Cuisine of Austria
Encyclopedia
Austria
Austria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the...
and composed of influences from throughout the former Austro-Hungarian Empire. Regional influences from Italy
Italian cuisine
Italian cuisine has developed through centuries of social and political changes, with roots as far back as the 4th century BCE. Italian cuisine in itself takes heavy influences, including Etruscan, ancient Greek, ancient Roman, Byzantine, Jewish and Arab cuisines...
, Hungary, Germany
German cuisine
German cuisine is a style of cooking derived from the nation of Germany. It has evolved as a national cuisine through centuries of social and political change with variations from region to region. The southern regions of Germany, including Bavaria and neighbouring Swabia, share many dishes....
and the Balkans
Balkan cuisine
The Balkan cuisine is heterogeneous and is therefore known as the cuisine of states and regions, since every region has its own distinct culinary traditions...
have had an effect on Austrian cooking, and in turn this fusion of styles was influential throughout the Empire.
Austrian cuisine is most often associated with Viennese cuisine
Viennese cuisine
Viennese cuisine is the cuisine that is characteristic of Vienna, Austria, and its residents. Viennese cuisine is often treated as equivalent to Austrian cuisine, but while elements of Viennese cuisine have spread throughout Austria, other Austrian regions have their own unique variations...
, but there are significant regional variations.
Mealtimes
A mid-morning or mid-afternoon snack of a slice of bread topped with cheese or ham is referred to as a Jause, and a more substantial version akin to a British "Ploughman's Lunch
Ploughman's lunch
A ploughman's lunch is a cold snack or meal originating in the United Kingdom, served in pubs, sometimes eaten in a sandwich form, composed of cheese ; often cooked ham slices, pickle , apples, pickled onions, salad leaves, bread...
" is called a Brettljause after the wooden board on which it is traditionally served.
Popular dishes of Vienna
- Rindsuppe (beef soup) a clear soup with golden colour.
- TafelspitzTafelspitzTafelspitz is boiled beef in broth Viennese style.- The dish :Tafelspitz - boiled tri-tip - is a typical Austrian dish. The beef is simmered along with root vegetables and spices in the broth...
, beef boiled in brothBrothBroth is a liquid food preparation, typically consisting of either water or an already flavored stock, in which bones, meat, fish, cereal grains, or vegetables have been simmered. Broth is used as a basis for other edible liquids such as soup, gravy, or sauce. It can be eaten alone or with garnish...
(soup), often served with apple and horseradish and chives sauce) - Gulasch, a hotpot similar to Hungarian pörkölt - Austrian goulash is eaten often with rolls, bread or dumplings ("Semmelknödel")
- Beuschel (a ragoutRagout-Etymology:The term comes from the French ragoûter, to revive the taste. The etymologically related Italian ragù is a sauce such as Bolognese used typically to dress pasta.-Preparation:...
containing calf lungs and heart)
- LiptauerLiptauerLiptauer is a spicy cheese spread made with sheep milk cheese, goat's milk cheese, quark cheese or cottage cheese. It is a part of Slovak cuisine , Hungarian cuisine , Austrian cuisine and Italian cuisine...
, spicy cheese spread, eaten on a slice of bread - Selchfleisch (smoked, then cooked meat) with SauerkrautSauerkrautSauerkraut , directly translated from German: "sour cabbage", is finely shredded cabbage that has been fermented by various lactic acid bacteria, including Leuconostoc, Lactobacillus, and Pediococcus. It has a long shelf-life and a distinctive sour flavor, both of which result from the lactic acid...
and dumplings. - PowidlPowidlPowidl is a plum stew. Unlike jam or marmalade, and unlike the German Pflaumenmus , powidl is prepared without additional sweeteners or gelling agents....
a thick sweet and spicy jam made from plums.
- ApfelstrudelApfelstrudelApple strudel is a traditional Viennese strudel, a popular pastry in Austria and in many countries in Europe that once belonged to the Austro-Hungarian empire .-History:...
, apple strudel - Topfenstrudel cream cheese strudel
- Millirahmstrudel (milk-cream strudel, Milchrahmstrudel)
- PalatschinkenPalatschinkenPalatschinke is the Austrian and Bavarian name of the thin, crêpe-like variety of pancake common in Central and Eastern Europe.-The pancake:...
pancakes similar to French Crêpes, filled with marmalade, jam, sprinkled with sugar etc. They are also served in savory versions i.e. with spinach and cheese. - KaiserschmarrnKaiserschmarrnKaiserschmarrn is one of the best known Austrian desserts, popular in the former Austria–Hungary as well as in Bavaria....
soft, fluffy pancake ripped into bites and slightly roasted in a pan, served with applesauce or stewed plums. - GermknödelGermknödelGermknödel is a fluffy yeast dough dumpling with a mix of poppy seeds and sugar, filled with spicy plum jam and melted butter on top, often eaten with vanilla cream sauce....
, a fluffy yeast dough dumpling filled with spicy plum jam (PowidlPowidlPowidl is a plum stew. Unlike jam or marmalade, and unlike the German Pflaumenmus , powidl is prepared without additional sweeteners or gelling agents....
