Germany - a paradise for sausage lovers

Each region is proud of its own special sausage. The Göttingen and Regensburg sausages have been known since the Middle Ages. There is no rival to the "Thüringer Rotwurst" (red sausage from Thuringia) and the grilled "Rostbratwurst" sausage spiced with marjoram. People from Kassel just love their liver sausage, and the Swabians would die for a black sausage spiced with thyme, cloves and nutmeg.

The people from Nuremberg are in dispute with those from Regensburg as to who first invented the finger-size grilled sausage links. But one thing is certain: the "Currywurst" was invented in Berlin - thin slices, garnished with delicious curry-ketchup.

Brawn from Hesse stands in competition with the Bavarian jellied white or black meat sausage. And an air-dried Westphalian soft smoked sausage is always a match for a pork "Bauernseufzer" link (hard air-dried sausage which has to be heated) from Franconia.

A Korn schnapps is called for once in a while. Especially when you are eating brown (!) curly kale with Pinkel, a very spicy sausage with bacon from Lower Saxony. And if it has to be Bock beer, then it should accompany the world famous "Bockwurst" from Berlin. If you prefer a yeast-drunken "Hefeweizen" in Bavaria, have a "Weisswurst" and Brezel as a snack.

What remains to be mentioned is the "Schinkenhäger" (a grain schnapps) when you eat ham - an absolute must-do in Westphalia. A high class schnapps to go with a regional top product. High demands are also placed on specialities in other regions - the black smoked ham from the Black Forest or the Ammerländer ham, which matures over beech wood and ash shavings.

But despite all the purity regulations - a stuffed pig's stomach from the Palatinate only becomes an enjoyable meal with potatoes, just like a spicy sausage from Lower Saxony needs to be accompanied by grits. Or should we stubbornly do away with tradition?