In addition to exploring regional German cuisine, I’ve become somewhat preoccupied with investigating the country’s culinary traditions, be it the history of a specific dish and the way it’s eaten, or how an ingredient is seasonally celebrated in the region it’s produced. Superficially, many of these traditions seem rather absurd, but with a little digging, it turns out they have fascinating roots.
Take, for example, the fact that in Germany in 2018, there’s a young man – a 22 year old landscape gardener from the Pfalz – who was last year crowned the first Radish King of Schifferstadt, and has since dedicated much of his time to travelling around the country in a sash, promoting the long white radish grown in his hometown. I’ve written about him and Schifferstadt’s long tradition of radish royalty for the second volume of the beautiful EATEN magazine, a collection of recipes, gastronomic essays and stories about people and food. I can’t wait for my copy to arrive; you can order yours on the EATEN website.
