Authentic German Potato Salad (2024)

FAQs

Did potato salad originate in Germany? ›

Central Europe

Potato salad / Place of origin

What Is German Potato Salad? For German potato salad, sliced potatoes are tossed with bacon, sautéed onions, fresh herbs, and a mustardy white wine dressing. It's a nice change-up from the classic mayonnaise-based version, and you can serve it warm or chilled.

Kartoffelbrei m

I make mashed potatoes with milk and butter. Ich mache Kartoffelbrei mit Milch und Butter.

40% of all potatoes in Germany come from Lueneburg Heath. Everyone loves the "terrific tuber": in fact, Germany consumes more than 60 kg of potatoes per person and year.

What Is German Potato Salad? Unlike mayonnaise-based American potato salads, German potato salad is tossed in a vinegar-based dressing made with bacon drippings. It is usually served warm instead of cold, but some people prefer to serve it at room temperature.

This Amish Potato Salad starts off with a sweet, creamy dressing that gets drizzled over all the potato salad classics – celery, boiled eggs, onions, and sweet pickle relish. This is a great summer side dish and a nice change from the usual. That sweet dressing is a bit different, but oh so good!

Of all these regional and national dishes, Germany is most famous for Currywurst, sausages, pretzels and Black Forest Gateau, but as you can see, there is plenty more to German cuisine than just these.

The white vegetable in the photo above is actually asparagus. The green variety is more popular in other countries, but Germans love their white asparagus and anxiously await its arrival in spring, keeping a lookout in late April for the first stalks of their "white gold" to appear in stores and roadside stands.

German cooks know what to do with a potato. They turn them into warm salads, tender dumplings, savory pancakes, and more. But fun fact, Germans didn't always have a taste for the tuber.

What do Germans call potatoes? ›

It's called Kartoffel in both Austria and Germany and in parts of either it's also known as Erdäpfel (plural).

In Germany, they are usually known by the French words pommes frites, or only Pommes or Fritten (derived from the French words, but pronounced as German words). Often served with ketchup or mayonnaise, they are popular as a side dish in restaurants, or as a street-food snack purchased at an Imbissstand (snack stand).

The Central Ukraine region is known to yield some of the best country-side potatoes, which are further marketed across the world. Russia is a large producer of potatoes and is marked as one of the top producers compared to China and India.

German Butterball potatoes are medium to large in size and are round to oblong in shape, averaging 10-12 centimeters in length.

While potatoes have become synonymous with German cuisine, their origins lie far from European shores. The Andes mountains in South America are the birthplace of the potato. It was only in the 16th century that this versatile crop made its way to European lands.

But the potato, like the Catholic Church, is an import to Eire—potatoes are actually Peruvian, from thousands of years back, and didn't make their way to Irish soil until the late 1600s.

Pan-fried potatoes are a classic, versatile German dish that is easily adapted with additional ingredients and comes in different flavor combinations. The potatoes are traditionally diced or sliced, then combined with bacon, ham, onions, vegetables, and a variety of fresh herbs and spices.