December 2006
Bits ’n’ Bites
Fresh from the Gourmet Scene
Are you spending the holiday season in Munich for the first time? Unfortunately, you’ll have to do without plum pudding, candy canes and eggnog. But don’t worry: Local stores stock a sufficient selection of traditional German and Bavarian “calorie bombs” for the holiday season. And, since it has been scientifically proven that chocolate triggers the release of such “happiness hormones” as endorphin and serotonin, you shouldn’t be too strict with yourself during the next few months.
Perhaps the most famous German Christmas specialty is
Stollen — a heavy fruit loaf from Dresden. Made with very little flour, lots of butter, raisins, nuts and candied fruit, it belongs in every household during Advent, and it stays tasty for weeks. The best original
Dresdner Stollen available in Munich can be purchased at
Cafe Kreutzkamm (Maffeistrasse 4). This stylish venue is perfectly situated for a break during a hectic Christmas shopping spree.
Another delicious specialty to enjoy during the cold weeks before Christmas are
baked apples (
Bratäpfel). To make this treat, begin with a sour, aromatic apple. A Boskosp apple from
Paul’s Bodenseeäpfel (stand on Viktualienmarkt near the Schrannenhalle) would be a great choice. Core the apple and fill it with a mixture of chopped nuts, raisins and red currant jelly. Place a little butter on top and, after 40 minutes in the oven, the aromas wafting through your kitchen will recall the days of yore. At Paul’s stand, you can also find small, red-skinned Nikolaus apples to hang on your Christmas tree and “correct” asymmetrical branches.
The pride of every housewife — and bound up with the sweetest childhood memories — are
Weihnachtsplätzchen (Christmas cookies), the recipes for which are often passed down through generations:
Hildatörtchen, Husarenkrapferl, Olgaplätzchen, Florentiner, Spitzbuben, Honigbusserl, Schokoladenbrot and Vanillekipferl, Aachener Printen and Spekulatius. If you don’t have the time or the patience to whip up a batch yourself, you’ll find a selection of all these goodies in local bakeries and pastry shops. A traditional pastry from Nuremberg — a heavy, chocolate-covered variation on gingerbread called
Elisenlebkuchen — is the stuff sweet dreams are made of. Likewise
Springerle — hard “painted” cookies made of egg white pastry—which are often made long before Christmas. Sometimes Springerle are too beautiful to eat, making better Christmas-tree decorations than anything else. A particularly rich selection of these treats, made with very old moulds, is available at the
Bäckerei Paul Schmidt in Haidhausen (Steinstrasse 27). If you’d like to see how passionately children can be about baking Christmas cookies, visit the
Café Zimtstern tent between the Alte Peter and Viktualienmarkt, pitched every year next to Munich’s traditional
Backhaus Rischart.
The most popular drink during the holiday season in Germany is
Glühwein. But, be careful! The majority of concoctions offered on the streets and in Christmas markets are made of the cheapest wine, whose miserable quality is only drowned out by intense spices. The same goes for the premixed bottles of Glühwein that can be bought in supermarkets. As a rule, if the bottle’s label of origin says “Wein aus der EG” (wine from the European Community), put it back on the shelf! To spare your head and your stomach, we suggest a simple organic Italian red wine for around € 3 a bottle, available at the supermarket chain Basic (see
www.basic-ag.de for information on their four Munich locations). They also stock pesticide-free oranges, cane sugar and Glühwein spices, so that you can enjoy this unfortunately discredited delicacy at the appropriate quality and at home with friends on a cold winter day. You might cook some on December 6, when Nikolaus (Santa Claus) pays a visit to every family to find out who has been “bad or good.” Those who have been good will get nuts and chocolate; those who have been bad might just be thrown into Nikolaus’ sack.
What the Thanksgiving turkey is to Americans, the
Christmas goose is to Bavarians: a beautiful fat bird, baked crisp and filled with chestnuts and apples, and served with red cabbage and potato dumplings on the side. When prepared properly, many say the gravy is the best part.
Without indulging once or twice in these diet destroyers, you can’t really say you’ve experienced a German Christmas. In any case, you’ll have plenty of opportunity for all of those good intentions on New Year’s Eve. <<<
