Hungry in Berlin

The tomato display at our local Extra is blinding.  Then again, it is always blinding, all year ’round.  Ah, globalization, the glories of greenhouse cultivation, and the resourcefulness of our northwestern neighbors, the Nederlanders.  Factoid: some 1,178 hectares of greenhouses shaked ‘n baked some 525,000 tons of tomatoes in Holland in 1999 (per the Embassy). I’m sure that number’s way higher today.  And, almost a quarter of that ruddy, bouncing bounty comes to Germany.

But, and but. I shouldn’t want tomatoes in winter. And I shouldn’t encourage the clever greenhoused northerners to find even more ingenious ways to solve hunger and stuff and in the meantime, grow a delicious tomato in December.

Delicious?  Hardly.  These things are ping-pong balls with a randy blush.  But that’s news to no one.

While I’m trying not to make a habit of it (in the interest of local fooding and all; choosing tomatoes grown in Deutschen vitro rather than further afield, when possible), I’m buying tomatoes and drying them.  Not completely beef-jerky dry — just enough (say, 50%) to concentrate whatever sugar the thin Northern sun was able to coax to the surface, while still staying a bit juicy.

Oven to 100C. Smaller tomatoes work best; cut them in half, and place cut-side up on parchment or foil on a tray. No need to salt or oil. Let ‘em slow cook for at least 3 hours, or more. Use immediately in pasta or sandwiches or keep in the ‘fridge until you do. Your ideas and recipes always appreciated below…

(Above: “Steinpilze,” aka porcini mushrooms; thanks treegrow)

(This post was generously contributed by Rebecca F. Miller.)

I’ve been looking for any excuse to be outside for the last few weeks, and my favorite places have always been where there are few people and lots of natural landscape. As November waxes, there are precious few days to enjoy one of Germany’s most popular fall pastimes: mushroom hunting. While it’s easy to head to market to find fresh-picked ’shrooms trucked in from Brandenburg, if you’re craving a daytrip to the outdoors – as I and my fellow hunters were a few weekends ago – the woods outside of Berlin are rife with culinary fungus.

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A few days ago, our local Extra started carrying a type of citrus I’d never seen. Green, the size and shape of a grapefruit, they carried stickers proclaiming them as “Sweeties.”

Turns out this is an Oroblanco (called a Sweetie in Japan and Israel, and now apparently here). A cross between an acidless pomelo and a white grapefruit, created by University of California researchers, it’s apparently becoming something of delicacy in the Japanese market. The idea being that it is (surprise) sweeter than an ordinary grapefruit, and less bitter.

A single-serving review: Interesting, but a tad pricy. Ours was sweet, but not as sweet as a good ruby grapefruit. A decently complex taste, with a sour finish. Which I like. This particular one had very thick pulp walls, giving it a bit more of a crunch than a normal grapefruit. Definitely more intereresting to look at than an ordinary grapefruit, but at 99 cents apiece, I’m not sure they warrant the extra spendiness — unless you’re looking for a striking color for the table, in which case they’re an excellent pick indeed .

It’s a tad disturbing to be out of town for a good month and return to find our Hauptstadt trees in little but their birthday suits.  I guess it’s full-throttle fall, which means us kids at HIB get to indulge our secret love of all things stewed and slowly simmered, generally warming and certainly rib-sticking. (There will be Quarkbällchen, but not quite yet. Have to wait at least until after Halloween, I keep repeating to myself.)

So if you find yourself in Pankow this weekend, you can start the season off right by getting your Wild on–that’s wild boar, venison and the like–at the Berliner Fischmarkt on Rothenbachstrasse 48-50. Yes, it’s a fish market too, but this weekend they’re celebrating game meat by roasting two (two!) wild boar on a spit, cooking up some mean wild goulash and offering other autumn treats. According to our local free paper, there will also be fish at the fest.

Personally, I’ve been curious about this fish market for a while, so this sounds like a great opportunity to check it out. Here’s how to get there; the fest rages from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m., Oct. 25 (Saturday). See you there!

UPDATE: So we did attend the Wildfest, and I have to say it wasn’t terribly impressive. Apologies to any of you who may have dragged yourself out to Pankow on a drizzly day. The wild selection was OK — we walked away with a piece of venison tenderloin at 3.25 Euro/100g (no, not cheap) but that was very delicious, and a small hunk of venison salami that was tasty, but as expected, pretty dry.

The fish market, however, was a bummer — the majority of the fishies were obviously past their due date (and yah, maybe it was Saturday, but com’on! It’s a festival! Get some fresh fish!) The selection was fairly standard, and what you’d find at any Extra with a fish counter (both fresh, semi-fresh and smoked.) Bottom line: You’re better off sticking to Frische Paradies, or Kaufhof, or KaDeWe or Rogacki if you’re looking for something fresh. That said, any successful fish buyers out there? Where do you go?

A quick Kollwitzplatz market spotting yesterday: The dark, sweet muscat grapes are here, which make my eyes light up like a kid’s with candy. Because they are essentially candy. I fell in love with a variety of golden muscats in California, but I like the ones here better –  ludicrously sweet with a hint of jasmine or honey, but balanced by the bitter almost-black skins. I think these might be a variety called Black Hamburg, but since my grape expert is currently picking them in France, y’all are on your own with that one.

