Gurkensalat – German Cucumber Salad with Dill
One of my favorite things about studying family history in combination with food history is migration patterns. How people left one place and ended up in another and how their food culture changed along the way fascinates me.
My own German ancestors left the fatherland in the early 1800s, arrived in New Orleans and traveled up the Mississippi River to St. Louis. Most of them settled in the southwest portion of Illinois – St. Clair County. There were also German settlements on the Missouri side, namely St. Louis and on westward following the Missouri River.
These early arrivals helped shape our agriculture, schools, cuisine… and most definitely the amount of beer we consume. But, that is a story for another time!
I grew up eating food that was simply Midwestern (USA) to me. As I learned more about my own German heritage, I came to realize my favorite childhood foods are… German. Cucumber salad, warm potato salad, fried pork chops, and potatoes fried in lard are all Midwestern dishes with a close – often identical – relation to German fare.
Both times I traveled to Germany, sitting down to eat in a traditional restaurant was like sitting down at my Grandma’s kitchen table for dinner. Albeit, I had to decipher the German language on menus… something I am not skilled at!
Gurkensalat
I have many German cookbooks, most old, a few new, some in German. While I love them all, a few stand out as my favorites.
Miller’s German Cookbook was first published in Germany. It was a favorite of Americans living in and traveling to Germany so it was republished in English (with German recipe titles) for Americans. My copy is from 1972.
Many of the recipes in this little cookbook are familiar from my childhood although the German names were never used by my family. One of my favorite summer dishes is cucumber salad with creamy dill dressing. Below is the recipe from Miller’s cookbook.
“Peel cucumber and cut in slices about 1/8 inch thich. Oil, lemon juice, or vinegar. Salt and rather heavy pepper. Also served with cream salad dressings. Dill and minced onion or onion rings optional. Frequently used in mixed salads or with potato salad.”[1]Miller, F. 1972. Miller’s German Cookbook. Concord, CA, Nitty Gritty Productions
Miller’s German Cookbook, 1972
While most of the recipes in the cookbook are in a standard format, this one requires you to use a little cooking knowledge to make the salad! So, I have done the work for you. Enjoy my version of German Cucumber Salad!
Gurkensalat – German Cucumber Salad with Creamy Dill Dressing
4
-6 servings10
minutes0
minutesOne girl’s take on traditional Gurkensalat – German Cucumber Salad with Creamy Dill Dressing.
Ingredients
2 cucumbers thinly sliced
1 small white onion thinly sliced (optional)
1 cup sour cream
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
2 teaspoons sugar
1 teaspoon dried or 1 tablespoon of fresh dill weed
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
Directions
- Place the cucumbers and onions in a bowl and set aside. In a small mixing bowl, stir together the sour cream, lemon juice, sugar, dill, salt and pepper. Pour the dressing over the vegetables and toss to coat.
Notes
- If you love dill, feel free to add more to the recipe. I usually go a bit overboard when I make this for myself because I love dill! I also use a dill herb mix that has salt and dehydrated minced onion. If you use something like this, reduce or omit the salt and scale back on the onion… unless you really love onion, too!
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References
| ↑1 | Miller, F. 1972. Miller’s German Cookbook. Concord, CA, Nitty Gritty Productions |
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