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Leipzig: The way to a man's heart is through his stomach |
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Tasty tips from and in Leipzig
In addition to hosting the world's oldest trade fair and being the city with the proudest musical history after Vienna, Leipzig is also a paradise for gourmets. For centuries, locals and their guests have enjoyed a host of culinary specialities ranging from the "Scheelchen Heeßen" (coffee, the Saxon national drink) and the vegetable dish "Leipziger Allerlei" to "Leipziger Lerche" cakes and "Leipziger Gose", a unique type of beer. Leipzig's traditional restaurants, modern bars and cosy cafés are great places to enjoy an excellent meal, a good chat, a cup of coffee, or simply to watch the world go by. The information here will help you find out exactly what specialities are typical of Leipzig and how they developed. You'll be surprised to see how many there are!
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The colourful dish named after the city:
"Leipziger Allerlei"
Leipzig's best-known speciality is "Leipziger Allerlei", which is based on fresh vegetables, and became especially well-known in the 19th and 20th centuries. However, the origin of this dish is unknown. In around 1900 it was simply known in Leipzig as "Allerlei", which can be translated as "pot-pourri" or "all sorts". It only seems to have acquired its epithet "Leipzig" when it was finally included in various cookery books. Restaurant proprietors generally served this local speciality (then explained on menus for example as "all sorts of solely young vegetables") between March and August. According to old recipes, "Leipziger Allerlei" contains not only a diverse selection of young vegetables such as carrots, kohlrabi, cauliflower and asparagus, but also morels (a type of mushroom), crayfish tails and flour dumplings. Original "Leipziger Allerlei" is served in June when the asparagus season has begun, the close season for crayfish is over, and the vegetables have just been freshly harvested.
In 1900, tins of "Winter-Allerlei" went on sale for the first time. Later on, people cooked "Allerlei" at home from a packet of dried vegetables. Following World War II, the speciality mutated into an overcooked form of mixed vegetables often served under the name "Leipziger Allerlei" at schools and factory canteens. This is why only a few people nowadays seem to know exactly what goes into the genuine form of the dish.
Ingredients: 250g each carrots, kohlrabi, cauliflower, asparagus and morels; 500g peas; 2–4 crayfish; 150g butter; 2–3 eggs; pinch of nutmeg; fresh breadcrumbs; 50g flour; milk
Instructions: Clean the carrots and kohlrabi and cut them into long strips of the same length. Shell the peas and place all the vegetables in salted water. Peel the asparagus, cut it into strips about the thickness of a finger, and cook it gently in a light bouillon. Cut the cauliflower into florets and boil it in a mixture of milk and water to which butter and salt has been added. Slice the mushrooms and fry them gently in butter. Peel the boiled crayfish, carefully remove the tails and rub the cleaned heads and thoraxes with salt. Beat the butter and add the egg yolk and the firmly beaten egg white, as well as the nutmeg and breadcrumbs. Use some of this mixture to stuff the heads and thoraxes. Mould the rest into small dumplings. Boil the dumplings along with the heads and thoraxes in salted water for 5 minutes. Make a roux from about 100g butter and 50g flour, and add enough of the water from the asparagus and cauliflower needed to make a thick sauce. Place the mixed vegetables (apart from the morels) into a bowl and pour the sauce over them. Then add the dumplings and crayfish tails, dot the dish with butter, and arrange the morels and crayfish claws on top.
Another less complicated but equally tasty version involves leaving out the crayfish tails and dumplings and replacing the morels with simple mushrooms. After the vegetables have been cooked, make a roux, add vegetable broth, cook until the mixture thickens, and add cream. Garnish the vegetables with fresh parsley.
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From songbird to popular cake:
The "Leipziger Lerche"
One special treat in Leipzig is the "Leipziger Lerche", which translates as the "Leipzig Lark". Along with "Leipziger Allerlei" it, too, found its way onto international menus in the 18th and 19th centuries. Visitors to Leipzig shouldn't miss this typical Leipzig cake, which originally emerged from a decadent taste for a nowadays unusual type of poultry.
