Currywurst (German pronunciation: [ˈkœʁiˌvʊʁst]) is a fast-food dish of German origin consisting of hot pork sausage (German: Wurst) cut into slices and seasoned with curry sauce (regularly consisting of ketchup or tomato paste blended with curry) and generous amounts of curry powder, or a ready-made ketchup-based sauce seasoned with curry and other spices. It is frequently served at German 'Imbissbuden' and from food trucks.
The invention of currywurst is attributed to Herta Heuwer in Berlin in 1949 after she obtained ketchup, Worcestershire sauce and curry powder from British soldiers. [1][2] She mixed these ingredients with other spices and poured it over grilled pork sausage. Heuwer started selling the cheap but filling snack at a street stand in the Charlottenburg district where it became popular with construction workers rebuilding the devastated city. She patented her sauce, called Chillup, in 1951.[2] At its height the stand was selling 10,000 servings per week.[3] She later opened a small restaurant which operated until 1974.[4]
Today, currywurst is often sold as a take-out/take-away food, Schnellimbisse (snacks), at diners or "greasy spoons," on children's menus in restaurants, or as a street food. Usually served with french fries or bread rolls (brötchen), it is popular all over Germany but particularly popular in the metropolitan areas of Berlin, Hamburg and the Ruhr Area. Considerable variation both in the type of sausage used and the ingredients of the sauce occurs between these areas. Common variations include the addition of paprika or chopped onions. Often currywurst is sold in food booths, sometimes using a special machine to slice it into pieces, and served on a paper plate with a little wooden or plastic fork. It is also sold as a supermarket-shelf product to prepare at home.
An estimated 800 million servings are sold in Germany each year.[5]
In popular culture
The currywurst is an icon of German popular culture. Former Chancellor Gerhard Schröder is a noted fan of currywurst.[6] By tradition, every candidate for Bürgermeister (mayor) of Berlin is photographed by a currywurst stand.[7]The song Currywurst on Herbert Grönemeyer's 1982 album "Total Egal" is a tribute to the snack.[8]
The 1993 novel Die Entdeckung der Currywurst ("The Discovery of the Currywurst") by Uwe Timm was made into a 2008 film of the same name. The plot is based on an alternative but unproven theory that currywurst was invented in Hamburg.
The Deutsches Currywurst Museum opened in Berlin on August 15, 2009, commemorating the 60th anniversary of its creation.[3] Curator Martin Loewer said "No other national German dish inspires so much history and has so many well-known fans".[5]
The Currywurst is also regularly featured in school books.
References
- ^ http://www.nytimes.com/2011/01/27/world/europe/27berlin.html?ref=michaelslackman
- ^ a b Paterson, Tony (2009-08-15). "Spicy sausage that is worthy of a shrine in Berlin". London: The Independent. http://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/food-and-drink/news/spicy-sausage-that-is-worthy-of-a-shrine-in-berlin-1772530.html. Retrieved 2010-04-30.
- ^ a b "Honoring the best of the Wurst of German Cuisine". Deutsche Welle. 2009-08-15. http://www.dw-world.de/dw/article/0,,4573436,00.html.
- ^ Kessler, Roman (2009-08-27). "The Craze Over Currywurst". Wall Street Journal. http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052970204884404574364600782551292.html?mod=googlenews_wsj.
- ^ a b "German cult sausage gets own museum". Reuters. 2009-08-13. http://www.reuters.com/article/lifestyleMolt/idUSTRE57C46Q20090813.
- ^ "Sausage Museum Celebrates Berliners’ Romance With Currywurst". Bloomberg. 2009-08-13. http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601088&sid=aPQQVvnljZIM.
- ^ Boyes, Roger (2009-08-15). "Berlin dedicates museum to street-corner snack of wurst cuisine". London: Times Online. http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/europe/article6797043.ece. Retrieved 2010-04-30.
- ^ Grönemeyer, Herbert. "Currywurst" (in German). groenemeyer.de. http://www.groenemeyer.de/musik/alben/total-egal-1982/titel-texte/03-currywurst/. Retrieved 26 November 2009.