), garnished with melted butter and a mix of poppy seeds and powdered sugar, sometimes served with vanilla cream. - MarillenknödelMarillenknödelMarillenknödel are a pastry. They are found in the traditional Bohemian and Viennese cuisines. "Marillen" is the Austrian term for apricots and this pastry is found predominantly in areas where apricot orchards are common. Examples of such areas would include the Wachau and Vinschgau.Small...
a dumpling stuffed with an apricot and covered with streuselStreuselIn baking and pastry making, streusel is a crumb topping of butter, flour, and white sugar that is baked on top of muffins, breads, and cakes .Some modern recipes add various spices and occasionally chopped nutmeats...
and powdered sugar. The dough is made of potatoes or TopfenQuark (cheese)Quark is a type of fresh cheese, also known as tvorog , topfen , biezpiens , and varškė . It is made by warming soured milk until the desired degree of denaturation of milk proteins is met, and then strained...
.
Meat
Pork
Pork is the culinary name for meat from the domestic pig , which is eaten in many countries. It is one of the most commonly consumed meats worldwide, with evidence of pig husbandry dating back to 5000 BC....
, beef
Beef
Beef is the culinary name for meat from bovines, especially domestic cattle. Beef can be harvested from cows, bulls, heifers or steers. It is one of the principal meats used in the cuisine of the Middle East , Australia, Argentina, Brazil, Europe and the United States, and is also important in...
and chicken
Chicken (food)
Chicken is the most common type of poultry in the world, and is prepared as food in a wide variety of ways, varying by region and culture.- History :...
. The famous Wiener Schnitzel is traditionally made of veal
Veal
Veal is the meat of young cattle , as opposed to meat from older cattle. Though veal can be produced from a calf of either sex and any breed, most veal comes from male calves of dairy cattle breeds...
. Pork in particular is used extensively, with many dishes using offal and parts such as the snout and trotters.
Austrian butchers use a number of special cuts of meat, including "Tafelspitz
Tafelspitz
Tafelspitz is boiled beef in broth Viennese style.- The dish :Tafelspitz - boiled tri-tip - is a typical Austrian dish. The beef is simmered along with root vegetables and spices in the broth...
" (beef), and "Fledermaus" (pork), named for its shape which resembles a bat.
Austrian cuisine has many different sausages, like "Frankfurter", "Debreziner
Debrecener
A debrecener is a pork sausage of uniform fine texture and reddish-orange colour, named after the Hungarian city of Debrecen. Also known as "Debreziners", the sausages are heavily spiced with paprika and other seasonings like garlic, pepper and marjoram. They are usually unsmoked or lightly...
" (named after Debrecen in Hungary), or "Burnwurst", "Blunzn" made out of pig-blood and "Grüne Würstl" - green sausages. Green means raw in this context – the sausages are air dried and are consumed boiled.
Bacon
Bacon
Bacon is a cured meat prepared from a pig. It is first cured using large quantities of salt, either in a brine or in a dry packing; the result is fresh bacon . Fresh bacon may then be further dried for weeks or months in cold air, boiled, or smoked. Fresh and dried bacon must be cooked before eating...
in Austria is called "Speck", bacon can be smoked, raw, salted, spiced etc. Bacon is used in many traditional recipes as a salty spice.
Vanillerostbraten
Vanillerostbraten
Vanillerostbraten is an Austrian beef cutlet dish prepared with garlic, salt, pepper, butter, onions, and brown bouillon and normally served with fried potatoes....
is a beef dish prepared with lots of garlic.
Game
Austria has an old hunting tradition since there are many woods across the country. In the Autumn season many restaurants in Austria traditionally offer game on their menu along with seasonal vegetables and fruits like pumpkins from Styria. Usual games are:- DeerDeerDeer are the ruminant mammals forming the family Cervidae. Species in the Cervidae family include white-tailed deer, elk, moose, red deer, reindeer, fallow deer, roe deer and chital. Male deer of all species and female reindeer grow and shed new antlers each year...
"Hirsch" - Wild Boar "Wildschwein"
- Roe DeerRoe DeerThe European Roe Deer , also known as the Western Roe Deer, chevreuil or just Roe Deer, is a Eurasian species of deer. It is relatively small, reddish and grey-brown, and well-adapted to cold environments. Roe Deer are widespread in Western Europe, from the Mediterranean to Scandinavia, and from...
"Reh" - Fallow DeerFallow DeerThe Fallow Deer is a ruminant mammal belonging to the family Cervidae. This common species is native to western Eurasia, but has been introduced widely elsewhere. It often includes the rarer Persian Fallow Deer as a subspecies , while others treat it as an entirely different species The Fallow...
"Damhirsch" - Brown hareEuropean HareThe European hare , also known as the brown hare, Eastern Jackrabbit and Eastern prairie hare, is a species of hare native to northern, central, and western Europe and western Asia. It is a mammal adapted to temperate open country. It is related to the similarly appearing rabbit, which is in the...
"Hase/Feldhase" - Common pheasantCommon PheasantThe Common Pheasant , is a bird in the pheasant family . It is native to Georgia and has been widely introduced elsewhere as a game bird. In parts of its range, namely in places where none of its relatives occur such as in Europe , it is simply known as the "pheasant"...
"Fasan" - DuckDuckDuck is the common name for a large number of species in the Anatidae family of birds, which also includes swans and geese. The ducks are divided among several subfamilies in the Anatidae family; they do not represent a monophyletic group but a form taxon, since swans and geese are not considered...
"Ente" - Grey partridgeGrey PartridgeThe Grey Partridge, Perdix perdix, also known as the English Partridge, Hungarian Partridge, or Hun, is a gamebird in the pheasant family Phasianidae of the order Galliformes, gallinaceous birds...
