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10 yummy German soups

November 13, 2019

The Germans know that one of the best comfort foods for a frosty evening is a steaming bowl of soup. Discover some regional specialties right here.

Symbolbild Bärlauchcremesuppe
Image: Fotolia

The sunlight glistens on red and yellow leaves as they dance down and settle on the ground. Temperatures cool, daylight shortens, and everything turns inwards — hunkering down for the chilly season ahead. 

Read more: 11 sure signs autumn has arrived in Germany

The body and soul long for some comfort, and soup is undeniably a good bedfellow. Healthy, hearty and easier to digest than heavier fare, soup simply feels good for you with each spoonful that goes into your body. And the autumn harvest offers some of the perfect ingredients — such as pumpkin, beans, mushrooms, onions, potatoes and apples — for delicious soups. 

Germans, for their part, know how to make the most of that harvest. And they just love their soup! Indeed, according to the German Soup Institute (yes, there is one), Germans are masters at celebrating the flavorful fluid. They welcome soup as an appetizer before a main course, or turn it into a full-fledged, hearty meal of its own.

Germany's regional traditional recipes for soup are quite diverse. Not even the French, with their world-famous cuisine, have as many regional soup specialties as Germany does, the institute's website notes. 
 
Most countries have their own local soup varieties, while others are standards around the world: like potato, tomato or vegetable. Click through the gallery above to see some specifically German recipes. Yes, you guessed it – there's even a beer soup! What else?!

The gallery below celebrates another vegetable that's popular in German soups — and in unusual sculptures: the pumpkin.

You'll find more from Meet the Germans on YouTube or at dw.com/MeettheGermans.

Louisa Schaefer Culture editor and reporter based in Cologne/Bonn, originally from the US
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