Austria, Germany and Czech: A Quick Culinary Tour
Asparagus was in season during my recent visit to Europe, quietly making its presence known to me as I strolled by markets, visited restaurants, and pondered seductive woman eats asparagus advertisements. In Canada I normally eat the green asparagus (which I love grilled) but in Austria I saw it in its many forms, colours and sizes. I saw a lot of the plump, white asparagus. It is the same plant as the green but it is covered with mulch as it grows so that it is not exposed to sunlight and thereby preventing photosynthesis and is therefore *pale* with a milder, less bitter flavour that is popular in Germany and Austria. They typically serve the white asparagus (aka spargel) with hollandaise sauce and potatoes. I have also had asparagus tucked in with other vegetables in omelettes, in soups, and grilled. In the latter part of my trip I saw other types of asparagus that I would have loved to try: purple asparagus, which has more sugar and is a beautiful colour and wild asparagus, seen on the forefront of the picture.
Asparagus “…transforms my chamber-pot into a flask of perfume.” Marcel Proust
“You cuss, I cuss, we all cuss for asparagus” Gary Larsen
In Melch I came across a tempting jar of roasted apricot kernels. Remembering that apricot kernels are poisonous because of their cyanide content but feeling confident that this reputable tourist area and shop would not be selling toxic food, I bought a jar (sadly, only one jar) and opened it up immediately to nibble on these bitter sweet nuts. A website I consulted claims the cyanide is destroyed in the roasting process so I have concluded that I’m safe. Besides, the kernels are used in confections and to flavour liqueurs so I’ve had the kernels, unwittingly, in other forms. Some people even claim it is an anti-cancer agent and that they are very nutritious, especially high in vitamin B17, a nutrient that is neglected in our modern diet. Bring on the Amaretti di Saronno!
A Salzburg basic food item is the pretzel which comes in a variety of sizes and types from the light coloured and salty to the rich with molasses to the covered with chocolate. In the market there are pretzel stands with a delicious selection and the tables in the beer gardens have pretzel stands to accompany your beer. The abundance of pretzels made me think I found its birthplace but I now know that an Italian monk invented it to reward children for praying. Amen!
Prague is somewhat known for its absinthe and drinking it is listed as one of the top tourist things to do when visiting. I have always been slightly curious about the culture and lore around it.
Numerous artists and writers living in France in the late 19th and early 20th century were noted absinthe drinkers who featured absinthe in their work. These included Vincent van Gogh, Édouard Manet, Amedeo Modigliani, and Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec. Later artists and writers drew from this cultural well, including Pablo Picasso, Oscar Wilde, and Ernest Hemingway. Van Gogh and Toulouse-Lautrec helped popularize the notion that absinthe had powerful psychoactive properties but there is no evidence that it causes hallucinations. In 1905, Jean Lanfray murdered his family and tried to kill himself after drinking absinthe and subsequently the beverage was banned in various countries. In the 1990’s countries started to reverse the ban. It is a popular drink in Czech and I was tempted to try it but instead had the absinthe ice cream after a fair amount of searching for the fabled treat. I found it to be very tasty and high in alcohol (they won’t serve it to minors) causing me to feel a little tipsy.
The main flavour in absinthe is anise but I understand that the proper preparation of the beverage at time of serving can bring out the other, more subtle flavours. The French method of serving absinthe involves placing a sugar cube on a slotted spoon over the glass and pouring water over it so that it dissolves into the alcohol below it. The Bohemian method involves burning the sugar cube which also burns up the alcohol.
I was delighted at finding the green fairy. Děkuji - thank you in Czech.
Driving out of Salzburg towards Prague I stopped at Passau, a charming German town where three rivers meet. It was dinner time and I had not yet had lunch so I was starved and ready to chow down anything, even stale pancakes. But it was clear that the epicurean gods were looking after me for, the first restaurant I came across, had pancake soup. I have never had or even heard of pancake soup and was curious about it. In my hungry state, I was picturing a big flat pancake sitting at the bottom of a bowl of broth but the dish consisted of long, thin strips of pancake in a vegetable broth (for moi) with some veggies. This is a typical soup served in German weddings. I find it sad that people say “yuck” when I tell them about my pancake soup because it was so delicious and the Germans and Austrians make their pancakes so well. I know that the soup I make will never taste like the soup I had in Passau but I will try this recipe soon.
Telc. In Telc it was a matter of getting fed so that I could have enough energy to move along.
Returning to Vienna, I became engaged in the Sachertorte wars. You might not have heard about the Sachertorte wars since it doesn’t make headlines on our local newspapers but there was a big fight as to who can claim to make the original cake. Yes, there was a lawsuit that lasted for years and you can read about it here. I intended to try the Sachertorte at both Sacher Hotel and Demel for comparison but I only tried it at Demel. It was a good chocolate cake but would not make my top ten cakes of all time list.
I love cheese but ordering a plate of cheese for just me to eat at one sitting was just too much. This excellent assortment of Austrian cheeses would keep me happy for a few days.
As I strolled through Vienna I saw a lot of references to Sisi, the Austrian Empress with a twenty one inch waist and ankle length tresses. Apparently she had a passion for crystallised violets. Eager to try food fit for an Empress, I bought a packet and discovered the pleasure of a very sweet floral treat. I wondered if she had the opportunity to try macarons. I did find the French speciality at Paul, the Parisian patisserie chain.
One thing I hope to learn and remember from this trip is to always return home with an ample supply of tasty food and beverages that were sampled in the journey, to ease the nostalgia for foreign lands that will overcome me even before I have had time to unpack.
Grüß Gott