"Rebhuhn"
Cakes
Sachertorte
Sachertorte is a chocolate cake. It was invented by chance by Austrian Jewish Franz Sacher in 1832 for Klemens Wenzel von Metternich in Vienna, Austria. It is one of the most famous Viennese culinary specialties. The Original Sachertorte is only made in Vienna and Salzburg, and it is shipped from...
, a chocolate cake with apricot jam filling, traditionally eaten with whipped cream. Among the cakes with the longest tradition is the Linzer torte
Linzer Torte
The Linzer Torte is an Austrian torte with a lattice design on top of the pastry. It is named after the city of Linz, Austria....
. Other favourites include the caramel-flavoured Dobostorte
Dobos Cake
Dobos torte or Dobosh is a Hungarian cake named after its inventor, a well-known Hungarian confectioner, József C. Dobos in 1884. It is a five-layer sponge cake, layered with chocolate buttercream and topped with thin caramel slices...
and the delicately-layered Esterhazy Torte
Esterházy torte
Esterházy torte is a Hungarian and Austrian cake named after Paul III Anton, Prince Esterházy, a hugely wealthy prince and diplomat of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. It has become one of the most famous cakes in Europe....
, named in honor of Prince Esterházy (both originating from Hungary during the Austro-Hungarian empire), as well as a number of cakes made with fresh fruit and cream. Punschkrapfen
Punschkrapfen
Punschkrapfen or Punschkrapferl is a classical Austrian pastry. It is a cake filled with cake crumbs, nougat chocolate, apricot jam and then soaked with rum...
is a classical Austrian pastry
Pastry
Pastry is the name given to various kinds of baked products made from ingredients such as flour, sugar, milk, butter, shortening, baking powder and/or eggs. Small cakes, tarts and other sweet baked products are called "pastries."...
, a cake filled with cake crumbs, nougat
Nougat
Nougat is a variety of similar traditional confectioneries made with sugar and/or honey, roasted nuts , and sometimes chopped candied fruit. The consistency of nougat can range from soft and chewy to hard and crunchy depending on its composition, and it is used in a variety of candy bars and...
chocolate, apricot
Apricot
The apricot, Prunus armeniaca, is a species of Prunus, classified with the plum in the subgenus Prunus. The native range is somewhat uncertain due to its extensive prehistoric cultivation.- Description :...
jam and then soaked with rum
Rum
Rum is a distilled alcoholic beverage made from sugarcane by-products such as molasses, or directly from sugarcane juice, by a process of fermentation and distillation. The distillate, a clear liquid, is then usually aged in oak barrels...
.
Desserts
Austrian desserts are usually slightly less complicated than the elaborate cakes described above. The most famous of these is the Apple StrudelApfelstrudel
Apple strudel is a traditional Viennese strudel, a popular pastry in Austria and in many countries in Europe that once belonged to the Austro-Hungarian empire .-History:...
, layers of thin pastry surrounding a filling of apple, usually with cinnamon and raisins. Other strudels are also popular, such as those filled with sweetened curd cheese called Topfen
Quark (cheese)
Quark is a type of fresh cheese, also known as tvorog , topfen , biezpiens , and varškė . It is made by warming soured milk until the desired degree of denaturation of milk proteins is met, and then strained...
, sour cherry (Weichselstrudel), sweet cherry and poppy seed strudel (Mohnstrudel).
Another favourite is Kaiserschmarr'n, a rich fluffy sweet thick pancake
Pancake
A pancake is a thin, flat, round cake prepared from a batter, and cooked on a hot griddle or frying pan. Most pancakes are quick breads; some use a yeast-raised or fermented batter. Most pancakes are cooked one side on a griddle and flipped partway through to cook the other side...
made with raisins and other fruits, broken into pieces and served with a fruit compote (traditionally made of plums called Zwetschkenröster) for dipping, while a speciality of Salzburg is the meringue
Meringue
Meringue is a type of dessert made from whipped egg whites and sugar, occasionally some recipes may call for adding an acid such as cream of tartar or a small amount of vinegar and a binding agent such as cornstarch found in icing sugar which may be added in addition to the corn starch which...
-like "Salzburger Nocken".
The Danish pastry
Danish pastry
Danish pastry is a sweet pastry which has become a specialty of Denmark and neighbouring Scandinavian countries and is popular throughout the industrialized world, although the form it takes can differ significantly from country to country...
is said to originate from Vienna
Vienna
Vienna is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Austria and one of the nine states of Austria. Vienna is Austria's primary city, with a population of about 1.723 million , and is by far the largest city in Austria, as well as its cultural, economic, and political centre...
and in Denmark is called wienerbrød (Viennese bread). The Danish pastry uses a dough in the classic cuisine referred to as "Viennese Dough", made of thin layers of butter and flour dough, imported to Denmark by Austrian bakers hired during a bakery strike amongst the bakery workers in Danish bakeries in 1850.
Coffee
Coffee
Coffee is a brewed beverage with a dark,init brooo acidic flavor prepared from the roasted seeds of the coffee plant, colloquially called coffee beans. The beans are found in coffee cherries, which grow on trees cultivated in over 70 countries, primarily in equatorial Latin America, Southeast Asia,...
to Europe after bags of coffee beans were left behind by the retreating Turkish army after the Battle of Vienna
Battle of Vienna
The Battle of Vienna took place on 11 and 12 September 1683 after Vienna had been besieged by the Ottoman Empire for two months...
in 1683. Although the first coffehouses had appeared in Europe some years earlier, the Viennese café tradition became an important part of the city's identity.
