Germany's most famous food has something for everyone; from big, hearty main dishes to delicately-cooked vegetables and, of course, a selection of delectable desserts.

Be warned: foodies should bring a big appetite on their next trip. It's a tough job but we selected 10 dishes that represent the best of German food, ingredients and traditions to try.

This classic cult snack is a smallish fried or grilled Wiener (sausage) sliced into bite-sized ringlets, swimming in a spicy tomato sauce and dusted with curry powder.

It’s available ‘mit’ or ‘ohne’ (with or without) its crunchy skin and traditionally served on a flimsy plate with a plastic toothpick. Hamburg, Berlin and the Ruhrgebiet all claim to have invented it.

You will never forget your first taste of real Schwarzwälder Kirschtorte (Black Forest gateau): a three-layered chocolate sponge cake filled with cream, morello cherries and Kirsch (cherry liqueur).

The real thing is nothing like the supermarket frozen versions you might have tried back home.

Spit-roasted meat has been around forever, but the idea of serving it in a toasted bread pocket with copious amounts of fresh salad and a healthy drizzle of yoghurt-based Kräuter (herb)...

scharf (spicy) or Knoblauch (garlic) sauce was apparently invented by Kadir Nurman, a Turkish immigrant in 1970s West Berlin, although this is disputed.

It’s the quintessential German side dish that many outside the country find impossible to fathom: sauerkraut. Bluntly put, it’s shredded cabbage, doused in white-wine vinegar and slowly simmered.

But if you haven’t at least tried Rotkohl (the red-cabbage version of the white-cabbage sauerkraut), you don’t know what you’re missing.

Braising the cabbage with sliced apples and wine turns it into Bayrischkraut or Weinkraut.