The story goes that the currywurst (curry sausage) was invented in Berlin on September 4, 1949, after a British soldier gave imbiss owner Herta Heuwer curry powder that soon seasoned her snacks. It became the traditional postwar snack for Berliners and Ruhr area residents. It is often served in combination with French fries and has long helped shaped the identity of the working classes.

Traditional German street snacks such as "currywurst" — and its less exotic relative, the "rostbratwurst" (grilled sausage) — are usually eaten at a tall bar table in front of the wurstbude (sausage snack bar). The wurstbude is especially widespread in western Germany and Berlin and serves as a recurring backdrop in the Cologne version of the popular TV detective series, "Tatort."

For northern Germans, fish rolls are the snack of choice. And they're so easy to prepare: White herring (pictured), North Sea crabs or salmon are packed between two halves of the roll and garnished with salad and onions. That's it! The fish roll is a classic German snack "to go" and has been around since the start of mass tourism in the 1960s.

Fish rolls are sold at fish stands like this one in Hamburg's harbor. The maritime snack became a real cult after the former ill-reputed "Reeperbahn" red light district become a party street. Since then, fish sandwiches have been an essential part of any visit to Hamburg — especially after a long night out drinking.

You can find this mainstay of German snack bar culture all over the nation, but especially in the Ruhr area and in the Rhineland. These relaxed and casual locales see patrons stand at tall tables and chat after work over coffee, beer or a sandwich.

The quickly prepared, tasty Italian food began its triumphal march in Germany in the 1950s after the arrival of the first guest workers, which included Italians. It's still one of the most popular snacks today, either as a takeaway slice or sitting down to a full serve of cheese and tomato goodness in a pizzeria.

In the meantime, contemporary foodie stalls and food trucks are springing up across German cities, and festivals, and cater for every diverse taste — and the environmentally conscious. Here someone is enjoying an insect burger in central Germany (Osnabrück) whose protein rich "flesh" was made from cereal leaf beetle larvae — a more sustainable but no less tasty form of animal protein.

Just don't care? Then it's "sausage" to you. Austrian singer, drag queen and LGBT activist Conchita Wurst has said he chose his second name based on this German expression - because it just doesn't matter where you're from or what you look like.

Getting an extra sausage can be sweet rather than savory if it's an extra scoop of ice cream. An Extrawurst can be anything above and beyond what the others receive - like time off work when your co-workers are doing overtime, or a free first-class upgrade when your friends are sitting in coach. If you have three sausages on your plate while the others have two, an Extrawurst is an Extrawurst.

You're a sprinter who's been training for the Olympic games for the past four years. The day of the race finally arrives. While you've been watching your diet, of course, now "it's all about the sausage." That is, the decisive moment has arrived and the stakes are high. If you're Usain Bolt, then chances are pretty safe the outcome will be in your favor.

All good things come to an end. But German optimism - apparently not an oxymoron after all - shines through in this expression. Here, sausage - which indeed has two ends - stands for a second chance. It's up to you to make the most of it.

To "throw ham after sausage" sounds like a vegetarian's nightmare. Indeed, the situation could be dire, or at least is becoming so. Ham is more valuable meat than sausage, so having to throw the latter means the good stuff has run out. Of course, as most of us learned at a young age, food shouldn't be thrown at all. But that's another story.

C'mon, stop acting like a "beleidigte Leberwurst" - an offended liver sausage. Legend has it that "offended liver" dates back to the Middle Ages when people thought our emotions, particularly anger, were connected to our livers. When that was disproven, a sausage story was added for fun: A butcher cooked a pot of sausages and the liver variety was upset that it took longer than the others.

"You poor little sausage!" Being called a sausage is certainly not a compliment - even in a country that loves to eat them. It's often used half seriously to show (partial) sympathy with someone in a tough but not life-threatening situation. Perhaps they have two sick toddlers at home or have to cram for three exams at once. Just get over it? Sausage is also a comfort food.

ikea restaurants made them famous all over the world: Köttbullar, or Swedish meatballs. Sweden has now revealed that the recipe for its iconic dish actually came from Turkey. It was brought to the Scandinavian country by King Charles XII, who lived in exile in the Ottoman Empire in the early 18th-century. Unlike in Turkey, Swedes — and Ikea — often dish up meatballs with gravy and ligonberry jam.

The English muffin actually doesn't come from England, though its creator did. Samuel Bath Thomas moved to the United States from England in 1874. It was only after crossing the Atlantic that he created the popular breakfast food that was baked on a griddle rather than in an oven. English muffins were imported for years into the UK from the US before British producers started making their own.

Döner Kebab can be found worldwide, and many say the popular grab-and-go meal originated in Germany. Kadir Nurman, a Turkish-born restaurateur who lived in Berlin, is said to have been the first person to take traditional Turkish spit-roasted meat and stuff it into a flatbread. While many contest his 1972 "invention," Nurman definitely helped make the meal a German — and a global — culinary hit.

What reputable French bakery would dare to not offer croissants? After all, the buttery, crescent-shaped pastry is practically synonymous with French baked goods. But the croissant actually comes from the Austrian "kipferl." This was brought to Paris by an Austrian artillery officer who adapted it into the croissant. And the "kipferl"? Its origins supposedly lie with the Ottomans.

The Spanish word "faja" means belt or sash, and "fajita" refers to the strips of beef skirt steak used in this dish. While prevalent on menus at Mexican restaurants today, the sizzling meal can actually be traced to West Texas cattle ranchers. The Tex-Mex chimichanga (above), a deep-fried burrito, has a similar story, though it is neither Texas nor Mexican — it was invented in Arizona.

Round with a hole in the middle; boiled, then baked: that's the bagel we know today. For many, it's a New York City specialty, or an American one at least. But the bagel actually traces its roots to Jewish communities in Poland. The name "bagel" comes from Yiddish, which was influenced by German dialects. Bagels were a mainstay of Polish cuisine before Polish Jews brought them to the US.

These crisp, hollow cookies that contain lucky numbers, words of wisdom or prophecies are served after a meal in Chinese restaurants in nearly every country — except for China, that is. They are not a tradition there. The sugary oracle is thought to have been first made by Japanese immigrants in California in the late 19th or early 20th century. A similar cookie is served in parts of Japan.

While hummus' ingredients are easy enough to identify (chickpeas, tahini, olive oil, lemon, garlic, salt), its origins are anything but clear. In fact, they can be downright controversial. Tension over the dip's origins even spiraled into a "Hummus war" after Lebanese and Israel both laid claim to it. The fact remains that hummus can be found widely across the Middle East and Mediterranean.