Coffee
Coffee
Coffee is a brewed beverage with a dark,init brooo acidic flavor prepared from the roasted seeds of the coffee plant, colloquially called coffee beans. The beans are found in coffee cherries, which grow on trees cultivated in over 70 countries, primarily in equatorial Latin America, Southeast Asia,...
is served in a variety of styles, particularly in the Viennese café
Viennese café
The Viennese Coffee House is a typical institution of Vienna that played an important part shaping Viennese culture.Since October 2011 the "Viennese Coffee House Culture" is listed as "Intangible Cultural Heritage" in the Austrian inventory of the "National Agency for the Intangible Cultural...
s. An Austrian Mokka or kleiner Schwarzer is similar to espresso
Espresso
Espresso is a concentrated beverage brewed by forcing a small amount of nearly boiling water under pressure through finely ground coffee. Espresso is widely known throughout the world....
, but is extracted more slowly. Other styles are prepared from the Mokka:
- großer Schwarzer - a double Mokka
- kleiner Brauner or großer Brauner - single or double Mokka plus milkMilkMilk is a white liquid produced by the mammary glands of mammals. It is the primary source of nutrition for young mammals before they are able to digest other types of food. Early-lactation milk contains colostrum, which carries the mother's antibodies to the baby and can reduce the risk of many...
- Verlängerter - "lengthened" (i.e. diluted) Mokka with more water plus milk
- MelangeWiener MelangeA Wiener Melange is "properly" coffee with milk and is similar to a cappuccino but usually made with mild coffee , preferably caramelised...
- half Mokka, half heated milk, often topped with foamed milk - Franziskaner - Melange topped with whipped creamWhipped creamWhipped cream is cream that has been beaten by a mixer, whisk, or fork until it is light and fluffy. Whipped cream is often sweetened and sometimes flavored with vanilla, in which case it may be called Chantilly cream or crème Chantilly ....
not foamed milk - Kapuziner - kleiner Schwarzer plus whipped cream
- Einspänner - großer Schwarzer topped with whipped cream
- Wiener Eiskaffee - iced Mokka with vanilla ice cream, topped with whipped cream
Italian styles such as cappuccino
Cappuccino
A cappuccino is an Italian coffee drink prepared with espresso, hot milk, and steamed-milk foam. The name comes from the Capuchin friars, referring to the colour of their habits.- Definition :...
, espresso
Espresso
Espresso is a concentrated beverage brewed by forcing a small amount of nearly boiling water under pressure through finely ground coffee. Espresso is widely known throughout the world....
and caffè latte are also commonly served.
Traditionally, coffee is served with a glass of still water.
Drinking coffee together is an important social activity in Austrian culture. It is quite common for Austrians to invite friends or neighbors over for coffee and cake. This somewhat routine activity can be compared to the British afternoon tea tradition. It is also very common to go to a coffeehouse for dating.
Hot chocolate
Viennese hot chocolateHot chocolate
Hot chocolate is a heated beverage typically consisting of shaved chocolate, melted chocolate or cocoa powder, heated milk or water, and sugar...
is very rich, containing heavy cream in addition to chocolate, and sometimes thickened further with egg yolk.
Soft drinks
AlmdudlerAlmdudler
Almdudler is the brand name of a popular Austrian soft drink. The original Almdudler is a sweetened carbonated beverage made of grape and apple juice concentrates flavoured with herbs; its flavour is similar to ginger ale or elderflower cordial but with a somewhat fruitier and more bitter flavour....
is an Austrian soft drink based on mountain herbs and with a flavour reminiscent of elderflower beverages. It is considered the 'national drink of Austria', and is popularly used as a mixer with white wine. The popular energy drink Red Bull
Red Bull
Red Bull is an energy drink sold by the Austrian Red Bull GmbH, created in 1987 by the Austrian entrepreneur Dietrich Mateschitz. In terms of market share, Red Bull is the most popular energy drink in the world, with 3 billion cans sold each year. Dietrich Mateschitz was inspired by an already...
became popular in the West starting in Austria. The headquarters of Red Bull is located at Fuschl next to Salzburg
Salzburg
-Population development:In 1935, the population significantly increased when Salzburg absorbed adjacent municipalities. After World War II, numerous refugees found a new home in the city. New residential space was created for American soldiers of the postwar Occupation, and could be used for...
.
Beer
BeerBeer
Beer is the world's most widely consumed andprobably oldest alcoholic beverage; it is the third most popular drink overall, after water and tea. It is produced by the brewing and fermentation of sugars, mainly derived from malted cereal grains, most commonly malted barley and malted wheat...
is generally sold in the following sizes: 0.2 litre (a Pfiff), 0.3 litre (a Seidel, kleines Bier or Glas Bier) and 0.5 litre (a Krügerl or großes Bier or Hoibe). At festivals one litre Maß and two litre Doppelmaß in the Bavaria
Bavaria
Bavaria, formally the Free State of Bavaria is a state of Germany, located in the southeast of Germany. With an area of , it is the largest state by area, forming almost 20% of the total land area of Germany...
n style are also dispensed. The most popular types of beer are pale lager
Lager
Lager is a type of beer made from malted barley that is brewed and stored at low temperatures. There are many types of lager; pale lager is the most widely-consumed and commercially available style of beer in the world; Pilsner, Bock, Dortmunder Export and Märzen are all styles of lager...
