Oom-pah-pah! Delicious Oktoberfest fare

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Oom-pah-pah! Delicious Oktoberfest fare

By Nancy Acton


This is the time of year when Oktoberfest is celebrated in Germany.In particular, Munich, the capital of Bavaria, is renowned for itshuge beer festival, with thousands of people from Germany andaround the world flocking to the giant beer tents set up bybreweries in the Theresienwiese to quaff great steins of beer, eatwurst (German sausages), pretzels and more, and listen to the"oompah" bands.

The area is jam-packed with humanity from morning till night; theatmosphere is extremely lively, and, by each day's end is not, ofcourse, short of the enebriated.
The story goes that Oktoberfest began when Crown Prince Ludwig(later King Ludwig I) married Princess Thérèse ofSaxony-Hildburghausen on October 12, 1810. The citizens of Munichwere invited to celebrate the happy royal event at festivities heldon the fields in front of the city gates. This proved to be suchfun that the party lasted for 16 days. The fields were subsequentlynamed Theresienwiese (Theresa's Fields) in honour of the CrownPrincess. Horse races attended by the German royal family markedthe close of the event, which was treated as a festival for thewhole of Bavaria. The decision to repeat the horse races in thefollowing year gave rise to the tradition of Oktoberfest, but areno longer part of today's celebration. In 1896, small beer standswere replaced in 1896 by tents from the breweries, and later alivestock show and carnival with carousels were added.
Whether by accident or intention, the 1810 wedding festival came ata time when the stockpiles of Spring beers had to be depleted tomake room for autumn's production. March (or März) is the lastmonth in which Spring beers were made due to the unpleasant tasteSpring beers acquired in the warmer months.
Since alcohol is a natural preservative, these beers wereintentionally made with a higher alcohol content, and are known asOktoberfest or Märzen beers as they contain almost no hops andhave a sweet, malty taste.
Today, many Germans and those of German descent celebrateOktoberfest wherever they are in the world. Here are some classicGerman recipes for you to have your own celebration