The Berliner Currywurst
by Lisa Schuhmacher
The Currywurst – literally translated as “the curry sausage” – is a fast food dish from Germany and therefore often sold as take-away or street food. It is popular all over Germany, but especially in the metropolitan areas of Berlin, Hamburg and the Ruhr Area (eg Dortmund, Bochum, Essen) although between these areas there are differences in the type of sauce used and the ingredients of the sauce.
The meal consists of steamed, then fried pork sausage, which is typically cut into slices and seasoned with curry ketchup – a sauce based on spiced tomato sauce and curry powder. The Currywurst is often served with French fries.
Approximately 800 million currywursts are eaten every year in Germany, alone in Berlin there are 70 million currywursts eaten.
Herta Heuwer invented the Currywurst in 1949 in Berlin, after she mixed ketchup (or possibly Worcesrershire sauce), curry powder and other spices and poured it over grilled pork sausage. She then started to sell her snack at a street stand in Berlin, where it became popular. She later patented her sauce under the name “Chillup” in 1951.
The Currywurst nowadays is a part of the northern German culture as it is an icon for Germans. For instance, former Chancellor Gerhard Schröder is a noted fan of the Currywurst. And also, every mayor of Berlin is traditionally photographed at a Currywurst stand. Berlin also has a Currywurst museum which opened in on 15th August 2015 commemorating the 60th anniversary of its creation. Approximately 350,000 people visit the museum each year.
But how to make the Currywurst?
Ingredients:
3 cans of tomato sauce (15 ounce)
1 pound kielnasa
2 tablespoons chili sauce
½ teaspoon onion salat
1 tablespoon white sugar
1 teaspoon ground black pepper
1 pinch paprika
Curry powder
To make a proper Currywurst dish, it approximately takes 30 minutes.
First, preheat oven to Broil/Grill.Then pour tomato sauce into a large saucepan, then stir in the chili sauce, onion salt, sugar and pepper. Let it simmer over medium heat and then bring it to a gentle boil and reduce heat to low. To make it even better simmer another 5 minutes. Meanwhile, you can broil/grill the kielbasa sausage for 3 to 4 minutes on each side, or until it is cooked through. Then finally slice the sausage into pieces which are approximately 1/4 inch to 1/2 inch thick. At the end, pour the tomato sauce mixture over the sliced sausage, then sprinkle all with paprika and curry powder. Now, the Currywurst is ready to be served!
