Enjoying Currywurst - Another German Dilemma?

There are several dilemmas, or at least potential dilemmas, facing our German allies these days. There is the threat of an economic recession and what the future will bring when long-serving Chancellor Merkel steps down in 2021. What will Germany’s role be in a post Brexit European Union? There is the growing problem of immigration and the threat of a far right political resurgence, especially in the states of the former communist German Democratic Republic [GDR/East Germany]. The list continues to grow much to the consternation of the German government and the German people. There is one dilemma, however, that has not received much media attention but is always on a German’s mind. What is the proper way to eat a Wurst, the traditional German sausage in its various manifestations?
Up until the early post World War II years a Wurst should be eaten with a knife and fork when consume at home or in a restaurant. And they are frequently served as Imbissbuden [street food, or take out], along with freshly made sauerkraut and/or carmelized onions and with a generous dab of stone-ground mustard. As a student in West Germany in the early 1970s, I often stopped by one of the several Schnellimbiss fast food wagons situated on the Marktplatz surrounding the minster in Freiburg in Breisgau. They served a variety of Wurst – Bratwurst, Knackwurst, Weisswurst, Bockwurst, and others – in this traditional way nestled between two halves of a freshly baked Brötchen [small bread roll]. Call me a purist if you want, but that is the way I always preferred to eat a German Wurst.
 
Yet things have changed a great deal in Germany over the past five decades. The Iron Curtain and the Berlin Wall have fallen and the two German states have reunified into the dominant economic power in Europe. And Germans now seem to prefer the Currywurst variant over the more traditional version. This is a steamed and then fried Bratwurst

[pork sausage with or without it skin, or Darm] which is cut into small portions and seasoned with a curry-based tomato sauce and then dusted with a few shakes of curry powder and/or other spices. It is usually served with a small wooden fork and a side of pomme-frites. 

The story goes that the Currywurst was first invented by Herta Heuwer on September 4, 1949 in the Charlottenburg district of Berlin. It was the year the two postwar German states were founded and Heuwer had obtained ketchup, curry powder (and some say Worcestershire sauce although there is some debate about this) from a British soldier among those occupying the city after the war. She used the ingredients to season Bratwurst at her Schnellimbiss located at the corner of Kantstraße and Kaiser-Friedrich-Straße in Charlottenburg. She later patented her sauce as "Chillup" in 1951 and opened additional stands around West Berlin. The original food stand remained opened until 1974 and the last of the Heuwer Schnellimbiss stands shuttered five years later. There are now over two thousand Schnellimbiss locations throughout Berlin alone where Currywurst is served, and it popularity has spread and Currywurst stands are now ubiquitous throughout Germany.

So popular is this newer variant that a German Currywurst Museum [Deutsches Currywurst Museum] opened in Berlin in 2009. Dedicated to the history and cultural phenomena of this now iconic German dish, the museum was located at Schützenstraße 70 in central Berlin adjacent to the former Checkpoint Charlie transit through the Wall into East Berlin and the GDR near where Herta Heuwer operated one of her Schnellimbiss. It once welcomed over 350,000 visitors annually before it closed permanently in December 2018 when its original lease expired. There are plans to transform the former museum exhibits into a traveling exhibition serving as an cultural ambassador telling the world about this unique German dish. Only time will tell.

On return trips to Germany, and enjoying curry dishes in general, I began to sample Currywurst in its many variations and quickly developed an appreciation for the classic Bratwurst version (with its slightly crunchy skin) slathered with thick (never runny) curry sauce with a side of fries and a dab or two of mayonnaise for dipping. Even better with a cold bottle of the local beer to wash it all down.

During my most recent visit to Berlin I vowed to sample Currywurst at several of the Schnellimbiss throughout the city well-known for this local fare. I won’t mention them all by names . . . there are just too many . . . and some were better

than others and some were exceptional; Best Worscht, on the Leipziger-Platz just south of the Brandenburg Gate, to name just one. I went back there more than once. I also returned to my old stomping grounds in Freiburg where I visited the Schnellimbiss wagons on the Marktplatz just as I did during my student days there. I found that the Currywurst had replaced the various types of sausage with onions and sauerkraut as the preferable offering among their customers. The times, they are a changin’.

Today the Currywurst celebrates its 70^th anniversary and to commemorate Herta Heuwer’s first offering the Berlin State Mint has issued a silver alloy coin featuring a pair of Currywurst covered in sauce and pierced with a wooden fork with the image of Frau Heuwer in the background. I am still torn between the grilled Wurst served with sauerkraut, onions and mustard served cradled in a small roll, or the spicy Currywurst with a side of fries and mayonnaise. I guess for each of us it come down to a personal preference, or whatever strikes our fancy at any particular moment. Both variants are tasty and beyond satisfying. So I guess there is no dilemma after all. Which is good; the Germans have enough on their hands at the moment.