Delicatessen Salads: more than just Luxury – the Diversity of Culinary Delights
The term “Feinkost” (delicatessen) is often associated with expensive or hard-to-obtain foods like caviar, oysters, or champagne. However, delicatessen salads such as potato salad, herring salad, and shrimp salad are also included. Originally defined by the Federal Association of the German Delicatessen Industry, “Feinkost” encompasses foods that meet special requirements through their high quality and taste.
The guidelines for delicatessen salads in the German Food Book describe the product group as follows: “Delicatessen salads are ready-to-eat products made from ingredients of animal and/or plant origin in a sauce that is flavored accordingly.” These sauces typically consist of mayonnaise or salad mayonnaise as well as other emulsified preparations. They may contain ingredients such as edible oil, vinegar, cream, yogurt, crème fraîche, and sugars, as well as seasoning ingredients. The guidelines provide orientation for the production and quality of delicatessen salads but are not legally binding.
In addition to delicatessen salads, Feinkost includes a wide range of products that meet high culinary standards. These include delicatessen sauces such as mayonnaises, remoulades, salad dressings, and dressings, as well as seasoning sauces like Worcestershire sauce and ketchup. Other products include tomato paste, horseradish, and relishes. High-quality fish products such as cream herring fillets and marinades are also included.
Delicatessen Salads with Meat: Variety and Quality
Delicatessen salads with meat typically contain:
- At least 28% meat, meat salad base, or cooked sausage, according to the guidelines of the German Food Book.
- A sauce made from mayonnaise (at least 80% fat content), salad mayonnaise (at least 50% fat content), or salad cream (less than 50% fat content).
- A maximum of 25% cucumbers and other seasoning ingredients.
For delicatessen salads with quality designations such as “Delikatess-Fleischsalat” (delicacy meat salad), the meat content increases to at least 34%, while the cucumber content decreases to a maximum of 16%.
Fish and Seafood Salads
Fish salads such as tuna, salmon, and mackerel salads contain at least 20% fish. In the case of tuna, the fish is cooked, while other varieties may use marinated or preserved fish. Other ingredients can include vegetables, fruit, eggs, and seasoning ingredients.
Herring and matjes salads have a higher fish content:
- Herring salad: Contains at least 25%, often more than 30%, chopped and marinated herring. Other ingredients include cucumbers, beets, onions, celery, tomatoes, peppers, apples, and capers. Quality products like “Feiner Heringssalat” (fine herring salad) contain at least 35% herring, without meat additives.
- Matjes salad: Consists of at least 50% matjes-style salted herring fillets, prepared with vinegar, oil, cucumbers, onions, and other types of vegetables.
- Shrimp salad: Contains at least 40% cooked, peeled shrimp in a spicy sauce. For North Sea shrimp salad, only North Sea shrimp are used.
Potato Salad and other Delicatessen Classics: Tradition Meets Innovation
Potato salad is one of the best-known delicatessen salads and typically consists of half cooked potatoes. If it contains value-adding ingredients such as marinated herring fillets, the potato content may be lower. The same applies to egg salad, which usually contains 40% cooked eggs – depending on other ingredients, such as North Sea shrimp, this proportion may vary. To make an informed purchase decision, it’s worth taking a look at the list of ingredients, which transparently lists all components.
Did You Know…?
What actually defines Feinkost? The term stands for fine specialties that don’t come to the table every day. Even 40 years ago, Feinkost was described as a delicacy or treat – a pleasure for the refined palate.
Delicatessen salads stand out from simple salads: They often contain meat, fish, or eggs, combined with creamy sauces. Light fare? Not really – a look at the nutritional table shows that. And this brings us full circle: Feinkost is not intended for daily consumption in large quantities, but for conscious enjoyment.