(However, assuming I’m right, let’s go for moment to the very earnest Charles M. McIntosh, who in his 1855 “The Book of the Garden” (thanks, Google Books) calls this “the best of all black grapes, and introduced (into England) from Hamburg, in 1724 by a Mr. Warner.”  So there you are.)

I generally can”t do muscat wine. Too sweet for me, my head explodes (although I quite like the Pisco, a distilled muscatel liquor, and the national drink of Chile, which Aimee brought back for me this month). But a handful of these will make me happy indeed.

I’ve had a tough time finding coffee beans I like in Berlin. It’s not that I’m one of the aficionados who can tell an Ethiopian bean from a Colombian shade-grown. But it’s a big part of my day. I drink a lot. And I come from the U.S. west coast, where standards (as with beer) have gotten fairly high in recent years.

I brew my own at home, usually with a french press, but with occasional forays into drip, or stovetop-type espresso. I grind my own whole beans, and keep them in an airtight jar, away from light (the keeping-in-freezer thing is trouble, since it breaks down the coffee oils) , and buy small batches, so they don’t age too much before I use them. I use filtered water.

But without good coffee, none of this matters.

Over the last two years, I’ve tried a number of different purveyors. Impala Coffee (several around the city), occasionally produces a decent dark-roast flavor, but I think overroasted. A large cup often destroys my stomach, and makes me jittery and anxious. Zeezicht, on Gleimstr., is typically a bit acidic. Too green. Don’t even get me started on Balzac.

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Well, it’s not Oktoberfest — yet that’s probably a good thing. Starting Friday, 1 August and running through Sunday, 3 August is the “Internationale Berliner Bierfestival,” the self-proclaimed “longest biergarten in the world.” Some 240 breweries from over 80 countries serving up some 1,800 types of brew will be lining the “biermeile” along Karl-Marx-Allee in Friedrichshein. The good news (for those of us who have a preference that we often, given the present surroundings and fear of the small print in the Reinheitsgebot, keep to ourselves) is that this year’s theme is Czech beer — with 32 Czech breweries, big and small, in attendance. But never fear, as this is still very much a German festival, with breweries grouped by region (with freaky groups such as “Middle Ages beer“? Beats me.) And for Americans missing a taste of home, of course, the U.S. Belgian concern Budweiser will be there.

Entrance is free; the beer will cost you. Here’s a list of participants. Zum Wohl!

This summer has seen an outpouring of fresh vegetables like I’ve never seen in 14 summers here. Not only that, the “bio” versions in the outdoor markets are no more expensive — and in some cases cheaper — than the same items in the supermarket.

Making a very rare appearance this year are absolutely fresh green peas. In the past, you’ve been able to get these delightful legumes maybe one year in three or four, and by the time they got to Berlin, the pods were beginning to brown and you had to throw out 10% of the peas inside them. The ones I’ve seen this year are shiny and bursting with fat peas.

The other star of the show is a crop of green beans which are unlike any I’ve seen here previously. Also fat and shiny, they are surprising because, despite their heft, they’re not at all fibrous, and, when properly cooked, give up a wonderfully nutty flavor in addition to the green taste.

I’ve adapted two of my favorite pasta recipes for this joyous occasion, so click away and start boiling some water.

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And no, it’s not the misspelled name of a northern Berlin kiez. Danielle, a recent transplant from Seattle, writes:

I had a question. Can one find panko anywhere in Germany? I looked in the asianmarkt near my house in Charlottenburg but didn’t see it. I have not tried KaDeWe because I am worried about the expense.

A brief primer: Panko is Japanese for breadcrumbs, often used for dishes such as tonkatsu (breaded and fried pork cutlets). Panko is lighter and flakier than the typical “western” breadcrumb and fries up super-crunchy.

I’m bummed to hear that your local Asiamarkt didn’t have panko; most of the outlets I’ve been to have it. Try our favorite Asiamarkt Vinh Loi in Wedding (or try the Charlottenburg outlet at Ansbacher Str. 16, if you’re not feeling like a long day on the U-bahn) or perhaps even the Asiamarkt at Alexanderplatz, across from the Galleria Kaufhof (which also carries it, I’ve been told). It will usually be grouped with other Japanese items (look for the unrefrigerated mayonnaise with the funny picture of a kewpie doll, that’s a sure give-away). When in doubt, try asking for “japansiche Semmelbrösel” (that’s breadcrumbs) and see where it gets you.

And wise choice with KaDeWe — fun, but always pricey.

A specter is looming over German cuisine: the specter of monosodium glutamate.

Now, it’s not my intention to get into the usual thrash about whether MSG is bad for you or not. You’re you, and only you can answer that question. Me, I’m very reactive to the stuff and always have been. Further, I have high blood pressure (as might you: it has no symptoms, and a huge percentage of the population has it, undiagnosed), and the sodium in MSG sets it off. I managed to live through three weeks in Japan, eating it, most likely, three meals a day, seven days a week (except for the day I found an Indian restaurant near my hotel and decided that sounded like a good idea — although it, too, might have used MSG).

MSG, despite its fearsome-looking name, is a natural side-product of the fermentation of soy to make soy sauce, and a chemical which occurs naturally in seaweeds, most notably kelp, or what the Japanese call kombu, one of the two ingredients (the other is shaved bonito) used in making dashi, the broth at the basis of Japanese cuisine. It has traditional uses, and is at the center of the sensation (or fifth taste) called umami.

That’s not what’s bothering me. What’s bothering me is how it’s taken over German cuisine in the past 20 years. Read the rest of this entry »