The Best of the Wurst

[Carol Atkins]

Germany was so much fun to see. I visited when I was in my 20s, just me, my backpack and not enough traveler's checks. It was quite a different trip altogether when I traveled with a YMT group last fall. Happily, my backpacking days are far behind me. I love the experience of visiting a place with a group, a new bunch of friends, and a travel director who's familiar with the ins and outs of a destination.

On our tour we traveled everywhere, to nearly every corner of the country, it seemed. Alright, I may be exaggerating, but we did pack a lot into not that much time. I revisited some of the landmarks that I'd seen on my original trip there, and discovered some new ones. But the one constant that was the same on both trips was the wurst.

I just have a weakness for the German sausage. From the bratwurst to the schnitzel, I love that every butcher has his own secret combination of spices and seasonings. As many different variations as you try, you'll rarely come across two that are identical.

While we were on our daytrip excursions, I always made sure to get a recommendation for a good street vendor from the locals. I tried to go to at least one per day. I know, you're probably thinking that sounds like an awful lot of meat! Well, honestly, it was. But I figured that I'd be walking it off anyway. And when in Germany...

My absolute favorite was the currywurst. Would you believe there's even a currywurst museum in Berlin? I think that I'll have to go back to Germany yet again and do a strictly food tour. Currywurst is unline anything I've ever seen in North America but it's so good I just had to beg a recipe off one of the vendors; since I've been home I've been making it for all of my friends. I just can't get enough.

Here's the recipe. Keep in mind that the measurements can vary according to your taste, or the ingredients you have on hand. I really haven't had it turn out badly yet...

• small can of tomato paste
• 2 small tomatoes (diced)
• 1 clove garlic (minced)
• 1/4 white onion (diced)
• 1/2 cup white wine vinegar
• 1/2 cup corn syrup (to sweeten and thicken)
• 1/8 tsp allspice
• 1 tsp curry powder (plus extra to sprinkle over top before serving)
• dash or two of Worcestershire sauce
• 1/4 cup water
• 1 tbs salt

1. Saute the onion garlic and curry powder in oil, then add in the tomato paste
2. once it's smooth, add in the remaining ingredients and simmer for nearly 15 minutes; blend
3. brown bratwurst and slice into 1-inch pieces
4. put bratwurst on thick bread or fries, top with sauce and sprinkle with extra curry powder

*Note: you can serve it "scharf" to your friends - just sprinkle extra cayenne powder on top before serving!