Friday, May 31, 2013

German sweet baked treats: not super sweet like US treats

Some American expats have sighed sadly and proclaimed that many German baked goods aren't that sweet. My German instructor even gave us a briefing on the sweetness baked goods, as well (unfortunately, nicht auf Deutsch) and he said that the order of sweetness for baked goods is German, French, and American (with American being the sweetest).

I have eaten some German desserts, in the name of research, of course ;) I like them and find them plenty sweet enough. I had some German cheesecake the other day and liked that it didn't make my teeth ache with sweetness.

Then again, some American baked goods are so sweet that I don't even like to eat them. I bought some cake mix at the commissary and baked cupcakes for friends, coworkers, and the neighbors. I tried one and found it so cloyingly sweet that it was overkill. I did take some to the neighbors, but I secretly worried they wouldn't like them because German baked goods are so less sweet.

In the German cooking class I took, the instructor told us that she doesn't like when the dessert is too sweet because all you taste is the sugar. That makes sense; one loses the nuances of the other ingredients.

2 comments:

  1. I envy your lack of love for sugar. I think sugar intensifies the effect of the other ingredients rather than lessening it. I was able to eat much more healthily in Germany because the baked goods and desserts were so untempting. Not so in the UK, where they know how to make treats sweet, rich, interesting, fun, and delicious. Here come the kilos. :/

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  2. Oh, believe me, I love me some sugar more than what is necessary! However, in the last 5 years or more I've started to enjoy some things without sugar (or sugar substitutes in many cases), like tea, etc. And, the US cake mix tastes crazy sweet!

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