For believe it or not, the skylark was actually a Leipzig culinary speciality back in the 18th century. September, October and November, when the skylarks stopped off while migrating south on the flats between the Elbe and Saale rivers, was the best time of the year for bird-catchers. Some 1.5 million of these songbirds were trapped on Leipzig's floodplains every year, cooked with herbs and eggs, and served with sauerkraut or wrapped in bacon fat by "Lerchenfrauen" ("lark women") on Salzgässchen. Cookery books published between 1712 and 1850 contained the most amazing recipes such as arched breast of lark with truffle or lark on a skewer. Not even the brutal instructions for cooking skylarks put gourmets off.
Instructions: Pluck 12 larks, pull the skin off their heads, singe them and wipe them clean. Poke their eyes out, tear off the lower half of the beak along with the throat and the pharynx, remove the claws and the wings, take out the stomach, and then twist the feet round and tuck them between the legs. Cross the legs and bend the head towards them. Singe the lark gently. Fry it in a covered pan with plenty of butter until golden brown. Fry breadcrumbs in the butter, place the larks into a hot dish and pour the butter and breadcrumbs over them. If liked, place a few juniper berries with the larks into the butter and add chopped parsley to the breadcrumbs.
The skylarks sold like hot cakes. There was even a mail-order service for plucked and stuffed larks from the Leipzig area, with boxes of 12 or 24 being sent all over the world, including to Spain and Russia.
However, more civilised members of the public thought this 'delicacy' was criminal. The sensitive poetess Friederike Kempner from the neighbouring state of Prussian felt driven to express her sympathy for the skylarks in verse:
Die friedlichen Sänger des Feldes,
Ach nackt und zum Fraße bereit,
Ihr werdet doch Lerchen nicht essen?
Mein Gott, ihr wär`t nicht gescheit!
Die Lerche, die wahre Poetin,
Zum Himmel schwingt sie sich auf,
Ihr Nestlein sorglos am Boden,
Die Senner treten darauf.
In Leipzig aber schlachten
Die singenden Kehlchen sie,
Ach nackt und klein zum Erbarmen,
Ein Schlachten der Poesie!
Peaceful singers of the field,
To you are about to be fed.
Surely you wouldn't eat skylarks?
You must be out of your head!
The skylark, that genuine poetess,
Soars high in the sky o'er steppe
Her nest down below on the ground
Is crushed 'neath the herdsman's step.
In Leipzig the bird-catchers kill
The songstress fair and her daughter.
Woe the pitiful naked lark –
The poet is led to her slaughter!
Yet despite protests and the growth of enlightenment, trapping larks was only brought to an end by a natural event. In August 1860 there was a terrible hail storm which devastated numerous buildings, gardens and avenues. The horrific sight of streets full of larks decimated by the hail prompted many restaurant proprietors to take skylarks off the menu. Hunting larks was finally outlawed by the King of Saxony in 1876 in response to public protest.
Nonetheless, the name "Leipziger Lerche" continues to be associated with something tasty to eat. Following the disappearance of larks from the menu, a number of Leipzig bakers decided to offer gourmets a sweet alternative made of short pastry, almonds, nuts and strawberry jam in the shape of a lark. Known as the "Leipziger Lerche", the bakers were delighted when these new sweet larks proved as popular as the old poultry ones. The short pastry cake was reminiscent of the lark's skin, while the two strips of short pastry on top symbolised the thread used to bind the stuffed bird.
"Leipziger Lerchen" are still made by hand in seven stages using an old recipe.
Ingredients: Short pastry, strawberry jam, 80g margarine, 125g sugar, salt, 2 eggs, 100g flour, 125g chopped sweet almonds, nuts or desiccated coconut, 5 grated bitter almonds, about 4 desert spoons of milk, 3 desert spoons of rum or cognac.
Instructions: Line the compartments of a lightly buttered jam-tart tin with thinly rolled short pastry and place a little jam on the bottom. Beat the margarine together with all the ingredients (save one egg yolk). Place the mixture in the pastry cases, lay two strips of pastry on top in a cross, and brush on top with beaten egg yolk. Bake at medium heat for about 25 minutes. Embedding a maraschino cherry in the marzipan and almond mixture is said to be the height of luxury!
Nowadays this coffee-house delicacy is more popular than ever.
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A sweet treat:
"Leipziger Räbchen"
Another sweet speciality is the small doughnut known as a "Leipziger Räbchen" ("Leipzig Raven"). Plums stuffed with marzipan are pressed into pancake dough. The dough is then shaped into a ball, deep fried, and rolled in a mixture of sugar and cinnamon.