(known as Märzen in Austria), naturally cloudy Zwicklbier, and wheat beer
Wheat beer
Wheat beer is a beer that is brewed with a large proportion of wheat. Wheat beers often also contain a significant proportion of malted barley. Wheat beers are usually top-fermented...
. At holidays like Christmas and Easter bock
Bock
Bock is a strong lager of German origin. Several substyles exist, including maibock or helles bock, a paler, more hopped version generally made for consumption at spring festivals; doppelbock, a stronger and maltier version; and eisbock, a much stronger version made by partially freezing the beer...
beer is also available.
Austrian beers are typically in the pale lager
Pale lager
Pale lager is a very pale to golden-coloured beer with a well attenuated body and a varying degree of noble hop bitterness. The brewing process for this beer developed in the mid 19th century when Gabriel Sedlmayr took pale ale brewing techniques back to the Spaten Brewery in Germany and applied it...
style, with the exceptions noted above. A dark amber "Vienna Style" lager was pioneered in the city during the 19th century but is now not common there.
Wine
WineWine
Wine is an alcoholic beverage, made of fermented fruit juice, usually from grapes. The natural chemical balance of grapes lets them ferment without the addition of sugars, acids, enzymes, or other nutrients. Grape wine is produced by fermenting crushed grapes using various types of yeast. Yeast...
is principally cultivated in the east of Austria. The most important wine-producing areas are in Lower Austria
Lower Austria
Lower Austria is the northeasternmost state of the nine states in Austria. The capital of Lower Austria since 1986 is Sankt Pölten, the most recently designated capital town in Austria. The capital of Lower Austria had formerly been Vienna, even though Vienna is not officially part of Lower Austria...
, Burgenland
Burgenland
Burgenland is the easternmost and least populous state or Land of Austria. It consists of two Statutarstädte and seven districts with in total 171 municipalities. It is 166 km long from north to south but much narrower from west to east...
, Styria
Styria (state)
Styria is a state or Bundesland, located in the southeast of Austria. In area it is the second largest of the nine Austrian federated states, covering 16,401 km². It borders Slovenia as well as the other Austrian states of Upper Austria, Lower Austria, Salzburg, Burgenland, and Carinthia. ...
, and Vienna. The Grüner Veltliner
Grüner Veltliner
Grüner Veltliner is a variety of white wine grape variety grown primarily in Austria, Slovakia, and the Czech Republic. It has a reputation of being a particularly food-friendly wine...
grape provides some of Austria's most notable white wines and Zweigelt
Zweigelt
Zweigelt is a red wine grape variety developed in 1922, at the Federal Institute for Viticulture and Pomology at Klosterneuburg, Austria, by Fritz Zweigelt. It was a crossing of St. Laurent and Blaufränkisch. It is now the most widely-grown red grape variety in Austria, as well as having some...
is the most widely planted red wine grape.
Southern Burgenland is a region that mainly grows red grapes while the "Seewinkel" area around the Neusiedlersee has more mixed wine cultures.
Wine is even grown within the city limits of Vienna - the only European capital where this is true - and some is even produced under the auspices of the city council.
Young wine (i.e. wine produced from grapes of the most recent harvest) is called Heuriger and gives its name to inns in Vienna and its surroundings which serve Heuriger wine along with food. In Styria, Carinthia and Burgenland the heuriger inns are known as Buschenschanken.
Other alcoholic drinks
In Upper AustriaUpper Austria
Upper Austria is one of the nine states or Bundesländer of Austria. Its capital is Linz. Upper Austria borders on Germany and the Czech Republic, as well as on the other Austrian states of Lower Austria, Styria, and Salzburg...
, Lower Austria, Styria and Carinthia
Carinthia (state)
Carinthia is the southernmost Austrian state or Land. Situated within the Eastern Alps it is chiefly noted for its mountains and lakes.The main language is German. Its regional dialects belong to the Southern Austro-Bavarian group...
, Most, a type of cider
Cider
Cider or cyder is a fermented alcoholic beverage made from apple juice. Cider varies in alcohol content from 2% abv to 8.5% abv or more in traditional English ciders. In some regions, such as Germany and America, cider may be termed "apple wine"...
or perry
Perry
Perry is an alcoholic beverage made from fermented pears. Perry has been common for centuries in Britain, particularly in the Three Counties of Gloucestershire, Herefordshire and Worcestershire, and in parts of south Wales; and France, especially Normandy and Anjou.In more recent years, commercial...
is widely produced, whilst Sturm, a semi-fermented grape-juice is drunk after the grape harvest.
