Schwäbische Wurzeln (Swabian Roots)

I have been discovering that many of the foods and traditions I have known as "German" actually come from the region where I'm living, the Schwabenland, or Swabia in Southwestern Germany. My first discovery was the most surprising. I was wandering through a neighborhood of Stuttgart called "Bad Cannstatt", when I came across a club (Volksfestverein) called the "Cannstatter Volksfestverein". One of Philadelphia's oldest and largest German-American clubs is named--you guessed it--Canstatter's. I was intrigued by this similarity and so I looked up the history of the Philadelphia Cannstatter's. Canstatter's website gives a detailed history of the Philadelphia club and confirms that the club does indeed stem from the neighborhood of Bad Canstatt! I have known the Philadelphia club since I was four years old because that's where my German Saturday School put on its biannual concerts and recitals. I have vivid memories of the food, the dancing, the polka band, and even Old St. Nikolaus, who gave presents to children at each Christmas concert. How bizarre that I end up in the exact Stuttgart neighborhood from which this club originated!

The proof.

Bad Canstatt alleyway where the original Canstatter's is located.

The other surprises are nowhere near as exciting, but still interesting. I learned that the German noodle, Spätzle, also comes from Swabia. One of my co-workers from Northern Germany told me that she had never had Spätzle before she moved to Stuttgart. Weird. I've always thought of Spätzle as a German staple.

Today I discovered a new food, or rather learned what it was after having heard the term for weeks: "Maultaschen".  We had a group lunch at work today and on the table were two huge pots with what appeared to be oversized ravioli in a vegetable broth. These turned out to be the Maultaschen (one pot meat, one pot vegetable) that I had heard so much about. Inside the vegetarian Maultaschen was spinach, leeks, and onions. Inside the meat Maultaschen was minced meat, more meat, spinach, and onions. There's a story behind the name Maultaschen: they are also called "Herrgottsbescheißerle", which roughly translates from Swabian dialect to English as "little cheaters on God". They were supposedly invented by a monk during Lent, when Catholics and other Christians are supposed to refrain from eating meat. Since the meat is concealed inside the dough (just like a ravioli), God cannot see the meat and therefore it's okay to eat meat inside Maultaschen during Lent. So goes the story.

I was reminded this week that no matter where you go, food is always one of the best ways to get to know a culture. Of course it helps to have people with you who can explain all the fun background stories, too!