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Michael Slackman, The Times's Berlin Bureau Chief, looks into the city's obsession with a popular street dish that combines sausage, ketchup and curry powder.
While quintessentially German, currywurst is also a product of globalization, born of diffusion and cultural intermixings. Like so much of the world today, the currywurst is simultaneously local as well as the global. Want to make some yourself? Try this recipe: http://www.thehobbycook.com/2011/07/germanys-favorite-fast-food-currywurst.html
The origins of the currywurst in post-WWII Germany remind me of the Candy Bomber of the same time. The currywurst was born when Germans sausages began being served with American ketchup, then sprinkled with curry powder. During the Berlin Blockade, an American pilot dropped boxes of Hershey's chocolate into East Berlin, mostly for the children. Both American ketchup (Heinz?) and Hershey's candy bars had a role to play in softening our old enemies and helping knit them back into the fabric of Western society.
When I studied about mercantilism in history class a key point was the spreading of culture and how in commercial hubs and large cities cultures fused and traditions and practices were shared. This "Currywurst" although personally sounds disgusting is an example of globalized cultural sharing. Using the local format of sausage and fries and adding new flare with curry powder this dish shows how cultures can mix to create something new.