At the close of a meal, schnapps
Schnapps
Schnapps is a type of distilled alcoholic beverage. The English word schnapps is derived from the German Schnaps , which can refer to any strong alcoholic drink but particularly those containing at least 32% ABV...
of typically up to 60 % alcohol or fruit brandy
Brandy
Brandy is a spirit produced by distilling wine. Brandy generally contains 35%–60% alcohol by volume and is typically taken as an after-dinner drink...
is drunk, which in Austria is made from a variety of fruits (for example apricot
Apricot
The apricot, Prunus armeniaca, is a species of Prunus, classified with the plum in the subgenus Prunus. The native range is somewhat uncertain due to its extensive prehistoric cultivation.- Description :...
s), as well as rowan
Rowan
The rowans or mountain-ashes are shrubs or small trees in genus Sorbus of family Rosaceae. They are native throughout the cool temperate regions of the Northern Hemisphere, with the highest species diversity in the mountains of western China and the Himalaya, where numerous apomictic microspecies...
berries, gentian
Gentian
Gentiana is a genus of flowering plants belonging to the Gentian family , tribe Gentianeae and monophyletic subtribe Gentianinae. With about 400 species, it is considered a large genus.-Habitat:...
roots, various herb
Herb
Except in botanical usage, an herb is "any plant with leaves, seeds, or flowers used for flavoring, food, medicine, or perfume" or "a part of such a plant as used in cooking"...
s and even flowers. The produce of small private schnapps distilleries, of which there are around 20,000 in Austria, is known as Selberbrennter or Hausbrand. A very high percentage schnaps is called "Umblachter" and has up to 85% Alcohol.
Snack food
Sausage
A sausage is a food usually made from ground meat , mixed with salt, herbs, and other spices, although vegetarian sausages are available. The word sausage is derived from Old French saussiche, from the Latin word salsus, meaning salted.Typically, a sausage is formed in a casing traditionally made...
with mustard, ketchup and bread, as well as sliced sausage, Leberkäse
Leberkäse
is a specialty food found in the south of Germany, in Austria and parts of Switzerland, similar to bologna sausage...
rolls or Schnitzelsemmeln (rolls filled with schnitzel).
Traditionally you can get a Wurstsemmel (a roll filled, usually, with Extrawurst
Extrawurst
Extrawurst can be either a type of sausage or part of a German idiomatic expression.- Sausage type :Extrawurst is a type of Austrian scalded sausage. It is moist, light coloured, fine textured and made from a well-spiced mixture of beef, pork and bacon fat...
a special kind of thinly sliced sausage, often with a slice of Cheese and a Pickle or Cornichon) at a Butcher or at the delicatessen
Delicatessen
Delicatessen is a term meaning "delicacies" or "fine foods". The word entered English via German,with the old German spelling , plural of Delikatesse "delicacy", ultimately from Latin delicatus....
counter in a supermarket.
There are also other common delicacies, which may not be cordon bleu, but which are typical of Austrian food-
For example the Bosna or Bosner
Bosner
Bosna is a spicy Austrian fast food dish, it is said to have originated in either the city of Salzburg or Linz, nowadays it's popular all over Austria....
(a spiced bratwurst
Bratwurst
A bratwurst is a sausage usually composed of veal, pork or beef. The plural in German is Bratwürste....
in a hot dog
Hot dog
A hot dog is a sausage served in a sliced bun. It is very often garnished with mustard, ketchup, onions, mayonnaise, relish and/or sauerkraut.-History:...
roll) which is an integral part of the menu at Austria's typical fast-food joint, the sausage stand (Würstelstand
Würstelstand
A Würstelstand is a traditional Austrian street food retail outlet.Würstelstands were initially created the period of the Austro-Hungarian Empire to provide a source of income for incapacitated former soldiers....
).
Most Austrian Sausages contain Pork.
Lower Austria
In Lower AustriaLower Austria
Lower Austria is the northeasternmost state of the nine states in Austria. The capital of Lower Austria since 1986 is Sankt Pölten, the most recently designated capital town in Austria. The capital of Lower Austria had formerly been Vienna, even though Vienna is not officially part of Lower Austria...
, local delicacies such as Waldviertel
Waldviertel
The Waldviertel is the northwestern region of the Austrian state Lower Austria. It is bounded to the south by the Danube, to the southwest by Upper Austria, to the northwest and the north by the Czech Republic and to the east by the Manhartsberg , which is the survey point dividing Waldviertel...
poppies
Poppy
A poppy is one of a group of a flowering plants in the poppy family, many of which are grown in gardens for their colorful flowers. Poppies are sometimes used for symbolic reasons, such as in remembrance of soldiers who have died during wartime....
, Marchfeld asparagus
Asparagus
Asparagus officinalis is a spring vegetable, a flowering perennialplant species in the genus Asparagus. It was once classified in the lily family, like its Allium cousins, onions and garlic, but the Liliaceae have been split and the onion-like plants are now in the family Amaryllidaceae and...
and Wachau
Wachau
The Wachau is an Austrian valley with a picturesque landscape formed by the Danube river. It is one of the most prominent tourist destinations of Lower Austria, located midway between the towns of Melk and Krems that also attracts "connoisseurs and epicureans". It is in length and was already...
apricots are cultivated. Famous are the "Marillenknödel" small dumplings filled with apricots and warm butter-fried breadcrumbs on it. Their influence can be felt in the local cuisine, for example in poppy seed noodles "Mohnnudel
Mohnnudel
Mohnnudeln , is the name of thick noodles of a potato dough in Bohemian and Austrian cuisine, similar to the Schupfnudel...
n". Game
Game (food)
Game is any animal hunted for food or not normally domesticated. Game animals are also hunted for sport.The type and range of animals hunted for food varies in different parts of the world. This will be influenced by climate, animal diversity, local taste and locally accepted view about what can or...
dishes are very common. Lower Austria is striking for the differences within its regional cuisine due to its size and the variety of its landscape.
Burgenland
BurgenlandBurgenland
Burgenland is the easternmost and least populous state or Land of Austria. It consists of two Statutarstädte and seven districts with in total 171 municipalities. It is 166 km long from north to south but much narrower from west to east...
