Where to Start with Gerhild Fulson
Gerhild Fulson grew up in Germany and learned to cook the way most Germans do: standing beside her mother, watching, helping, absorbing the rhythms of a kitchen where meals were made from scratch every day. After emigrating to Canada, she found herself fielding questions from friends and family who wanted to recreate the German dishes they remembered. That led to the founding of her blog, Just Like Oma, which became one of the most popular English-language resources for traditional German home cooking. Her recipes are written with the warmth and patience of someone who genuinely wants you to succeed, and her cookbooks bring that same approachable spirit to the page.
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German Meals at Oma's
Gerhild Fulson · 192 pages · 2018 · Easy
Themes: german cuisine, home cooking, regional recipes, comfort food, beginner-friendly
Fulson’s signature cookbook, organized by Germany’s sixteen states, with 75 recipes that capture the heart of German home cooking. Every dish is photographed, and every recipe includes “Oma’s Ecke” (Oma’s Corner), a sidebar of tips and stories that feels like having a German grandmother coaching you through each step.
Why Start Here
This is the most accessible German cookbook available in English. Fulson strips away pretension and focuses on the dishes that German families actually make at home: bratwurst with sauerkraut, schnitzel with mushroom sauce, potato dumplings, hearty stews, and simple roasts. The recipes are concise and forgiving, written for cooks who may never have worked with German ingredients before.
The regional structure gives the book an educational quality that goes beyond a standard recipe collection. You learn that northern German cooking leans toward fish and lighter dishes, while southern kitchens favor dumplings, roasts, and richer sauces. Each state gets its own chapter, turning a simple cookbook into a tour of German food culture.
What to Expect
A paperback at 192 pages with a photo for every recipe. The recipes are straightforward and most can be completed in under an hour. Ingredients are widely available and Fulson avoids anything that would require a specialty store. This is an ideal first German cookbook for someone who wants reliable, everyday recipes without a steep learning curve.