We’ve only been in Tübingen 2.5 months, but we already have a clear favorite restaurant, Zum Gutenburg. That’s the place down the block from us where we get all those egg and maultaschen dishes that I’ve written about. 

When we went there last week they had changed the menu slightly, to add some dishes that are only for winter. I guess the idea is that these are the “stick-to-your-ribs” hearty dishes that involved meat, potatoes, etc that you’d want to eat in the winter, when the weather is colder. You know, as opposed to all those “light” German dishes that are not so heavy. Hmm, I actually don’t know of any German dishes that aren’t that heavy — for me,  German cuisine is always a bit on the heavy side.

But anyway, while this restaurant serves versions of the local Schwabian dishes, it also has dishes from Thuringia, which is a different part of Germany where the owners actually come from. One of the new “winter menu” items is Blutwurst.  For those of you who are long time readers of my blogs, you might recall that we had Blutwurst last year at the big Törggelen dinner that is popular in the autumn months in the South Tirol. Blutwurst is translated in English as “blood sausage”, which I find a rather unappetizing name. While it doesn’t really ooze blood or anything, it is a rather dark red color inside. But the flavor is much more than just the “blood” from the pig, since it’s a mixture of meats and spices.

The Thuringia version of Blutwurst was quite tasty, in fact, since the spices in that version included cloves. That made for quite a nice and varied flavor. It was served with mashed potatoes and a warm sauerkraut that was particularly good. Actually, it was the first version of sauerkraut I have ever liked in my entire life, including all the times we had it in the South Tirol, where it is also quite commonly found. Go figure.

The only strange part about the Blutwurst we had last week was the name of it that was listed on the menu. It actually had two different names listed. I will warn you, the second name is really quite strange, and perhaps a bit off-putting if you’re not inclined to see the oddly offbeat dark humor of it. Forewarned is forearmed, as they say.

BTW, before I give you the names of this dish let me assure you that Blutwurst is made of pig bits and spices, just like any other sausage. No matter what they seem to be calling it.

OK, ready for the names?

The main name for the dish is Himmel und Hölle, which translates to “Heaven and Hell”. Odd, but not overly so.

However, the alternate name used in Thuringia is Tote Oma. Now, Oma is what you call your mother’s mother or your father’s mother. The word tote means “dead”. Which means that the second name for the dish literally translates to “Dead Grandma”.

And here I thought  “blood sausage” was an unappetizing name for this dish.

I cannot even begin to fathom the Thuringia name. We asked the restaurant owner why the dish is called Tote Oma in Thuringia, and she said that she didn’t know. She said even her mother didn’t know, that it’s just the name of the dish. Some things apparently defy explanation, in any language.