Oktoberfest and German brewing tradition

One of the things people all around the world assume with Germany are cars, Lederhosen (leather shorts), beer and the Oktoberfest. Even though this is not everything about the country, Oktoberfest and brewing are interesting German traditions.

Read more: Beer in Germany

ROOTS & SIMILARITIES

Austrian cuisine is very often equated with the Viennese cuisine, even though they have some disparities. Each federal state has its own specialities and traditions which diverse a little bit from the others. The Viennese cuisine is in this respect different that it is the biggest city with many influences from other countries, such as Northern Italy, Hungary, Bohemia, Germany and the Balkans. When you read a Viennese menu you will find dishes from countries all over Europe, but especially from those of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. The rural cuisine is based more on local products and recipes.

In the 19th century the Viennese cuisine was perfected and evolved through the imperial court kitchen. Emperor Franz- Joseph loved the Austrian cuisine and remained with mainly local dishes and specialities, despite the huge influences from member nations. But neighbour countries had an impact already before the Imperial time. In the 16th century many ingredients and recipes were taken over from Italy and adapted to Austrian culture. The French cuisine as well was in the 18th century an inspiration to Austrian cooks from the court and you can say that Viennese court cooks took the best from all the influences and made it even better and adaptive to Austrian disposals.

SPECIALITIES

The Austrian cuisine has many well established specialities, from soups, over main dishes with and without meat to desserts and cakes.

Soups have a long tradition and play an important role in Austrian eating habits. Since the 16th century the Habsburg family adored all kinds of soup and many different variations were created. The Austrian’s favourite soup is the bouillon with a variety of solid ingredients. Examples of those are the Frittatensuppe (with strips of fried pancakes or eggs, also called consommé Celestine), the Grießnockerlsuppe (with semolina), the Leberknödelsuppe (liver dumpling soup), and many others. Austrians also love goulash soup, pumpkin cream soup with pumpkin seeds and pumpkin seed oil (from Styria), potato soup and other soups based on local quality products.

Popular main dishes with meat are the Viennese Schnitzel, roast pork with bread dumplings and sauerkraut, prime boiled beef, goulash and many others. Also dumplings in all variations are very famous in the small but idyllic country. You can eat them in soups, filled with meat or other things as a main dish, made out of basic aliments as a side dish and filled with fruits or marmalade as a main dish or a dessert.

 Austrian cuisine has to offer many vegetarian dishes as well, even though they are not as popular as the  dishes with meat. The product range is growing constantly since they follow he international trend to healthier food and vegetarian meals, but they still have this special Austrian touch. The most known and traditional vegetarian meal are the Kärtner Kasnudeln, a pasta dumpling filled with cheese and other ingredients. They as well exist in many different variations.

Some of these dishes have an interesting history. The Viennese Schnitzel was brought in 1857 by the well-known field marshal Radetzky from Veneto to Vienna where it was improved and adapted. The prime boiled  Beef called Tafelspitz in Austria) originated in the 15th century, where Austrian cooks evolved the technique at that time and boiled meat without any other ingredients. In doing so they preferred the haunch of the Hungarian ox. The goulash (Gulasch) comes from Hungary, where it was created by shepherds. During the imperial and royal monarchy it was brought to Austria and changed in the 19th century. Today the original Viennese Goulash is different from the Hungarian one. Beer is the best drink for goulash.

If you come from the mountains it’s common to have a snack in the afternoon, called Brettljause, where bread with different kinds of sausages, cheese and other delicacies are served in the wine taverns, called Heuriger or Buschenschank. Don’t miss to try the local this year’s wine and the famous traditional pumpkin seed oil from Styria!

Last but not least Austria has a very well established tradition of all kinds of desserts, cakes and gateaux. One showpiece is the Viennese Sachertorte, a chocolate cake created in the 19th century by the cook-apprentice Franz Sacher and perfected and advertised by his son Eduard. The Upper Austrian Linzertorte is another masterpiece.

Furthermore Austria is known for all kinds and variations of strudel. Whether with apples, poppy seeds, quark, sweet or tasty and more, they all are popular and eaten with pleasure. 

The Emperor’s favourite dish, Kaiserschmarrn, is an easy meal, which is made out of eggs, flour, milk and a little bit of sugar, similar to pancakes and eaten sweet with apple puree, marmalade, or typical stewed pumps. It is said that it was created when in the court kitchen an omelette failed and broke in pieces.

TRADITIONS

The culinary culture in Austria has many different traditions and customs. I will tell you a few of them.

Austrian people have their main meal of the day usually at lunch. In the evening they just eat some bread with sausage, cheese and other groceries. In the late afternoon you can also find people who are still enjoying this year’s products from local wine taverns.
Austria has a very big variety of local beer breweries and quality wines. There are around 1000 different kinds of beers in 174 breweries.
The most important while eating is that the meal tastes good. The ingredients are mostly regional, from a good quality and nature based. Also organic farming is widely spread in Austria with its traditional small old family farms.

