp and shellfish seasons begin, the first month with an "r."
• August/September is mushroom season, porcini mushrooms and other wild mushrooms enrich the menu.
• Federweißer, Bremser or Sturm, i.e. fermented wine. The serving is limited to a few weeks in autumn.

• Federweißer', Bremser or Sturm, whatever the fermenting wine in Germany is called. The serving is limited to a few weeks in autumn.
• In autumn there are many game dishes' on the menus.
• Carp - and mussel season in months with an "r."
• The Day of open distilleries and breweries is held every year in the Franconian Switzerland on the third Sunday in October
• In Nuremberg the trade fair Consumenta provides a wide range of national and international specialities and the chance to get a taste of some of them.

• There's a lot of game on the menu in the fall.
• Around St. Martin's Day on 11 November, many inns offer goose dishes as traditional goose dishes.
• Carp and shellfish seasons in months with an "r"
• Kale is a typical winter vegetable from northern Germany; in the south it is not as common. The traditional kale meals take place from November to Maundy Thursday. In many parts Lower Saxony and Schleswig-Holstein it is a real cult to go on a cabbage ride with clubs, companies and other groups in the autumn and winter months. A typical dish is Kohl mit Pinkel, a smoked Grützwurst.
• In November the open weekend mummegenussmeile' takes place in the city centre of Braunschweig. Gastronomes offer creations around the Mumme (a viscous malt extract) and at a market you can buy Mumme products.

• The pre-Christmas season is the time of Christmas markets with mulled wine and gingerbread
• Kale is a typical winter vegetable from northern Germany, in the south it is largely unknown. The traditional kale meals take place from November to Maundy Thursday. In many parts Lower Saxony and Schleswig-Holstein it is a real treat to go on a cabbage trip with clubs, companies and other groups in the autumn and winter months. A typical dish is Kale with Pinkel, a smoked Grützwurst.
• Carp and shellfish seasons in months with an "r"