Herta Heuwer
Encyclopedia
Herta Charlotte Heuwer (June 30, 1913 in Königsberg
- July 3, 1999 in Berlin
) invented the take-out
dish that would become the world-renowned currywurst
on September 4, 1949. The day before what would have been her 90th birthday, a plaque was dedicated in her honour on the corner of Kant and Kaiser Friedrich Streets, Berlin where she first produced the dish. The original Currywurst was a boiled sausage, fried, with a sauce of tomato paste
, Worcestershire sauce
, curry powder and other ingredients.
In January 1959, Heuwer registered a trademark for her sauce, Chillup.
She moved her business to a larger facility at Kaiser-Friedrich-Straße 59, which, during its heyday, was open day and night and employed 19 saleswomen. A plaque at this location commemorates the woman and her invention.
Other sources claim that currywurst
was invented in Hamburg. Author Uwe Timm
contends in his novel The Discovery of Currywurst that he had eaten currywurst in Hamburg as early as 1947, but the inventor of Currywurst in his novel, Lena Brücker, is an admitted literary license. However, that did not prevent the former Hamburg Senator of the Interior Ronald Schill
from honoring Lena Brücker in 2003.
Königsberg
Königsberg was the capital of East Prussia from the Late Middle Ages until 1945 as well as the northernmost and easternmost German city with 286,666 inhabitants . Due to the multicultural society in and around the city, there are several local names for it...
- July 3, 1999 in Berlin
Berlin
Berlin is the capital city of Germany and is one of the 16 states of Germany. With a population of 3.45 million people, Berlin is Germany's largest city. It is the second most populous city proper and the seventh most populous urban area in the European Union...
) invented the take-out
Take-out
Take-out or takeout , carry-out , take-away , parcel , or tapau , is food purchased at a...
dish that would become the world-renowned currywurst
Currywurst
Currywurst is a fast-food dish of German origin consisting of hot pork sausage cut into slices and seasoned with curry ketchup, regularly consisting of ketchup or tomato paste blended with generous amounts of curry powder, or a ready-made ketchup-based sauce seasoned with curry and other spices...
on September 4, 1949. The day before what would have been her 90th birthday, a plaque was dedicated in her honour on the corner of Kant and Kaiser Friedrich Streets, Berlin where she first produced the dish. The original Currywurst was a boiled sausage, fried, with a sauce of tomato paste
Tomato paste
Tomato paste is a thick paste that is made by cooking tomatoes for several hours to reduce moisture, straining them to remove the seeds and skin, and cooking them again to reduce them to a thick, rich concentrate...
, Worcestershire sauce
Worcestershire sauce
Worcestershire sauce , or Worcester sauce is a fermented liquid condiment; primarily used to flavour meat or fish dishes.First made at 60 Broad Street, Worcester, England, by two dispensing chemists, John Wheeley Lea and William Henry Perrins, the Lea & Perrins brand was commercialised in 1837 and...
, curry powder and other ingredients.
In January 1959, Heuwer registered a trademark for her sauce, Chillup.
She moved her business to a larger facility at Kaiser-Friedrich-Straße 59, which, during its heyday, was open day and night and employed 19 saleswomen. A plaque at this location commemorates the woman and her invention.
Other sources claim that currywurst
Currywurst
Currywurst is a fast-food dish of German origin consisting of hot pork sausage cut into slices and seasoned with curry ketchup, regularly consisting of ketchup or tomato paste blended with generous amounts of curry powder, or a ready-made ketchup-based sauce seasoned with curry and other spices...
was invented in Hamburg. Author Uwe Timm
Uwe Timm
-Life and work:Uwe Timm was the youngest son in his family. His brother, 16 years his senior, was a soldier in the Waffen SS and died in Ukraine in 1943...
contends in his novel The Discovery of Currywurst that he had eaten currywurst in Hamburg as early as 1947, but the inventor of Currywurst in his novel, Lena Brücker, is an admitted literary license. However, that did not prevent the former Hamburg Senator of the Interior Ronald Schill
Ronald Schill
Ronald Barnabas Schill is a former judge, the founder of the German political parties Partei Rechtsstaatlicher Offensive and Pro DM/Schill...
from honoring Lena Brücker in 2003.