Highlights from the Bakeation in Germany
Read more about the Bikers' trip to Germany
Bernkastel
Bernkastel-Kues is a well-known winegrowing centre on the Middle Mosel in the Bernkastel-Wittlich district in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. The town is a state-recognized health resort (Erholungsort)Β
Mosel Valley
The Mosel valley is a region in north-eastern France, south-western Germany, and eastern Luxembourg, centered on the river valley formed by the Mosel. The Mosel runs through, and along the borders of, the three different countries, and drains a fourth, Belgium.
The Mosel has been promoted as a quality white wine-producing region since the nineteenth century and "Mosel wine" is produced in all three countries. The Mosel has developed a strong tourism industry around its reputation as a rural idyll.
Backerei Fleuri β Slow baking
If you ask Germans living abroad what they miss most about home, the answer is often quite prosaic: "German bread", they say. What they mean is the sheer diversity of baked goods available across Germany: there are said to be more than 300 types of bread and 1200 different sorts of rolls. But many of Germany's artisan bakeries which were responsible for this diversity have gone to the wall in recent years β squeezed out of the market by bakery chains and cheap bakeshops. According to the Association of German Artisanal Bakers, since the 1950s, the number of craft bakeries has fallen from more than 55,000 in the former West Germany alone to just 16,000 nationwide today. Backerei Fleuri is fighting back and this successful exponent of slow baking shows that many customers are willing to pay for quality bread.Β
Asparagus
Asparagus, especially white asparagus known in English as spargel (the German name for asparagus), is a common side dish or may be prepared as a main dish. Restaurants will sometimes devote an entire menu to nothing but white asparagus when it is in season which traditionally begins in mid-May.
The Baden Asparagus Route β a first-rate culinary treat
The Baden Asparagus Route certainly lives up to its name, as seasoned connoisseurs are well aware. Covering almost 136 kilometres, the route runs from the asparagus-producing town of Schwetzingen via Reilingen, Karlsruhe and Rastatt to Scherzheim.Β
The Black Forest
β¦is a wooded mountain range in Baden-WΓΌrttemberg, southwestern Germany. It is bordered by the Rhine valley to the west and south. The name Schwarzwald, i.e. Black Forest, goes back to the Romans who referred to the thickly forested mountains there as Silva Nigra, i.e. "Black Forest," because the dense growth of conifers in the forest blocked out most of the light inside the forest.Β
Oberkirch Distillery
Kirschwasser (German for βcherry waterβ) is a clear, colorless fruit brandy traditionally made from double distillation of morello cherries, a dark-colored cultivar of the sour cherry. However, it is now also made from other kinds of cherries. The cherries are fermented complete (that is, including their stones). Unlike cherry liqueurs and so-called βcherry brandies,β Kirschwasser is not sweet. Kirschwasser is often simply called Kirsch in both German- and English-speaking countries.
Black Forest Gateau
This originates from southern Germany and is called SchwarzwΓ€lder Kirschtorte, literally "Black Forest cherry cake". Typically, Black Forest gateau consists of several layers of chocolate cake, with whipped cream and cherries between each layer. Then the cake is decorated with additional whipped cream, maraschino cherries, and chocolate shavings. In some European traditions sour cherries are used both between the layers and for decorating the top. Traditionally, Kirschwasser (a clear liquor distilled from tart cherries) is added to the cake, although other liquors are also used (rum is common in Austrian recipes). Interestingly the German statutory interpretation states Kirschwasser as a mandatory ingredient, otherwise the cake is legally not allowed to be marketed as SchwarzwΓ€lder Kirschtorte.
Klinsmann BakeryΒ - Pretzels
The pretzel has been the symbol of the bakersβ trade since 1300 AD and it is still the German bakersβ guild emblem today. Pretzel baking has most firmly taken root in southern Germany and has been an integral part of German baking traditions for centuries. It is a type of baked dough made into soft and hard varieties and savoury or sweet flavours in a unique knot-like shape. Pretzels in stick form may also be called pretzels. For seasoning and decoration various glazes, salt crystals, sugar and various seeds or nuts can be used.
Typical Swabian pretzels have very thin "arms" and a "fat belly" with a split, and a higher fat content. The thicker part makes it easier to slice them for the use of sandwiches. In Bavarian pretzels, the arms are left thicker so they do not bake to a crisp and contain very little fat.
Besens β Individual wine sellers
For twelve weeks per year, private people are allowed to sell their own wine in their private rooms β very often their living rooms or gardens.
The keeper of the Besenwirtschaft places a broom on the front door of the house β the sign, that the Besenwirtschaft is open. They are allowed to sell wine only of their own production.
Bierocks
Bierocks are meat-filled pocket pastries originating in Eastern Europe, possibly in Germany or Russia. The dish is common among the Volga German community in the United States and Argentina. Bierock is filled with cooked and seasoned ground beef, shredded cabbage and onions, then oven baked until the dough is golden brown. Some variants include grated carrots.
Zoigl beer
Zoigl is a beer which is only brewed in the region Upper Palatinate in Eastern Bavaria, between Franconia and the Czech Republik. For centuries, Zoigl has been brewed in brew houses owned by the town or an association of home brewers.
Once it has brewed for a couple of weeks, the beer is tapped directly from the lagering tank and sold in the private rooms of the brewer, which are used as a pub only until the beer is gone. Then the Zoigl-Star, a sign to show that beer is sold in that house, is given to the next home brewer. He then attaches the sign at the corner of his house.
The Zoigl-Star, a six-angular star similar to the Star of David, was the sign of brewers in the middle ages symbolizing the three elements water, earth and fire used for brewing and the three ingredients water, malt and hops. The importance of the yeast was not known at that time.
