A 58-year-old man has been given a record-breaking fine for theft at a Munich supermarket, the Munich District Court has reported.

Police arrested the man in December after he was caught taking calf liver and repackaging it as lower-cost fruit. He used the self-checkout line to purchase the meat for a fraction of its cost, estimated at being between €13 to €47 ($16 to $58). It was the fourth time in a month he had taken liver and re-packaged it as fruit, the court reported on its website on Monday.

The man had been remanded in custody in December after failing to prove he had a permanent address in Germany. At his trial he gave a full confession but was unable to give a motive for his actions.

Read more: How to eat breakfast like a Weltmeister in Germany

High-income earner

The court fined the man €208,000 ($258,000), citing his exorbitant monthly income and previous offenses. The fine was calculated on the basis of 260 days at €800 per day. The man was released from custody.

Read more: Germans' insatiable love affair with potatoes

The man, who can not be named under German reporting restrictions for legal cases, was given a 2-year suspended sentence in 2013 for concealing foreign bank accounts and fined €440,000. He was given a further 21-month sentence after giving a false foreign address in a tax assessment case in 2015. He was only released in 2017, just a few months before being caught taking the calf liver in the Munich-Haidhausen store in December 2017.

Calf liver is commonly found on menus in Munich.DW's editors send out a selection of the day's hard news and quality feature journalism. You can sign up to receive it directly here.

11 weird German foods Hackepeter or Mett We've all been warned by our parents not to eat raw meat, but the Germans have been doing it forever all the same. Even the EU warns against "Mett," or "Hackepeter" as it is called in some regions, a preparation of minced raw pork. Often sold on bread rolls, big plates of this are also a classic at buffets. A popular way to present the raw meat at receptions in the 1970s was shaped as a hedgehog.

11 weird German foods Toast Hawaii Another snack considered typical of West Germany in the 1950s is Toast Hawaii, a grilled open sandwich which combines toast, ham and pineapple, topped with processed cheese and a maraschino cherry. It was popularized by German TV cook Clemens Wilmenrod. In the 1960s, a Greek-Canadian restaurant owner pushed the concept to create the Hawaiian pizza, which divides public opinion to this day.

11 weird German foods Blutwurst Admittedly, Germany is not the only country to make blood sausages. But a peculiarity of the German Blutwurst is that it's used in dishes with colorful names, such as "Himmel und Erde" (Heaven and Earth), which combines it with apple sauce and mashed potatoes. Or even better is "Tote Oma" (Dead Grandma), where hot Blutwurst is smashed to bloody pieces and mixed with liverwurst and potatoes.

11 weird German foods Saumagen The name means "sow's stomach": The stomach of a pig is used as a casing for a stuffing of potatoes, carrots, pork and spices. It's a traditional dish from the Rhineland-Palatinate, the region that Helmut Kohl, German chancellor from 1982 to 1998, called home. He loved Saumagen, and it was served to many state guests, including Margaret Thatcher, Mikhail Gorbachev, Ronald Reagan and Bill Clinton.

11 weird German foods Sülze It's known as brawn in the UK and head cheese in North America, but it has nothing to do with dairy products. It's rather a terrine that's made from the meat of a pig's or calf's head, and sometimes their tongue, feet or heart — set in aspic.

11 weird German foods Handkäs mit Musik It's a culinary specialty from the region of Hesse with an intriguing name: "Hand cheese with music." The cheese is small, translucent and has a pungent aroma that's perhaps not to everyone's taste. Yet the raw onions and vinegar that make up the "musical" notes of the dish make it simply addictive for those who are a bit more adventurous.

11 weird German foods Labskaus This culinary specialty from the north of Germany used to be a poor person's food: leftovers — corned beef, beets, onions, boiled potatoes — are mashed together. The resulting puree is not very appetizing-looking, but at least it's partly hidden under a fried egg, served with herring and pickles. As unusual as it sounds, the dish is having a revival — Labskaus is now served in fancy restaurants.

11 weird German foods Geräuchter Aal Between looking like a snake and having blood that is poisonous to humans before it's cooked, eel is not a fish that sounds appetizing to everyone. It's nevertheless found its way as a food into different cultures — and smoked eel is one of northern Germany's specialties.

11 weird German foods Rollmops Pickled herring fillets, rolled onto a pickle: For people who hate fish, Rollmops are obviously a no-go, and not all Germans are passionate about them. However, the ready-to-eat vinegary bite remains a popular part of hangover breakfasts.

11 weird German foods Milbenkäse Germany perhaps doesn't beat Asia in terms of culinary experimentation, but this one is bound to irk a few people: Milbenkäse means "mite cheese." Produced exclusively in the village of Würchwitz, the cheese is left in a wooden box with cheese mites for three months. The bugs eat the rind; the digestive liquid they ooze ferments the cheese. And then the cheese is eaten — with the living mites.

11 weird German foods Senfpfannkuchen Finally, a little treat to wash down the mites. These donuts are known as "Pfannkuchen" (pancakes) in Germany. Although they are generally filled with jam, you might get one filled with mustard on special occasions, such as during Carnival or New Year's Eve — it's a traditional joke. Author: Elizabeth Grenier



ls,rm/aw (dpa, AP)