Hello, one of my hobbies is cooking WW2 field rations, and as a non-German speaker with no close German friends to ask for aid, google translate is my only option. Recently I am translating some recipes in a Wehrmacht cookbook called, "Feldkochbuch für behelfsmäßiges Kochen und Backen in den Kolonien (Field cookbook for makeshift cooking and baking in the colonies)", that was published in 1941. What I am wondering is that did German soldiers not use paprika when they made goulash. Here are the original text from the book and my translation from google translate:
Gulasch.
Eine Portion Fleisch wird in etwa walnußgroße Würfel geschnitten, 1 bis 2 Eßlöffel Fett werden im Kochgeschirr zerlassen und das Fleisch darin angebräunt. Einige getrocknete Zwiebeln, Kümmel, Pfeffer und Salz werden hinzugetan und wenig Wasser zugegossen. Das Kochgeschirr ist dann zudecken und der Inhalt langsam zu schmoren. Zum Andicken der Tunke wird etwas Mehl mit wenig kaltem Wasser angerührt und zugegeben.
Goulash.
A portion of meat is cut into walnut-sized cubes, 1 to 2 tablespoons of fat are melted in the cookware and the meat is browned in it. A few dried onions, caraway seeds, pepper and salt are added and a little water is poured in. Then, the cookware must be covered so the contents slowly get braised. To thicken the sauce, mix a little flour with a little cold water and add in the soup.
I thought what makes goulash different from other common European stews and soups is the use of paprika, and I was quite surprised when I first read the recipe. What I know of is that in 1941, the German supply system wasn't very good, but wasn't dreadful yet. I also found a blog post with other German Army goulash recipes that was also published in 1941, and in the translated recipes, paprika was on the ingredient list. So here are my questions:
Thank you!
I would be surprised if anyone was able to definitely tell you why this specific cookbook is leaving paprika out of the recipe, but as a German speaker, it's definitely not mentioned in the quote you gave there.
Google Books has a "Feldkochbuch für die warmen Länder" (Field cookbook for warm countries) from the OKH in 1942 which also has several goulash recipes, and paprika and tomato concentrate are listed in the ingredients there. That recipe appears to be a revision of your version due to the extremely similar wording (the phrase "walnut-sized cubes" also shows up there, for example).
Paprika was definitely not rare during WW2 and was in fact used as a substitute for pepper which had to be imported from overseas.
EDIT: Actually, thinking about it more it's possible that the "pepper" in your recipe might be referring to "German pepper", a WW2 substitute containing summer savory, marjoram, basil and, in fact, paprika. Although that doesn't explain why the 1942 version explicitly lists paprika as a stand-alone ingredient.
So yeah, I imagine it's either due to the "makeshift" or the "colonies" part of the specific recipe.