German Shrimp Cocktail: Husumer Krabbencocktail

Husum is a German city way up in the north of Germany, not terribly far from the border with Denmark. It is a coastal city on the North Sea in the German state of Schleswig-Holstein and it is a part of the region of North Frisia, called "Nordfriesland" in German, "Noordfreesland" in Low German (which has a strong presence in the area, and in northern Germany, in general), and "Nordfraschlönj" in North Frisian.* By the way, the nearby Danes call it "Nordfrisland." Husum and much of the German North Sea area economy is geared to tourism, as the connection to the sea has a strong pull. It was from this "general area" along the North Sea, that elements of several Germanic tribes left and sailed to Britain, where they founded what would come to be called "England," named after the Angles, and where their Germanic dialects melded into "English." Naturally, seafood is a big part of the cuisine of northern Germany, with both the North Sea and the Baltic Sea providing a variety of "Meeresfrüchte" (literally, "fruit of the sea;" thus, "seafood"). By the way, the word "Cocktail" (German nouns are capitalized) is a word borrowed by German from English, circa 1900.

Ingredients (about 4 servings):

1/2 pound cooked, peeled medium or small shrimp/shrimps** (in Husum they use small shrimp) 
1/2 cup mayonnaise (reduced fat type is fine)
1/2 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
1 tablespoon ketchup
juice of half a lemon
12 pimiento stuffed olives cut in half
1 apple, peeled, cored and chopped
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1/2 teaspoon salt (I'm including this, but I actually don't feel it even needs any salt, so it's optional)
chopped parsley for serving (you can also add a lemon wedge for each serving) 

In a bowl, add the chopped apple and sprinkle the lemon juice over it and mix to coat to prevent the apple from turning brown. In a cup (I used a measuring cup), mix together the mayonnaise, Worcestershire sauce and ketchup, briefly set this aside. To the apple, add the halved olives, the shrimp(s) and the ground black pepper (and salt, if using). Now gradually add the mayonnaise mixture, mixing it into the shrimp and apple as you add it. Give the dish a little time in the refrigerator before serving, then sprinkle a little chopped parsley on top of each serving. Good with some crackers or crispy wafers. 


* There isn't a "standard" North Frisian language, but rather a number of dialects; thus, there are several renderings of "North Frisia" in these dialects, but I chose "Nordfraschlönj" for a very simple reason... it was FIRST on the list! North Frisian itself is a dialect of Frisian. 

** In the U.S., the plural "shrimps" is seldom heard, as "shrimp" is overwhelmingly used as both singular and plural.

WORD HISTORY:
Maiden/Maid-"Maiden" goes back to Indo European "maghu," which meant, "young person, unmarried person" (it seems not to have been gender specific). This gave its Old Germanic offspring "magaþi" (=magathi), a feminine form; thus, "young woman, virgin, unmarried woman." This gave Old English "mægþ" (þ=th), meaning, "woman, girl, wife," and the diminutive form, "mægden," meaning, "young unmarried woman, girl."  The "g" sound later disappeared, and the word became "maiden." Beginning in the second half of the 1100s, the "en" was dropped in some cases, leaving "maid," but it kept the  meaning of "maiden." "Maid" was used at times as part of a name or as a sort of title, as in the famous "Maid Marian," a character developed in the 1600s from the English folklore and legendary Robin Hood stories. "Maid," however, was "seemingly" historical in its usage dating to the 1100s and 1200s, the general time frame often given for Robin Hood. By the mid 1300s (?), "maid" had altered in its primary meaning to, "female servant to a noble woman," then this broadened to "female servant who performed household duties." Forms in other Germanic languages: German has "Magd" (maid, maidservant), "Mädchen" (once also spelled "Mägdchen," meaning mainly "girl"), "Mädel" ("girl, lass"), "Maid" (pronounced as if, "might," meaning, "young woman, maiden"), Low German has "Määk" (girl), apparently Frisian doesn't use a form of the word in modern times, but it had "mageth," Dutch has "maagd" (virgin, maiden, maid), "meid" (girl, lass, maid), "meisje" (pronounced similar to "may-zha," meaning, "girl, maiden"). I didn't spend a lot of time on this, but it "seems" the North Germanic languages did not develop the feminine form, or at least did not carry it forward. "Maiden" also developed adjectival use to mean, "previously undone;" thus also, "first time," as in "maiden voyage" or "maiden trip."