There are many ways to divide countries – lines can be drawn along sporting teams, religion,
politics, but the most delicious way, is of course food and drink.
So what’s a sausage equator?
Where is it, and what does it divide?
Most borders on earth are formed by natural barriers, ethnography, or historical events.
But there are deep cultural differences that create divisions even within countries – in
Germany, that division is the white sausage equator.
We’ll get to the sausages in a moment, but make sure you stick around to the end of the
video for Australia’s own culinary boundaries.
Germany is a prime example of a nation divided by food.
The prevalence of wheat beer and barley beer separates north and south.
This fruit is an Apfel – except in the north where it’s colloquially known as an Appel.
Germany even has a clear geographical divide in its food supermarkets.
Since the 1960’s, the supermarket Aldi has been split into 2 entities, establishing the
Aldi equator - with Aldi Nord operating to the north, and Aldi Süd in the south.
But Germany’s best example of cultural food division comes in the form of the Weißwurstäquator
– or white sausage equator.
The sausage equator divides north and south Germany, with specific reference to the preferred
kind of white sausage in the south of Germany.
In the south, predominantly in Bavaria – white sausages made from veal and pork are wildly
popular over the perhaps better-known bratwurst or frankfurter.
The exact course of the equator is debated – some people define it along the river
Main, others along the river Danube and others simply within a 100km radius of Munich.
Wherever the exact line, though – the Weißwurstäquator is a serious concept – so serious as to
have made it into the definitive German dictionary, the Duden.
What makes the Weißwurstäquator a meatier topic, is that it isn’t just about preferences
of sausage.
Germany has a rich history of different states that variously clashed and united – and
the cultural, language, and food differences between different states, and especially between
north and south, are still prevalent today.
The white sausage equator and is an analogue for these differences and is subjectively
used by those on either side of the border to highlight them.
Germany is of course not alone in being divided by food.
Neighbouring Switzerland has its own food equator, the hash-potato trench – Röstigraben.
This line separates the culturally Swiss-German portion of the country, where Rösti or hash-potato,
is a staple, from the French-speaking and Italian parts of the country.
While researching this video I found numerous other examples of different countries with
food equators, let me know in the comments what culinary borders your country has.
In Australia we have the unglamorous Red Rooster line – which neatly separates Sydney and
Western Sydney by way of mapping the outlets of a fast-food chain called Red Rooster.
There’s also a debate over how to name this delicious fried potato snack, depending on
which part of the country you’re in.
Cultural and food borders are not set in stone – they are often fluid and can be totally
subjective.
But they’re a good reminder of the historical context in which culture develops, and the
way in which people adapt to different environments.
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Thanks for watching.