Right, sugar on bread! I was always a bit surprised when my mum came up with hot noodles covered in sugar and cinnamon myself. We occasionally had that as lunch.
The sugar and cinnamon on noodles or rice or bread thing is fading now. The generation of my parents would still eat it, while most younger people don't. I suspect those dishes were born from post-WWII deprivation.
And I hear you on the Northern oddities, because frankly a lot of North German specialties are basically overcooked slop. And I am from North Germany and grew up with my mother regularly serving such culinary concoctions as "Braunkohl und Pinkel", "Labskaus", "Knipp", "Palbohnensuppe" and "Plukte Finken". "Erbsensuppe" (Pea soup) is about the only one of those dishes I actually like and still eat, though my Mom still makes most of them on occasion. Another North German specialty I'm still very fond of is herring salad made according to my grandma's recipe.
An added problem is that the "Braunkohl and Pinkel", "Labskaus", "Knipp", etc... served in restaurants is mostly not very good. The homecooked version is generally much better, if you can find someone to make it for you or make your own.
Since a lot of those regional specialties were originally homecooking type foods, they generally taste better when they're actually homecooked. Besides, locals usually know which restaurants are good for specialties and which are overpriced tourist traps. Visitors have no way of knowing that.
With "Braunkohl" you have the added complication that it's traditionally eaten by big groups of people, who previously wandered around the countryside drinking copious amounts of alcohol (a custom called "Kohlfahrt") and then stop at a restaurant to have "Braunkohl". Which means that the restaurants specializing in "Braunkohl" tend to cater to very large groups and the food is basically mass-cooking. "Kohlfahrten" are fun for the community feeling, but if you actually want good Kohl, it's better to cook your own.
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And I hear you on the Northern oddities, because frankly a lot of North German specialties are basically overcooked slop. And I am from North Germany and grew up with my mother regularly serving such culinary concoctions as "Braunkohl und Pinkel", "Labskaus", "Knipp", "Palbohnensuppe" and "Plukte Finken". "Erbsensuppe" (Pea soup) is about the only one of those dishes I actually like and still eat, though my Mom still makes most of them on occasion. Another North German specialty I'm still very fond of is herring salad made according to my grandma's recipe.
An added problem is that the "Braunkohl and Pinkel", "Labskaus", "Knipp", etc... served in restaurants is mostly not very good. The homecooked version is generally much better, if you can find someone to make it for you or make your own.
Cora
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With "Braunkohl" you have the added complication that it's traditionally eaten by big groups of people, who previously wandered around the countryside drinking copious amounts of alcohol (a custom called "Kohlfahrt") and then stop at a restaurant to have "Braunkohl". Which means that the restaurants specializing in "Braunkohl" tend to cater to very large groups and the food is basically mass-cooking. "Kohlfahrten" are fun for the community feeling, but if you actually want good Kohl, it's better to cook your own.
Cora
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