German cuisine widely available, but do not play an important role. Meat is usually braised; fried dishes also exist, but these recipes usually originate from France and Austria. Several cooking methods used to soften tough cuts have evolved into national specialties, including "Sauerbraten" (sour roast), involving marinating beef, horse meat or venison in a vinegar or wine vinegar mixture over several days. A long tradition of sausage-making exists in Germany; more than 1,500 different types of sausage () are made. Most "Wurst" is made with natural casings of pork, sheep or lamb intestines. Among the most popular and most common are "Bratwurst",
German Institute of Food Technologies building at the turn of the year 1986/1987. In 1988, the institute was renamed into its present name, ""German Institute of Food Technologies"", and its legal form was changed from membership cooperation to registered association. On 20 Mai 2009, the foundation stone for the expansion of the DIL building was laid by Friedrich-Otto Ripke, the Secretary of State for agriculture, nutrition, and consumer protection. The former Minister-President of Lower Saxony Christian Wulff and Hans-Heinrich Ehlen were thanked for their personal contribution to the grant which enables the German Institute of Food Technologies to cooperate and link itself with further research