[MKOB] FW: Interesting !

[HArtzog]

Yes Virginia, there are other German purity laws aside from  Reinheitsgebot.
Read On ! Hail to the BRAT !







World

German archives suggest Thuringian Rostbratwurst, a worshipped sausage, was
regulated in 1432, before the world-renowned Bavarian beer purity law of
1516.


*Dec. 7, 2007, 12:13AM*
Revered German sausage has history on its side
Decree shows popular bratwurst regulated before Bavarian beer

By CRAIG WHITLOCK
Washington Post



WEIMAR, GERMANY — It's the German version of the chicken-or-the-egg
conundrum: Which was regulated first, beer or bratwurst?

For centuries, brewers seemed to have history on their side. As evidence,
they cited the world-renowned Reinheitsgebot, the Bavarian beer purity law
of 1516, which stipulated barley, hops and water as the only permissible
ingredients in the German national drink.

But thanks to Hubert Erzmann, a 75-year-old amateur historian, sausage
lovers are crowing these days. Digging in the Weimar city archives, Erzmann
unearthed a yellowed, handwritten parchment from 1432 that laid down the law
regarding the production of Thuringian Rostbratwurst, perhaps the most
popular variety of sausage in a country where wurst is worshiped as sacred
grub.

The official document decreed that bratwurst from this corner of Thuringia,
today a central German state, be made only from "pure, fresh" pork.
Forbidden were beef, internal organs, parasites and anything rancid.


      A holy find

Although the regulations might not sound revolutionary, wurst aficionados
have described the bratwurst purity law as a holy find, almost as
significant to German culture as a Gutenberg Bible.

"As soon as I found it, I ran to the director of the archive and said,
'Look! Look what I found!' " recalled Erzmann, who has haunted the archives
for years in hopes of making such a discovery.


      Purity rules

Food purity laws hold a revered place in the German soul. When the modern
German nation was formed in 1871, Bavaria joined on condition that its beer
purity rules be applied to the entire country.

Even today, spoiled meat outbreaks are a national scandal and consumer
protection is considered among the most important functions of government.

"The medieval regulations in Germany were incredibly modern," said Michael
Kirchschlager, an author who writes about Thuringian culture. "When you
think of the Middle Ages, you think the food wasn't necessarily that safe.
But the hygiene in many ways was better than today."

A replica of the bratwurst purity law soon will be enshrined at the German
Bratwurst Museum (www.bratwurstmuseum.net), located 24 miles away in
Holzhausen, a village whose main intersection is marked by a giant
sausage-and-bun sculpture.

The museum, run by an organization called Friends of Thuringian Bratwurst,
opened last year and is packed with exhibits describing the social and
political history of the famous wurst.


      History of the bratwurst

Visitors learn that a man named Hans Stromer ate 28,000 bratwursts during a
long stint in jail in the 16th century. There's also a corner dedicated to
Karl Sterzing, a Fleischermeister, or butcher, from the village of
Grossbreitenbach, who grilled an estimated 2 million bratwursts at his home
between 1945 and 1985.

In Thuringia, each man, woman and child consumes an average of 60 bratwursts
a year, according to statistics compiled by the museum.

The bratwurst industry in the state employs about 18,000 people. And the
public hospital in the town of Bad Berka mandates that all patients and
staff be served bratwurst for breakfast every Monday morning.


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