I teach world culture art and enrichment classes to 8-13-year-olds. I offer five-week sessions in which we dive deep into one country in the areas of art, creative activities, and FOOD!
For the first class of every session, we focus our activities on basic country facts to get to a good overview of a country as a whole.
One thing I always try hard to do is prepare (or purchase) the National Dish.
Kids LOVE foreign food!
For our current session, Germany, I made Sauerbraten, a delicious beef dish slow-cooked in vinegar, onions, sugar, cloves, and topped off with a ginger snap gravy.
It was so GOOD!
Serving the national dish is the best way to introduce the foreign flavors of a country and I take time to present it in a way that highlights any foreign ingredients.
Presentation is key with foreign foods and kids. When you talk about a dish before sampling it, make sure to put out a plate with any ingredients that make it unique or different.
For Sauerbraten, I put out cloves and ginger snaps…the two ingredients that make this recipe unique. Not to mention, ginger snaps originated in Germany (bam!).
Give each student a chance to touch, smell, and even sample these unique ingredients. Talk about them and ask your children or students questions about them.
When it comes time to serve the national dish, prepare just enough for a few bites.
Remind your students that the goal is simply to taste something new. There is no need to finish their serving or even like the dish. Kudos to them for even trying it!
If you can wrap in other learning opportunities with serving the national dish, then you will successfully make this an experience to be remembered for your children or students.
For example, after going through our Germany Country Facts board I then served the sauerbraten…
…and followed it up with a fun game of Germany Concentration.
Whatever the country, whatever the national dish, any effort you make to add world cuisine to your family, homeschool, or classroom life is an effort well worth it.
Kids thrive on new experiences and new experiences make kids yearn for more. This is what drives me forward as a world culture teacher every day.
What national dishes have you made? What were your childrens’ or students’ reactions?
I invite you to leave a comment about this Germany recipe for kids below.
