Luncheon at Sea: A Cosmopolitan Midday Meal aboard the SS Werra, 8 September 1900

Front Cover of a Vintage Luncheon Menu Card from 8 September 1900, on board the SS Werra of the Norddeutscher Lloyd featured Cream Soup of Lentils with Frankfort Sausage, Grilled Pigeons on Toast, and Vegetable & Tomato Salad. (Norddeutscher Lloyd) | GGA Image ID # 1ee830652d

🍽️ Review and Summary: SS Werra Luncheon Menu – 8 September 1900

From Pigeon to Pâté: A Cosmopolitan Midday Meal Aboard the SS Werra

Aboard the SS Werra of the Norddeutscher Lloyd on Saturday, 8 September 1900, guests were treated to a mid-day meal reflecting both Germanic heartiness and cosmopolitan refinement. The selection and variety suggest Second Cabin service—substantial yet not extravagant, aiming to satisfy middle-class travelers seeking a blend of comfort, quality, and familiarity as they crossed the Atlantic.

Menu Items

• Cream Soup of Lentils with Frankfort Sausage
• Tendrons of Veal
• Succotash à L'Anglaise
• Grilled Pigeons on Toast
• Stewed prunes & apples
• Gmelina Flummery, Raspberry Sauce
• Coffee

COLD

• Shrimps with Mayonnaise
• Potato Salad with Bacon
• Vegetable & Tomato Salad
• Anchovies
• Sardines
• Smoked Salmon
• Eel in Jelly
• Smoked & Boiled Ham
• Sabbath Sausage
• Mortadella
• Beef Tongue
• Brawn
• Corned Beef
• Chester Cheese
• Cream Cheese
• Swiss Cheese
• Stracchino Cheese

Infographic: Luncheon at Sea. A Cosmopolitan Midday Meal aboard the SS Werra, 8 September 1900. (Norddeutcher Lloyd/GG Archives) | GGA Image ID # 227dcf1b5a

🌟 Likely Featured Entrées

🥣 Cream Soup of Lentils with Frankfort Sausage

A warming starter that blends rustic lentils with the unmistakable smoky richness of Frankfurter Würstchen. This was likely the soup of the day and a featured dish, comforting in both flavor and familiarity for German-speaking passengers.

🍗 Grilled Pigeons on Toast

A standout entrée. While perhaps surprising to modern diners, grilled pigeon (squab) was considered a delicacy in Europe. Served atop toast, it adds a layer of richness and crunch. A high-protein dish once favored for its tender meat, this likely served as a second centerpiece entrée.

🧆 Tendrons of Veal (braised veal breast) could have been a backup special—tender and flavorful, but less rarefied than pigeon.

🥗 Notable Accompaniments and Sides

Succotash à L'Anglaise – A blend of corn and lima beans, interpreted in the “English style” with simple seasoning, possibly butter or a light white sauce. This was a mild, nutritious choice popular with both European and American diners.

Stewed Prunes & Apples – A digestive-friendly and mildly sweet dish, reflecting the culinary belief in light, stewed fruits for balanced digestion at sea.

🍮 Sweet Fare

Gmelina Flummery, Raspberry Sauce – This gelatinous dessert, made from a grain-based starch (historically oatmeal or flour), has a texture between pudding and jelly. The "Gmelina" may be a variation or misprint (possibly referring to a light flummery). The raspberry sauce provides a tart counterpoint.

🇺🇸 Definition for American Diners: “Flummery” would have puzzled many U.S. passengers, as it was far more common in Britain and the Continent than stateside kitchens in 1900.

☕ Closing Touch

Coffee – Served strong and hot, likely in the German style (dark roasted, not percolated), as a fitting conclusion to the noon meal.

🧊 To Order: Cold Table Delights

A classic German buffet table was available "to order," emphasizing the ocean liner’s dedication to variety, even mid-day. Highlights include:

Shrimps with Mayonnaise – A light seafood offering with creamy dressing.

Eel in Jelly – A traditional delicacy; cold poached eel suspended in aspic—a refined, if polarizing, texture and taste.

Sabbath Sausage – Likely a kosher-style cooked sausage, a nod to Jewish passengers and the German-Jewish diaspora.

Mortadella – An Italian specialty similar to bologna, studded with bits of pork fat.

Brawn – Also known as head cheese, made from simmered meat off the head of a pig or calf, set in gelatin—a traditional, old-world preserved meat.

🧀 The cheese selection—Chester, Cream, Swiss, Stracchino—offered a tour of European regions:

• Chester (England), a hard cheese.
• Stracchino (Italy), soft and creamy.
• Swiss—nutty and holey.
• Cream cheese—ideal with smoked salmon or anchovies.

🛳️ Passenger Class Assessment

Given the quality, variety, and restrained presentation — particularly the inclusion of fine cold items without luxury excess — this menu most likely served Second Cabin passengers. These diners were often well-traveled professionals, merchants, or middle-class families who expected solid Continental cooking without the elaborate flair of First Class.

📸 Engaging Visuals

🖼️ Front Cover | GGA Image ID #1ee830652d.

The menu's dignified presentation underscores the Norddeutscher Lloyd's commitment to refinement, even outside First Class.

🧭 Final Thoughts – Why This Menu Matters

This menu offers a taste—literally and historically—of the transatlantic voyage at the dawn of the 20th century. It’s a vivid record of what global travelers, particularly Germans, Austrians, Americans, and Italians, might have enjoyed on a typical day at sea.

🧳 For historians, it reveals culinary norms across classes and cultures.

📚 For students and educators, it’s a tool to teach immigration, class, and travel culture.

🔍 For genealogists, it offers insight into the lives and tastes of ancestors who dined aboard the SS Werra.