's cuisine has been influenced by Hungarian cuisine and Balkan cuisine owing to its former position within the Hungarian part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. Dishes consist mainly of fish, chicken or pork. Potatoes are the most common side dish, for example mashed potatoes with onions called "Grö´ste"(coming from "geröstet", roasted). Thanks to Hungary's Balkan influences, often Burgenlandish dishes are spicier than elsewhere in Austria, often indicated with the terms "Zigeuner..." ("Gypsy") or "Serbisch..."
Polenta
Polenta
Polenta is a dish made from boiled cornmeal. The word "polenta" is borrowed from Italian.-Description:Polenta is made with ground yellow or white cornmeal , which can be ground coarsely or finely depending on the region and the texture desired.As it is known today, polenta derives from earlier...
is a popular side-dish within Burgenland's Croatian minority. On St Martin's Day
Martin of Tours
Martin of Tours was a Bishop of Tours whose shrine became a famous stopping-point for pilgrims on the road to Santiago de Compostela. Around his name much legendary material accrued, and he has become one of the most familiar and recognizable Christian saints...
(November 11) a Martinigans (St Martin's goose) is often prepared, whilst carp
Carp
Carp are various species of oily freshwater fish of the family Cyprinidae, a very large group of fish native to Europe and Asia. The cypriniformes are traditionally grouped with the Characiformes, Siluriformes and Gymnotiformes to create the superorder Ostariophysi, since these groups have certain...
is a typical Christmas dish.
Styria
In StyrianStyria (state)
Styria is a state or Bundesland, located in the southeast of Austria. In area it is the second largest of the nine Austrian federated states, covering 16,401 km². It borders Slovenia as well as the other Austrian states of Upper Austria, Lower Austria, Salzburg, Burgenland, and Carinthia. ...
Buschenschanken (inns), Verhackertes (a spread
Spread (food)
A spread is a food that is spread with a knife onto bread, crackers, or other bread products. Spreads are added to bread products to provide flavor and texture, and are an integral part of the dish, i.e. they should be distinguished from condiments, which are optional additions...
made from finely chopped raw bacon) is served. Schilcher
Schilcher
Schilcher is a wine produced solely in the Austrian region of Western Styria , in the districts of Deutschlandsberg and Voitsberg, sharing a border with Slovenia and Carinthia to the south and west. The wine growing area is the smallest in Europe. The Schilcher wine itself is a distinct rosé made...
, a very dry rosé, is the regional style of wine in West Styria. A typically Styrian delicacy is pumpkin seed oil
Pumpkin seed oil
Pumpkin seed oil , a culinary specialty of south eastern Austria , eastern Slovenia , north western Croatia Pumpkin seed oil (Kernöl or Kürbiskernöl in German, bučno olje in Slovenian, bučino ulje or bundevino ulje in Croatian, and tökmag-olaj in Hungarian), a culinary specialty of south eastern...
, which lends itself particularly to salad
Salad
Salad is any of a wide variety of dishes, including vegetable salads; salads of pasta, legumes, eggs, or grains; mixed salads incorporating meat, poultry, or seafood; and fruit salads. They may include a mixture of cold and hot, often including raw vegetables or fruits.Green salads include leaf...
s on account of its nutty taste. Many varieties of pumpkin
Pumpkin
A pumpkin is a gourd-like squash of the genus Cucurbita and the family Cucurbitaceae . It commonly refers to cultivars of any one of the species Cucurbita pepo, Cucurbita mixta, Cucurbita maxima, and Cucurbita moschata, and is native to North America...
dish are also very popular. Heidensterz, resembling a dry, almost crumbly version of grits
Grits
Grits are a food of American Indian origin common in the Southern United States and mainly eaten at breakfast. They consist of coarsely ground corn, or sometimes alkali-treated corn . They are also sometimes called sofkee or sofkey from the Muskogee language word...
made from buckwheat
Buckwheat
Buckwheat refers to a variety of plants in the dicot family Polygonaceae: the Eurasian genus Fagopyrum, the North American genus Eriogonum, and the Northern Hemisphere genus Fallopia. Either of the latter two may be referred to as "wild buckwheat"...
flour, is a local dish enjoyed in cold weather.
Carinthia
CarinthiaCarinthia (state)
Carinthia is the southernmost Austrian state or Land. Situated within the Eastern Alps it is chiefly noted for its mountains and lakes.The main language is German. Its regional dialects belong to the Southern Austro-Bavarian group...
's many lakes mean that fish is a popular main course. Grain, dairy produce and meat are important ingredients in Carinthian cuisine. Carinthian Kasnudeln (noodle dough pockets filled with quark and mint
Mentha
Mentha is a genus of flowering plants in the family Lamiaceae . The species are not clearly distinct and estimates of the number of species varies from 13 to 18. Hybridization between some of the species occurs naturally...
) and smaller Schlickkrapfen (mainly with a meat filling) are well-known local delicacies. Klachlsuppe (pig's trotter soup) and Reindling (yeast-dough pastry/cake filled with a mix of cinnamon, sugar and raisins) are also produced locally.
