

The Currywurst Museum, which recently ended a 10 year run in Berlin to start a traveling museum, estimates there are 800 million portions of currywurst eaten in Germany every year and 70 million portions eaten annually in Berlin alone. Few people adore it as much as Berliners, though. Now, you can find currywurst around the world.
CURRY WURST FREE
Eventually, flavor won out and currywurst broke free from its working-class roots to be consumed and loved by everyone. Gelsenkirchen - Ins langersehnte Comeback-Wochenende starteten die Schalker mit Currywurst und Pommes. Heuwer opened multiple shacks to sell her creation, and other vendors built off her success. This was the beginning of a tale of female entrepreneurship that led to the creation of contemporary Berliner’s most beloved street food.īritish laborers were loyal to currywurst due to its high protein, taste, and cheap price.
CURRY WURST SERIES
The British also had a mix of Indian spices, and through an unknown series of events, Heuwer started sprinkling the spices over the ketchup. If they gave her ketchup to pour over her sausages, she’d trade them alcohol, so the legend goes.

She was selling sausages in the British-occupied section of Cold War Berlin when she struck a deal with the soldiers stationed in the city. Das 2009 in Berlin eröffnete und bis Dezember 2018 bestehende Deutsche Currywurst Museum folgte dieser. Today, it remains the same.Īt its core, currywurst is a simple street food - something you can eat while standing up, on-the-go, or late at night after a few too many beers.According to the Currywurst Museum, the snack was invented by Berlin street vendor Herta Heuwer. Die Erlebnisse mit Bremer haben den Schlusspunkt für ihre Liebesmöglichkeiten gesetzt, und ihre Imbissbude wird die Grundlage für ihren weiteren Lebensunterhalt, die Currywurst ihr Markenzeichen. During the lifetime of the Berlin Wall, the East had no access to casing for the sausage, and, therefore, the currywurst in the East tended to be softer than its Western counterpart. The difference in taste is particularly evident whether you're in East or West Berlin. There is no McCurrywurst, nor is each stand the same.
CURRY WURST MOVIE
However, its simplicity, accessibility, low cost, and large following of movie stars, businessmen, and high-profile politicians, including Chancellor Angela Merkel, Gerhard Schröder and Berlin mayor Klaus Wowereit, reflects Berlin's egalitarian attitude towards food.Īlthough it rivals New York City hot dog stands and carries the qualities of fast food, currywurst has managed to escape mass-manufacturing. (Berlin is one of the greenest cities in Europe, and Germany as a whole has one of the highest followings for the international movement known as "Slow Food.") In the aftermath of WWII, the city was divided into four different sectors, each one controlled by either the United. This simple street food, with origins stemming from a combination of post-war hunger, resourcefulness, and openness to new flavors, may seem like a culinary contradiction in a city like Berlin, with its large sprawl of bio and organic markets and its renewed interest in supporting local agriculture. Next, add the sugar, red wine vinegar, stir and season lightly with salt and pepper. Stir in the crushed tomatoes, stirring to fully blend. Add the curry powder and paprika, stirring to incorporate and allow the spices to cook for 1 minute. The trade created the dish - composed of German sausage, or wurst, sliced and doused in ketchup and sprinkled with curry powder.Īn odd and unforeseen match, currywurst became an overnight success and eventually a staple, mainly amongst construction workers who valued its high protein content, hint of exotic flavor, and low cost.Īt first it maintained this function as a substitute for a poor man's steak, but soon it extended beyond the proletarian palate and became a popular meal amongst Berliners of all social apparati. In a medium-sized heavy saucepan, heat the oil, then add onion and saute until soft and translucent. In 1949, a resourceful German housewife, Herta Heuwer, traded some spirits with British soldiers for ketchup. The currywurst's origins are attributed specifically to the German capital. The traditional German street food known as "currywurst" provides such a case, allowing outside observers an opportunity to taste something unique, indulge in a little post-war history, and discover how the universal need for food can bind individuals and groups together. Though currywurst is simple street food, its gastronomical growth provides a window into Berlin's post-war mentality.Īnthropologist Sydney Mintz once said, "The mystery of food taboos is a test case for exploring a culture's gustatory selectivity."
