You might wonder what rare words have in common with recipe names that make people’s heads turn. Well, for one, I have been around for a few years and once in a while I have to explain obsolete words like typewriter, dictating machine, shorthand, telegram to my younger students. This is one reason why I like old dictionaries with that part of my former life still in it. I guess that is a nostalgic linguistic streak in me. On the other hand – use the search engine for modern words like computer forum and you get 331,000,000 entries. I have just typed in dictating machine, and I got a mere 1,680,000 results.

With everything being at our fingertips, the whole world knows about Spanish tapas, Japanese sushi, American spare-ribs, etc. Then I typed in Krautspudel, a Franconian dish, and I got one –yes, only one– single entry. This deserves further attention. The name and recipe are rather unique to the extent that the knowledge of how to make it will be on the list of “endangered recipes” in the near future.

The literal translation is: Cabbage Poodle.

Did you think for a moment that I have made up this word? If so – you are wrong. Krautspudel is a Franconian dish made up of Sauerkraut and pork steaks, with a gigantic bread dumpling sitting on top in one big pot. Brown gravy is made on the side.

As kids, I remember we used to cram around the kitchentable to get our helping of Krautspudel. With five kids, mother and father, a grandmother and an unwed aunt living at home, we had to eat in shifts. But it was worth it.

My mom passed away several years ago and with her went the knowledge. My dad, who used to help her in preparing this time-consuming dish, offered to help me revive it. We were able to get his help twice in preparing it before he passed away.

Recently my husband has been after me to try it before my own memory and strong upper arms would fail me (due to the kneading one has to do). Seasoning the Kraut and browning/steaming the porklets till they get soft while sitting on the Kraut is the very easy part. Getting a silly yeast dough to rise is the hardest. Admittedly, I don’t make too many dishes from scratch anymore like my mom used to do. I can’t blame it on lack of time, because my mom could not have had much time either feeding nine people, doing laundry by hand, and tending the crops on our farm’s fields. No, many of us are out for convenient food and Krautspudel would not be on that list.

If you are interested in keeping obsolete German words alive, then take a look at the following website:
http://www.languagehat.com/archives/002627.php

Bodo Mrozek also published a lexikon of endangered German words:
http://www.pension-sprachschule.de/index.php/on-culture/lexikon-der-bedrohten-worter/

I find endangered words and endangered recipes from one’s childhood are almost like baby pictures. Has it ever happened to you that you ran across some childhood food by chance and it made you exclaim: “Wow, I have not eaten that in years!” It brings back memories, including flashbacks.

This is what happened to my brother who was here for the weekend. He was the first out of my four siblings to sample “my” Krautspudel. A single guy, not much into cooking for himself, he asked me to write down the recipe for him. I believe he wants to try to make it himself! This food got us to talk about our childhood, how our dad would have chided us for not covering pots while something was cooking, how mom used to call us to dinner by yelling simply: “Hello!”, etc. This food brought back many fine memories and we had some good laughs as well.

If one of you would like to have this time-honored recipe for Krautspudel, then let me know.