Frankfurt Specialities

Categories: Dining

Handkäs mit Musik

[ source: Flickr]

He may not be the best-known of Frankfurt's poets - that fame would go to Johann Wolfgang Goethe - but Friedrich Stoltze did create what may easily be the best-known Frankfurt (Frankfurt vacation rentals | Frankfurt travel guide) statement: es will merr net in mein Kopp enei, wie kann nor e Mensch net von Frankfort sei! - I can't get my head around how any man could not be from Frankfurt…

One way to better understand what is so special about Frankfurt is a look at the typical Frankfurt specialties.

Rippchen mit Kraut

Cured pork cutlets, slowly heated in sauerkraut or meat broth, and usually served with sauerkraut, mashed potatoes and mustard.

Frankfurter Rindswurst

Frankfurt beef sausage, made of pure beef. It was introduced in 1894 by Frankfurt butcher Gref-Voelsing to meet the demands of the growing Jewish population of the city and has since become one of its most famous delicacies. The sausage may be boiled or simmered at medium level.

Grüne Sauce mit Kartoffeln

The Frankfurt green sauce is made from hard-boiled eggs, oil, vinegar, salt, and generous amount of seven fresh herbs, namely borage, chervil, cress, parsley, salad burnet, sorrel and chives.

The sauce is served with peeled boiled potatoes, accompanying either hard-boiled eggs or roasted beef brisket.

Apfelwein

Apple wine is made from pressed apples. The juice is fermented with yeast to produce an alcoholic beverage of usually around 6% abv. Apfelwein can be made with the addition of the unprocessed juice from the fruit of a small, indigenous tree known as Speierling or Speyerling (Sorbus domestica).

Some of the most famous restaurants where Apfelwein is served are in Sachsenhausen (Sachsenhausen vacation rentals | Sachsenhausen travel guide). Apfelwein may be served in a "Geripptes", a glass with a lozenge cut that refracts light. It is also available in the „Bembel" (a specific Apfelwein jug). The paunchy jar (made from salt-glazed stoneware) usually has a basic grey colour with blue detailing.

Frankfurter Würstchen

The Frankfurter Würstchen (Frankfurter sausage) is a thin boiled sausage of pure pork in a casing of mutton's intestine. Their particular taste results from a special method of smoking the pork. They should in no case be cooked, they are only to be heated in hot water for about eight minutes. Traditionally they are served with bread, custard, horseradish and/or potato salad. The name "Frankfurter Würstchen" has Protected Geographical Status in Germany since 1860 and since 1929 is only allowed to be used for sausages that are in fact produced in the area of Frankfurt am Main. There, this kind of sausage has been known since the 13th century.

Bethmännchen

Bethmännchen (German for "a little Bethmann") is a pastry made from marzipan with almond, powdered sugar, rosewater, flour, and egg. It is usually baked for Christmas. The name comes from the family of Simon Moritz von Bethmann who lived in Frankfurt am Main. Legend has it that Parisian pastry chef Jean Jacques Gautenier developed the recipe at his home in 1838.

Handkäs mit Musik

Handkäse (hand cheese) is a German regional sour milk cheese (similar to Harzer) and is a culinary speciality of Frankfurt, Offenbach am Main (Offenbach am Main vacation rentals | Offenbach am Main travel guide), Darmstadt (Darmstadt vacation rentals | Darmstadt travel guide), Langen (Langen vacation rentals | Langen travel guide) and all other parts of South-Hessia.

It gets its name from the traditional way of producing it: forming it with one's own hands. It is a small, translucent, yellow cheese with a pungent aroma that many people find unpleasant. Often served as an appetizer or as a snack with Apfelwein (aka Ebbelwoi), it is traditionally topped with chopped onions, locally known as "Handkäse mit Musik" (literally: hand cheese with music). It is usually eaten with caraway on it and bread or a brezel on the side.

Frankfurter Kranz

It seems that many people thought that this has something to do with wieners, but no: it is a wonderfully tasty cake with a buttercream filling and brittle on top.

The Frankfurter Kranz is a wreath-shaped cake from Frankfurt. It consists of a butter cake that is baked in a special form, then split into 2 – 3 layers and sandwiched together with buttercream filling and strawberry or cherry jam. It's decorated with more buttercream and sprinkled with brittle, made of a mixture of nuts that have been browned in butter with a little sugar.

Freßgasse

Grosse Bockenheimer Strasse and Kalbächer Gasse, connecting Opera Square with Rathenau Square, are commonly referred to as the "Fressgass", Frankfurt's culinary mile. After World War I, numerous grocery stores, fruit and vegetable shops and delicatessens took up residence here. Little has changed since then. The street was turned into Frankfurt's first pedestrian zone in 1975/1976. Featuring a colourful variety of food shops, restaurants, cafés, delicatessens, wine and gourmet shops, the "Fressgass" exudes a special charm and is a must-see for all Frankfurt visitors.

[ source: wikipedia.org ]

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About this Article

This travel guide has been written by Gaby Leeser.

Ich bin studierte Volkskundlerin und gelernte Fernsehreporterin , reise sehr gerne beruflich und privat durch Deutschland und verbringe meinen Urlaub seit Jahren nur in Ferienhäusern oder Ferienwohnungen.

Beruflich habe ich sowohl für das ZDF und den SWR gearbeitet, aber auch für verschiedene private TV Sender - daneben habe ich mich immer mehr auf Recherchen zu den unterschiedlichsten Themen spezialisiert.

Ansonsten lebe ich mit Mann und Foxterrier in Mainz , sammle alte Kochbücher , backe eigenes Brot und fahre mit meinen kleinen grünen MG gerne in die nähere und weitere Umgebung um Neues zu entdecken und stundenlang mit meinem Hund spazieren zu gehen.

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