For millions around the world, Bavaria is synonymous with “real” German culture, though it truthfully only represents around 20 percent of Germany on the map. However, there is no denying Bavaria’s status as a cultural heavyweight. As the oldest and most populous of the German states, Bavaria’s history goes back to its roots as a duchy a thousand years ago. With such a long history, it’s no wonder that its food culture has taken on a life of its own.
When looking at Bavarian food traditions, the hardest part is separating the stereotypes from real life. Bavaria is known as the heart of sausage and beer country, and rarely associated with any kind of healthful lifestyle in the popular press. Oktoberfest dominates the headlines, leading the world to believe that Bavarians spend their years doing little more than drinking fine beers and eating tasty sausages.
While not denying that the stereotypes have some roots in truth, there is more to Bavarian cuisine than sausages and beer. The whole Bavarian region has a rich culinary history with a strong emphasis on quality ingredients. Meticulous attention to what goes in each dish and the proper methods of preparation make for a cuisine that can be richly flavoured and healthy at the same time.
Bavarian food traditions revolve around flavours and times of year. Historically, the region did not have extensive methods for food preservation, and ancient Purity Laws dictated that only a few ingredients could be included in traditional foods and drinks. As a result, a change of the seasons meant a change in the menu.
In terms of vegetables, the most prized has long been the white asparagus harvested in the late spring and early summer. Served broiled or lightly pickled, white asparagus temporarily replaces potatoes as the main vegetable when it is in season.
Meats are another fresh seasonal item. Bavarian food is known for its many uses of fresh veal, most notably in Munich’s famous weisswurst, or white sausage, which is designed to be made in the morning and eaten before noon to capture the best of the flavour.
Even drinks have seasons in Bavaria, which has spring beers, summer beers, an fall. They each have their own composition of barley, hops, and water, the only three ingredients allowed under the Purity Laws, yet still manage to have a dizzying array of lights and darks locals have argued over for years.
Bavarian Pretzels: Knot a Bad Idea
Year-round, Bavarians consume a wide variety of pretzels. It’s not just a healthy and popular savoury snack – pretzels are tied to a number of holiday events and good spirits. At New Years, for example, pretzels are given as good luck gifts. On Valentines Day, they are a sign of love; during Easter time, they are used as a gift for Palm Sunday. There is even a special Oktoberfest pretzel. Each kind can be recognized by the way it is tied, patterned or collared, and whether they are baked with or without glaze.
The basic Bavarian pretzel is a semi-soft pretzel about the size of an open hand, though holiday pretzels can weigh up to six pounds. It is made from wheat flour, water, and yeast, with optional egg glaze and coarse salt for color and taste. Rather than causing carbohydrate crashes like modern highly processed pretzels, traditional pretzels with their whole grains and lack of preservatives are a low glycemic food traditionally eaten mid-morning as a snack and pick-me up before the traditional late Bavarian lunch.
Variations on traditional pretzels allow for the use of other ingredients in addition to wheat and substitutions for the final salt. Sunflower, sesame, or poppy seeds can be added to the final topping of salt to increase the overall health of the pretzel. Preservatives are still not allowed, and pretzels remain designed to be eaten the same day they are made for optimal flavour.
Food Quality over Quantity
In spreading pretzels around the world, it has sometimes been easy to focus on the snack aspect rather than the original message, which is that food quality counts. Each traditional Bavarian pretzel is made by hand. Even in the modern era, bakers take pride in their ability to quickly twist proper pretzels for each season of the year. Flavour variations are baked carefully, with experimentation less important than preserving a taste that is centuries old.
In today’s world of trendy flavours and throwaway foods, this is an important message. Traditional food preparation methods are not something to be lightly discarded, and the convenience factors in shelf-stable foods are often offset by the chemicals that have been added. By focusing on foods made fresh to order or for immediate consumption, Bavarian food traditions eliminate the creation of wastefully large quantities of food and encourage the consumption of just what is needed.
Spreading Bavaria to the World
Though its message about food quality may be serious, Bavarian food items like pretzels are easily transferred to menus around the world. For some, the snack aspect is what transfers first, with pretzels being a game-day favourite at stadiums around the globe. However, the first bite of a really good pretzel can prompt some deeper thought about what makes this pretzel taste good while others taste empty.
Bavarian seriousness about ingredients is also in perfect alignment with slow food and whole food movements. Label-reading consumers can feel confident that, with Bavarian foods, what they see is what they get – no hidden preservatives or additives to worry about with this cuisine! As a result, Bavarian foods are trusted by consumers.
Bavaria’s status as a culinary influence need not be limited to sausages and beer-hall imagery. There is more to be learned by looking deeper, and the fresh food factor should not be ignored. Why not learn a little something from Bavaria’s long history as a food leader? Make it fresh with quality, wholesome ingredients … and then enjoy every bite as long as it lasts.