How to convert from Metric to US for cooking

In order to get the best result cooking any recipe published in our blog or any other blog, you need to have some basic idea about fluid and other measurements. The following is a list of the most important conversions you need to know. Certainly you can find converters on the internet. But it is much easier to print out this one and put it on your fridge.

In some of our recipes you will find things like : … to your liking, by feel or the taste you like.

There is no measure for that. It is more about feeling and taste and you will need to work with our suggestions and your feel and taste.

Fluid

        5 ml     1 teaspoon

      15 ml     1 tablespoon

      30 ml     1 fluid oz. ( actually a little more)

    100 ml     3.4 fluid oz

    240 ml     1 cup (close to 250 ml)

    1 liter        34 fluid oz

    1 liter        4.2 cups ( 4 cups)

    1 liter        2.1 pints

    1 liter        1.06 quarts

    1 liter        .26 gallon

   

Weight

100 gram    3.5 ounces          100 ml

            500 gram    1.10 lbs               500 ml

            1 kilo           2.205 pounds      1 liter

            1 kilo           35 ounces           1 liter

Now remember, those are close and maybe not 100 %, but certainly accurate enough to follow all the recipes and get the job done.

Following you get the temperature conversations you need for your oven and stove. If you have a gas oven you need to refer to your owners manual. We would love to write about gas marks, but different manufacturers have different settings.

Temperature

140 Celsius        280 F

150 Celsius        302 F

165 Celsius        325 F

180 Celsius        350 F

190 Celsius        375 F

200 Celsius        400 F

220 Celsius        425 F

230 Celsius        450 F

240 Celsius        475 F

250 Celsius        485 F

The formula is : 1 F = Celsius x 1.8 plus 32

This should give you a good foundation to work all the recipes we publish or you find online.

Here is what we did. We printed out all of it, put it on a sheet, laminated it and put it on the fridge. So you can use it while cooking and it does not get dirty. Soon we will offer some online. So keep in touch with our blog.

   

How to cook original German Beef Rouladen - a home made recipe with long family tradition

Oma’s Beef Rouladen - simple and  delicious (photos will follow soon)

One of the most famous and most popular German recipes you can cook for your family or guests are Original German Beef Rouladen ( stuffed beef rolls).

Served in many different ways, the following recipe was cooked in our family for decades and we consider it the original for the Mid-German area.

Ingredients to serve 4 guests (2 Rouladen per person or to have some left overs)

8 slices beef top round (approx ¼ inch thick, best fresh cut by your local butcher, it is

  crucial to tell the butch who cuts the beef that the thickness is not more than

  mentioned and that the length of each piece is 12 inches minimum!!)

8 slices Schwarzwaelder schinken (black forest smoked bacon, if you can not find any

  you can use thin slices of smoked bacon as a supplement only!)

2 onions, sliced i( not too thin)

4 dill pickles, sliced (like sandwich slices)

hot mustard (Loewensenf is best, see bottom of recipe for where to get it)

salt, pepper

butter (or oil)

2 cups water (and or vegetable broth) - 500 ml

Note: In order to get the best results original German hot mustard is of great benefit and Loewensenf is by far the best choice and compliments  the other ingredients best.

Preparation of Rouladen

- Season one side of beef with little salt and pepper

- lightly spread German mustard over entire slice

- Place one slice of bacon, some sliced onions and 1 or 2 pickles on top.

- Next roll up the beef slices firmly and tuck in sides securing with wooden toothpicks,

  thread or skewers. ( we prefer thread to keep the Roulade nicely together through out)

-  Heat butter and brown Rouladen on all sides.

-  When Rouladen are nicely browned, add water ( with broth or without )and let simmer for

  about 1 ½ to 2 hrs ( check if meat is tender using a skewer, it should go in smooth)  

-  About 15 minutes towards the end of cooking time, remove all Rouladen out of pot to

  prepare sauce

- The easiest way is to use one or two packages of original Sauce mix :

 

But you can also thicken the sauce with regular brown gravy mix and season it with some salt and pepper. Bring to a cook and add either of the two options. Once you have a nice smooth sauce, turn down heat to simmer and put Rouladen back in pot.

If you like to give it a little extra touch you can add red wine ( which is popular in our family) or a little dark beer. But that is optional.

If no gravy mix has been added you follow instructions as follows:

- To thicken the gravy, remove rouladen and combine flour or cornstarch with

cold water and stir into cooking liquid. When slightly thickened season gravy to taste

with salt and pepper. If you wish a creamy gravy, add heavy or sour cream .

- Return Rouladen to gravy after sauce is done.

In Germany many family use ready sauce mix for decades and then season it to their liking. It makes things easier, but it is a preference.

In our family this is  a favorite dish and delicious with potato dumplings and red cabbage.

For detailed instructions on how to get the potato dumplings and the red cabbage done, please go back to our Sauerbraten recipe following this link:

Make Potatoe Dumplings and Red Cabbage

Our friends always ask for German rouladen when invited for a special dinner!

Rouladen are best served with a glass of red dry wine or a cold dark beer.

Enjoy and let us know how it turn out or if you have questions.

Pictures will follow soon.

How to make a classic German Apple Cake - German Apple Cake recipe

Apple cake is a classic in Germany. No doubt, that this is one of the most baked cakes. There

might be many different ways to make one and a wide range of different ingredients which are used by different people. The following is a simple and easy to make apple cake which was done by our families for centuries. But it never fails to be a welcome pastry for any occasion. If you follow the simple recipe, you will succeed in getting this German classic done.

1)                                                     2)

   

3)                                                      4)

Ingredients:

5 apples (Braeburn works great or apples with similar taste, little sour)

3 lemons

3 large eggs

4 oz. butter

4 oz. sugar

7 oz. flour

2 ½  teaspoon  baking powder

2-3 tablespoon milk

1 teaspoon butter to grease the spring form (10 inch).

For Decoration powder sugar

Preheat the oven to 350°.

Grease the spring form ( bottom and sides) well with butter. A baking brush works best, but you also can use paper towel or baking paper. Do not save on butter. You want to make sure that the cake will not stick. ( greasing the spring form will take about a teaspoon of butter)

Press out the 3 lemons. Mix the lemon juice in about ½ gallon cold water and fill it in a bowl. Peel and pit the apples. Then cut them in quarters and store them in the lemon water ( keeps them from turning brown).

Put all other ingredients in a big bowl and mix them good with an electric mixer for about 2 minutes. Fill the dough in the greased spring form , see photo 1).

Cut the top of the apple quarters with a fork. see photo 2)

Put the apples in circles on top. see photo 3)

Bake the cake for 35-40 minutes on 350° in the oven middle until it is golden brown. After 30 minutes check the dough if it is already golden brown. If so use a spit to prove if the dough is done. Try at different spots and especially close to an apple in the middle part. see photo 4)

If dough sticks at the spit the dough is not ready. Test with the spit again after 5 more minutes.

After 40 minutes the cake should be done. Take the cake out of the oven and let it cool before you remove it carefully out of the spring form.

Last put a little powder sugar on top of the cake, DONE.

Serve it cool or light warm with fresh whipped heavy cream. Makes a great dessert or simply a mid afternoon coffee dish.

Remember, if you have questions about the process, ingredients or anything. Do not hesitate to ask us. Also post comments if you like. But make sure to keep it clean , positive and fun. Thank you for stopping by.