One old tradition in Vienna is the coffee culture. It started in 1683 when the first Viennese Café opened. A legend says that the Viennese Georg Franz Kolschitzky opened the first Café after he got coffee beans from the Second Turkish Siege of Vienna as a war trophy for special service. But actually the first Café in Vienna was opened by the Armenian Johannes Deodato and Kolschitzky had only the idea to mix coffee with milk and sugar what paved the way for the incredible triumph of coffee in Vienna. Its heyday was in the end of the 19th to the beginning of the 20th century. During this time the so called writer’s cafés developed and many thinkers, artists and authors made the Viennese Cafés to their second living room. By buying only one cup of coffee you could sit and spend hours working, discussing or reading one of the numerous newspapers.
Viennese Cafés had the role of an important meeting point of all social classes to exchange opinions, culture and fulfil social needs. Some famous attendants were for instance: Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Johann Strauss jun., Otto Wagner, Gustav Klimt, Thomas Bernhard, Egon Schiele, Karl Kraus, Arthur Schnitzler and many others.
After a dying of these Cafés in the 1950’s they can celebrate a revival since the 1990’s because of the increased interest of all generations. Today Cafés in Vienna still have this special atmosphere which is definitely worth seeing! Since 2011 the Viennese coffee culture is part of the UNESCO immaterial world cultural heritage.

Fish as well has a long tradition in Austria. Even though it’s a landlocked country, the first fish market was opened in Vienna in the 14th century. Fish comes from the big Lake Neusiedl in Burgenland, the Danube and other rivers. In Austria it’s tradition in many families to eat carp for Christmas.

Mediterranean cuisine is said to be the most healthy on the world . Sea food, fish, fresh fruit and vegetable which are very often eaten in Greece are low-calorie, light and very healthy. Olives oil has benefitial influence to our circulatory system and reasonable consumption of red wine protect from atherosclerosis. I hope that I already have encouraged you to get to know with Greek cusine. 

Greek cuisine is very old cuisine which lasts for milleniums. The basic is Mediterranean triad – wheat, olives oil and wine. The cuisine had been changing pararell to the history. Because of it in Greek cuisine we can find influences from other cuisines such as Roman, Turkish, Persian, Arabic, Balkan and even Slavic.

The Greek climate is warm and mild. Due to it, fresh fruit and vegetable are avaliable in Greece 365 days in year. Aubergine, spinach, zucchini, salad and pepper are used very often in Greece cusine. They use also more often leguminous plants ( lentils, beans and chickpeas).

When it comes to meat,  Greek eat a lot of lamb, because the mountainous terrain facilitate the breeding. We can not forget about goats and cows milk which is used to the cheese production including feta. 

Specialities :

1. Mousaka – Μουσακάς 

The most popular Greek dish with creamy bechamel sauce, mice meat and vegetables. The dish is very simple to prepare. You have to layer all ingredients – slices of potatoes and obargine, mice meat with potatoes sauce and cover it with thick layer or bechamel. Everything you bake in oven. Even if the preparation seems easy, it is very difficult or nearly impossible to make the same Mousaka which you can eat in Greece.

2. Tiropitakia – Τυροπιτάκια
 

It is a simple snack which is eaten by every Greek. To make this "traingles" you need filo pastry (home made or shop-bought). Tiropitakia is filled with feta cheese. You can also add spinach to make the taste different. Greeks' housewives in stead of many "triangles" make one big filo pastry in the oval shape and after baking they slice it into smaller pices. It is good idea when you want to make this snack for more people. 

3. Horiatiki – Χωριάτικη 

One of the most popular salads on the world, called by Greek horiatiki what means rural, rustic. By the whole world is just called Greek salad. Feta (in one slice, not sliced) and simple ingredients such as tomatoes, cucumber, green pepper, red onion, few black olives , abundant portion of olives oil and pinch of oregano. This is the recipe for one of the most tasteful salad. Greek people can't imagine meal without this salad.  Horiatiki is all time eaten till the end, and after it they dench the bread in the left juice from vegetables and olives oil. It is interesting that they even have special word for this activity, they called it papara. In other countries people add also leaves of lettuce, but for Greek it is unacceptable.

4.Souvlaki – Σουβλάκι 

It is a Greek version of fast food – meat, french fries, tomatoes, onion, sometimes lettuce and tzatziki sauce wraped with pita. It is a tasty, cheap and not so calorific meal. Souvlaki literally means shashlik, because traditional version it is just meat grilled on sticks. Nowadays you can it pita with grilled chicken, pork or gyros. It is also version for vegetarian, which Greek eat on maigre.

5. Tzatziki – Τζατζίκι 

Even if tzatziki is more than dip than dish, we shouldn't skip it here. If you ask someone about greek cuisine it will be the the first thing (next to the Greek salad) which people associated with greek cusine. It is a easy dip which is well-known on the whole world. Greek yogurt, garlic, cucumber, salt, pepper and a little bit of vinegar. The real tzatziki you can eat only in Greece. The secret of tzatzikif is the greek yogurt. The conscistence and the way of pasteurisation are the most important in the greek yogurt. Unfortunately this product is patent, so all the greek yogurts outside of Greece are just fake. 

6.Pastitsio – Παστίτσιο

 

This dish is a little bit similar to the Mousaka, because Pastitsio is also made with mice meat and is  covered with bechamel. The difference is that in Pastitsio obargine and potatoes are substitude with penne pasta. After this meal you will be not hungry for long time, because it is very filling dish.

7.Dolmades – Ντολμάδες 

Dolmades which are also called dolmakadia, are rice wraped in grapes leaves. Greek use fresh, blached leaves or just pickled. They are served cold, and without any sauce. Before serving they are spirnkled with lemon juice and olive oil. Dolmades are not eaten like a main dish, Greeak eat it like an appetizer.