Yah know, this is the second time in as many months that I’ve read about a German visiting an American dining room, and then getting upset at the Americans because he was insulted by the American food.
Aha… here is the first case.
So is this a general characteristic of the German attitude towards food, or are these just two instances of particularly annoying Germans?
If you think about it Sausage and Maple Syrup is not much different to the idea of maple or honey smoked ham which is commonly available in europe.
I tried pig brain the other day. Weird.
It was a pig roast, roasted by a bunch of German tourists, actually. I wasn’t there when they removed said brain, but I did walk up once it was on a plate. They told me what it was and I thought, what the heck?
Except for the large amount of salt the guys put on it, it had no flavor whatsoever. And very mushy. Quite like a salty pate, actually.
Love them both. Every year one of our neighbors has a mountain oyster fry with a keg of beer after they casterate their calves. We always go. Good food.
Heck, after living overseas for this long, I’m grossed out by the portion sizes.
Bughunter,
I don’t think that the German jalpeno victim was *insulted * inasmuch as startled by biting into a nice breakfast burrito and finding out it was (to him) blazingly hot and spicy. But I didn’t witness it personally. So I can’t be definative. What I found most interesting was the way the pilots calmed him down. They suggested that the man could bring a few friends over and watch *them * eat those “little pickle slices.” The man’s eyes lit with an evil glow and off he ran to dilute his suffering with sharing.
Granted, my exposure to German food has pretty much been limited to frankfurters, braunschweiger, and sauerkraut so I’m by no means an expert on their cuisine but I’m having a hard time believing their food is so spiceless that a jalapeno of all things would set his tongue on fire.
I mean, even I can handle jalapenos and until the past few months, I used to hate all hot food.
I had an Irish coworker who couldn’t handle the heat of Worcestershire sauce, so yes, if you’re not used to it, it can blow your head off.
I could be reading them wrong but Hypno-Toad’s posts seem to imply that his acquaintance’s reaction would be normal for a German which is what I’m reacting to… not that this one person couldn’t handle it, which isn’t surprising at all considering my own one-time hatred for the things.
Is spicey food common in Germany?
Well, The reason this story was told to me was to illustrate how bland German food was. In the opinion of the story teller, of course. My limited experience with the Uber-cuisine has been tasty, but hardly spicy. Meat and potatoes are definately a large part of the german diet, but doesn’t saurkraut have a bit of kick?
Some Weisswurst would be good right now. mmmmmmm…
I’m merely of German descent, and I’m a wuss at spicy things. The waiters in Indian restaurants laugh at me. The lady at the Thai place snickers when I walk in. The Mexican place is ready to ban this Gringo for being a baby. Jalapenos literally make my mucous membranes (mouth, lips, gums) swell and turn red.
I’m getting better though! Last week, I had some Tom Yum soup with some of that spicy red stuff and I was so proud…until the owner’s little kid laughed at me and said it had no taste. 
Saurkraut is pungent and sour, not spicy. Its “kick” comes from vinegar and ground pepper, and I can eat it for days. Don’t like it much, but it doesn’t hurt like capsicums do.