Upper Austria
Various types of dumplingDumpling
Dumplings are cooked balls of dough. They are based on flour, potatoes or bread, and may include meat, fish, vegetables, or sweets. They may be cooked by boiling, steaming, simmering, frying, or baking. They may have a filling, or there may be other ingredients mixed into the dough. Dumplings may...
are an important part of Upper Austria
Upper Austria
Upper Austria is one of the nine states or Bundesländer of Austria. Its capital is Linz. Upper Austria borders on Germany and the Czech Republic, as well as on the other Austrian states of Lower Austria, Styria, and Salzburg...
n cuisine, as they are in neighbouring Bohemia and also Bavaria. The Linzer Torte
Linzer Torte
The Linzer Torte is an Austrian torte with a lattice design on top of the pastry. It is named after the city of Linz, Austria....
, a cake which includes ground nuts and raspberry jam, is a popular dessert from the region.
"Linzeraugen" are fine, soft cookies filled with a jam made of redcurrant
Redcurrant
The redcurrant , Ribes rubrum, is a member of the genus Ribes in the gooseberry family Grossulariaceae, native to parts of western Europe...
s called "Ribisel-Marmelade", which has a sharp flavour.
Salzburg
Kasnocken (cheese dumplings) are a popular meal, as are freshwater fish, particularly trout, served in various ways. Salzburger NockerlSalzburger Nockerl
Salzburger Nockerl is a typical sweet soufflé the city of Salzburg, Austria, is famous for.The sweet dumplings are made of egg yolk, flour, sugar, salt, vanilla, and milk mixed into a thin dough. Then egg white is whisked until it is stiff and mixed carefully with the dough and some raisins...
n (a meringue
Meringue
Meringue is a type of dessert made from whipped egg whites and sugar, occasionally some recipes may call for adding an acid such as cream of tartar or a small amount of vinegar and a binding agent such as cornstarch found in icing sugar which may be added in addition to the corn starch which...
-like dish) is a well-known local dessert. (See recipe at wikibooks cookbook, Recipe)
Tyrol
Tyrolean bacon and all sorts of dumplings including Speckknödel (dumplings with pieces of bacon) and Spinatknödel (made of spinach) are an important part of the local cuisine. Tyrolean cuisine is very simple because in earlier times Tyroleans were not very rich, farming on mountains and in valleys in the middle of the Alpine Region. Tyrolean food often contains milk, cheese, flour and lard.Vorarlberg
The cuisine of VorarlbergVorarlberg
Vorarlberg is the westernmost federal-state of Austria. Although it is the second smallest in terms of area and population , it borders three countries: Germany , Switzerland and Liechtenstein...
has been influenced by the alemannic
Alemannic
Alemannic may refer to:* Alamanni, a Germanic tribe of the first millennium* Alemannic German, a dialect family in the Upper German branch of the German languages and its speakers...
cuisine of neighbouring Switzerland
Switzerland
Switzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition....
and Swabia
Swabia
Swabia is a cultural, historic and linguistic region in southwestern Germany.-Geography:Like many cultural regions of Europe, Swabia's borders are not clearly defined...
. Cheese and cheese products play a major role in the cuisine, with Käsknöpfle and Kässpätzle (egg noodles prepared with cheese) being popular dishes. Other delicacies include Krutspätzle (sauerkraut noodles), Käsdönnala (similar to a quiche
Quiche
Quiche is a savory, open-faced pie of vegetables, cheese, or meat in custard, baked in a pastry crust.The quiche is sometimes regarded as the savoury equivalent ofegg custard tart.- Etymology:...
), Schupfnudla (made from a dough mixing potato and flour), Flädlesuppe (pancake soup), Öpfelküachle (apple cake) and Funkaküachle (cake traditionally eaten on the first Sunday of Lent).
Food control laws
Austria has very strict laws regulating its food and drink industry.Every single piece of meat is quality-controlled and registered even when it is hunted game. The same strict rules are in place for milk and cheese. The Ministry for Agriculture and the Gesundheitsamt (Department of Health) regulate industry and farmers to make ensure the high quality level of food products, including assuring the quality of the international "made in Austria" brand.
Austrian consumers are typically suspicious of meat of foreign origin in particular, following the scare over BSE
Bovine spongiform encephalopathy
Bovine spongiform encephalopathy , commonly known as mad-cow disease, is a fatal neurodegenerative disease in cattle that causes a spongy degeneration in the brain and spinal cord. BSE has a long incubation period, about 30 months to 8 years, usually affecting adult cattle at a peak age onset of...
. Organically-produced goods are also in high demand, and the Austrian government has introduced additional quality standards with stricter rules, such as BIO or AMA-Gütesiegel. A new standard is "Genfrei" or "Gentechnikfrei" meaning the food is free of Genetically Modified ingredients (GMO)
GMO
A GMO is a genetically modified organism.GMO may also refer to:* Gell-Mann–Okubo mass formula in particle physics* General Medical Officer, a designation for United States Army soldiers* Generalised molecular orbital theory, in chemistry...
.
Following a 1985 scandal in which it was revealed that some Austrian wine
Austrian wine
Austrian wines are mostly dry white wines with some luscious dessert wines made around the Neusiedler See. About 30% of the wines are red, made from Blaufränkisch , Pinot Noir and locally bred varieties such as Zweigelt...
had been adulterated (sweetened) with diethylene glycol
Diethylene glycol
Diethylene glycol is an organic compound with the formula 2O. It is a colorless, practically odorless, poisonous, and hygroscopic liquid with a sweetish taste. It is miscible in water, alcohol, ether, acetone, and ethylene glycol. DEG is a widely used solvent...
(a type of antifreeze), the government introduced strict quality controls and now Austrian wine is renowned for its quality.