Typical Food of German Immigrants

The first German immigrants arrived at the Jamestown settlement in Virginia in 1608. By 1832, over 10,000 German immigrants had come to the United States, bringing with them the typical foods of their native land. Today, the ancestors of those immigrants still enjoy these traditional foods. In addition, the foods have been absorbed into America's food culture as well.

Contrary to what some believe, there is no single "traditional" recipe for a German potato salads. German immigrant women each had their own way of making it, starting with cooked potatoes. Other ingredients include bacon, cabbage, broth and mustard, depending on individual taste.

Frankfurter Würstchen, brought to America by early immigrants was a thin sausage, smoked and made from pork. Today it's known as the "hot dog," and it is sold everywhere in various forms and flavorings.

Sauerkraut or "sour cabbage" is a green cabbage sliced very thin, then fermented. Easily, the most recognizable of foods from German immigrants, it became a favorite food on New Year's Eve to represent good luck for the New Year.

German pretzels are formed into a large twist, then baked to a brown crisp outer crust, leaving the inside soft. When the immigrants brought this typical German food to America, it quickly became a favorite snack that sold at fairs and shops nationwide.

Christstollen, also known as stollen, is a cake made only on Advent and Christmas. Stollen represents Jesus wrapped in his swaddling. Stollen was filled with dried fruits and nuts and candied peels from citrus fruit, and making Stollen continued as a yearly tradition with German immigrants.