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Dine like Johann Sebastian Bach:
"Orgelschmaus"
When the records of the Church of Our Lady in Halle were studied, accounts ledgers of the church were found which had evidently been gathering dust in a dark room next to the small organ since 1844. They revealed that in 1715–16, the musician and composer Johann Sebastian Bach had been invited to Halle by Lizentiat Becker, the chairman of the Fathers of the Church. The letter to Bach was delivered by special messenger, who according to the receipt received a thaler. On 28 April, the guests arrived, their job being to inspect the organ. In addition to Bach (who had travelled to Halle from Weimar) they included Johann Kuhnau from Leipzig (Bach's predecessor as choirmaster of St. Thomas's Boys Choir in Leipzig) and Christian Friedrich from Quedlinburg. In line with tradition, the serious business of testing the organ was followed by fortification in the form of victuals. The receipts found accurately report all the food and drink they were expected to tackle.
Since 1999, the historical Leipzig restaurant Barthels Hof has served this historical "Orgelschmaus" ("organ feast"). Hence in addition to experiencing Bach's music at authentic venues, visitors also have a chance to share the repleteness Bach felt once the work was done.
Menu of the banquet following inspection of the organ:
1. A good broth – clear pike broth with pieces of fish, celeriac, nutmeg and potatoes
2. Boeuf à la mode – pink roast beef and sour preserved pumpkin on a sauce made of finely puréed peas, bread and breadcrumbs
3. Roast veal with gravy made of preserved cherries, hot asparagus with fresh butter and fried diced potatoes
4. Glazed ring doughnuts filled with lemon cream
5. Coffee with crumbly biscuits
Although we now know what Bach ate, the question still remains as to how he ate it. Forks are unlikely to have been used at the table, and even among the nobility, table manners were somewhat "old-fashioned" compared to other countries. Even Prince Leopold Friedrich Franz of Anhalt, who created the renowned Wörlitz Park, had to admit that, "It was only in England that I learned to use knives and forks. Nothing is harder to learn than the skilful, elegant usage of knives and forks, and nothing is easier than to identify people who learned good table manners at an early age."
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Chocolate organ pipes:
"Leipziger Bachpfeiffen"
"Leipziger Bachpfeiffen" ("organ pipes") were dreamt up by two young Gewandhaus musicians. They were developed in 1999 in tribute to Bach, who was choirmaster of St. Thomas's Boys Choir from 1723 until his death in 1750. The shape of "Leipziger Bachpfeiffen", some of the longest chocolates in the world, are based on the organ pipes used in Bach's day. They are filled with giandula cream and have a delicate coffee coating. The elaborate blue and yellow packaging contains a chronicle of how "Leipziger Bachpfeiffen" came into being. The inventors' approach is to restrict their sale to Leipzig and the surrounding area. "Leipziger Bachpfeiffen" can for example be bought for €13 per box at the Thomasshop (just outside St. Thomas's Church) and Café Richter (Petersstraße).
To find out more, visit www.bachpfeiffen.de.
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There's always room for a dessert!
"Quarkkeulchen"
Another sweet speciality often served for dessert in Leipzig is curd-cheese dumplings known as "Quarkkeulchen".
Ingredients: 500g quark (low-fat soft cheese), flour, 3 eggs, 1 cup of sour cream, butter salt, sugar
Instructions: Mix the quark, eggs and sour cream with a little salt. Add enough flour to make a dough which isn't too stiff. Melt the butter in a frying pan. Take one handful of dough at a time and form it into thick round circles. Fry them on both sides until brown and then sprinkle them with sugar.
This culinary excursion through the local cuisine wouldn't be complete without a few lines from Lene Voigt, a popular poet who wrote in the Leipzig dialect. Her pet recipe is bound to come in handy against both writer's block and the cold:
In dn Dee baar Drebbchen Rum
Brachte noch geen Menschen um.
Wenn mers'ch nur nich iberdreibt
Un's ähm bei baar Drebbchen bleibt.
Wie behaachlich un wie wohl
Schtreemt ä bißchen Algohol
Jeden in sein Gorbus nein.
Das braucht geener zu berein.
Sowas nennt mer "inschbiriern".
Oft schon dat ich's ausprobiern.
Doch jetz här ich lieber uff,
Sonst schbricht eener noch von Suff.
Tea served with a dash of rum
Ne'er did harm to anyone
As long as we know when to stop
And don't take more than just a drop.
