Erbsensuppe

The story

Erbsensuppe is German pea soup, a thick pot of dried peas simmered with root vegetables and smoked pork until they fall apart into a puree. Pea soup is cooked throughout Germany, and regional habit decides the meat, whether bacon, sausage or Kassler, the cured and smoked pork sold by German butchers. A bowl usually comes with sausages on the side and a slice of dark bread. In Berlin, Erbsensuppe with Bockwurst stands on the list of local soups next to Löffelerbsen, literally spoon peas. Dried peas also traveled well. In 1867 the cook and canning manufacturer Johann Heinrich Grüneberg pressed pea flour, beef fat, bacon, onions and spices into a sausage-shaped roll called Erbswurst. He sold the invention to the Prussian army for 35,000 Vereinstaler, and from 1870 soldiers in the Franco-Prussian War carried it as an iron ration, made in a royal factory in Berlin. The Knorr brothers of Heilbronn took over production in 1889, and the instant soup stayed on sale until December 31, 2018. Plan on making the pot a day ahead, then reheat it and add the sausages just before serving with mustard and rye bread.