Amazing facts about Volkswagen currywurst

VW has been making cars for 80 years, but few know that it has also been making sausages for nearly 50

1 January 2019

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Volkswagen doesn’t just make cars: it also makes sausages

The firm has an on-site butcher at its Wolfsburg factory that makes currybockwurst, a product that has become a staple of Volkswagen’s staff canteens. Last year, the butchers produced 6.81 million currywurst, more than any other part VW produces. Recently, Autocar was given exclusive access to see how VW currywurst are made, and to find out more amazing facts.
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Volkswagen currywurst has its own part number

Every single part Volkswagen produces has a unique identification number – and that includes its currywurst. If you’re ordering it in the factory, you need to ask for part 199 398 500 A.
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VW has been making currywurst for longer than it’s made the Golf

The firm started producing currywurst in 1973, the year before the first Golf was launched. That means currywurst is older than every model in VW’s current range apart from the Passat, which was also launched in 1973.
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The currywurst recipe has changed only once

Originally, VW’s currywurst was made of a mix of pork and beef. But the beef was phased out during the 1990s Europe-wide BSE crisis and VW never reintroduced it. The firm also uses pork with a fat content of 20%, compared with around 35% for most bockwurst.
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The peak year for currywurst production was 2015

The butchery made 7.21 million currywurst in 2015, part of a total output of 1181 tonnes of food. By 2017, that had fallen to 1151 tonnes, which is still a 264% increase from 2009 levels. Volkswagen’s annual currywurst output would stretch from Wolfsburg to Rome.
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VW currywurst comes in two sizes

The original currywurst is 25cm long and weighs 170g. But after some staff said that was too much sausage to eat in one lunch break, VW introduced a smaller portion that’s half the size.
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The spice mix is a closely guarded secret

The spice mix added to VW currywurst to give it its unique flavour is a closely guarded secret known only to a small number of the firm’s butchers. The mix contains 21 different spices, including curry, salt, pepper and ginger.
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Volkswagen once made a 250m-long currywurst

The super-size sausage was made as part of a charity initiative and the launch of the Golf Mk5.
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There’s also a vegetarian currywurst

The vegetarian currywurst was introduced in 2010 and is made with a wheat-based filling. Tofu was tried originally, but the firm was unable to produce a suitable consistency. A total of 22,101 vegetarian currywurst were produced last year.
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VW sells currywurst in two football stadiums

Volkswagen’s catering division has contracts to provide stadium catering for the VfL Wolfsburg and Eintracht Braunschweig football teams, where the half-size currywurst is offered. Currywurst is also sold in 22 supermarkets in the Wolfsburg area, and the firm is closing on a deal to supply a restaurant in Singapore.
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Volkswagen produces nine types of sausage

Although the 6.81 million currywurst produced in 2017 makes it by far the most popular sausage VW makes, the firm’s butcher produces eight other varieties of sausage. They are bologna (429,918 produced in 2017), bouillonwurst (380,806), krakowska (165,268), bratwurst (140,655), bregenwurst (66,700), salsiccia (56,955), gyrosbratwurst (42,480) and kasegriller (74,205). It also made 16,243kg of raw meatloaf.
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Currywurst ketchup can cause controversy

Currywurst is traditionally served with chips and spiced ketchup. For a long time, the ketchup was supplied by Mondelez, but when it stopped making it in 2017, VW switched suppliers to Develey.

Despite extensive taste tests to ensure the two tasted the same, the new ketchup led to complaints from VW staff, prompting further tweaks to the formula. The German media labelled it the ‘Ketchupgate’ crisis.
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You can’t get VW currywurst in America

Due to the US’s strict import rules, VW can’t ship currywurst to the country. So when the firm’s board demanded that currywurst be provided to guests in its Detroit motor show stand, the firm found a local butcher who could produce the sausages to the precise recipe, sending one of its butchers to Detroit with the secret spice mix to supervise production.
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Top tip: don’t fry your currywurst

The most popular way to cook currywurst is to fry it, but VW’s head butcher told Autocar that his preferred method is to cook it in an oven. Franco Lo Presti said: “Slice it slightly three times with a knife, and place on an aluminium rack covered with foil. Put in a preheated oven and 180deg C for around 10 minutes to bake.”

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