How warm is alcohol's bright flame
On entering the human frame!
Drinking it's no cause to fret
It's nothing we should e'er regret.
That's just what we call inspiration –
I often try its application.
But p'raps I'll stop now with the rum
Before a drunkard I become!
(Lene Voigt, "In dn Dee baar Drebbchen Rum" – abridged version)
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The Gose is to beer as the rose is to flowers!
"Leipziger Gose"
"What's to fear from a glass of beer?" as the saying goes – especially when we're talking about an outstanding Leipzig beer speciality, Gose beer. Gose is a tangy top-fermented beer containing 4.5% alcohol by volume.
Originally Gose had nothing to do with Leipzig. The name came from the Gose, a stream flowing through the town of Goslar. Beer was first brewed in Goslar 1,000 years ago, and the same kind of beer was soon also produced in other towns in the Harz mountains. Gose was also brought to Saxony-Anhalt, where it was successfully marketed by the Gose brewery in Glauditz. Prince Leopold I of Dessau, known as the "Old Dessauer", was especially fond of Gose beer from Glauditz. When he visited Eutritzsch by Leipzig in 1738 he was so disappointed by Leipzig beer that he promised the local innkeeper to release him from the obligation to serve beer produced in Leipzig. The landlord soon took delivery of the first Gose beer from Glauditz, making his tavern the first "Gosenschänke" ("Gose inn") in the Leipzig district. Gradually Gose became the main Leipzig beer. True to the saying "Die Studiosen tranken 2–20 Gosen!" ("The students drank 2–20 Gose beers!"), Goethe enjoyed serious amounts of this top-fermented beer when he was enrolled at the University of Leipzig.
The "Ohne Bedenken" Gose inn founded by the Cajeris family at Menckestraße 5, Leipzig, became especially well-known. It was reopened in 1986 after extensive refurbishment and is now the only Gose inn to still be in existence at its original address. The reopening of the "Ohne Bedenken" was responsible for the resurgence of Gose beer, which had been forgotten since World War II. In the year 2000, a new Gose brewery and inn was opened at Bayerischer Bahnhof (Bavarian Station) in Leipzig, and sales of Gose already far exceed expectations.
In addition to its refreshing qualities, many people swear by Gose as an aphrodisiac. Those who find original Gose a little too tangy might like to try one of the flavoured types available containing:
- A dash of concentrated cordial (the "Sonnenschirm" or sunshade)
- A dash of cherry liqueur (the "Frauenfreundlicher" or "women's friend")
- A dash of kümmel (the "Regenschirm" or umbrella)
Sources include: Weinkauf, Bernd: Leipzig auf dem Tablett (Leipzig on a tray), Leipzig 1992; Kochbüchlein Sachsen (Little Saxon Cook Book), Leipzig 1992; Heise, Ulla: Zu Gast im Alten Leipzig (Visiting Old Leipzig), Munich 1996, Fremdenverkehrsverein Leipzig e.V. (pub.): Allerleipziger Lust & Leut (All Sorts of Fun and People in Leipzig), Leipzig 1994; menu from "Barthels Hof"; menu from the Gose inn "Ohne Bedenken"; Café Kandler: Die Geschichte der Leipziger Lerche (leaflet on the history of the "Leipziger Lerche"); Heyne MINI No. 33/1290: Sachsen kocht (Saxony Cooks), Munich 1995; Leipzig hat wieder eine Gosenbrauerei (Leipzig has a Gose brewery again), Brauwelt No. 46/47 2000; Seiffert, Max: Johann Sebastian Bach 1716 in Halle, anthologies of the Internationale Musikgesellschaft (International Music Association), 1904/06
More information on Leipzig; accommodation and tours
Leipzig Tourismus und Marketing GmbH
Tourist-Information
Richard-Wagner-Strasse 1
D-04109 Leipzig
Tel: +49 (0) 341 7104 260 or 265
Fax: +49 (0) 341 7104 276
E-Mail: info@ltm-leipzig.de
Internet: www.leipzig.de, www.ltm-leipzig.de
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(presse01/020/05.01)
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Contact |
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Leipzig Tourismus und Marketing GmbH
Ms. Steffi Gretschel
Head of International PR Tourism
Augustusplatz 9
D-04109 Leipzig
Phone +49 (0)341 7104-300
Fax +49 (0)341 7104-236
S.Gretschel@ltm-leipzig.de
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