Showing Austrian food culture

Taste of Austria: A profound respect for nature

I’m in a large yet intimate room that is at once theatre, stylish restaurant and professional kitchen. At the back, floor-to-ceiling windows bathe the tables, the chairs and the guests sitting in them in warm afternoon sunlight. At the front, the long, dark kitchen counter is topped with baskets of varying size, filled with some of the ingredients for today’s Austrian dishes.

In one of these baskets is piled some type of yellow fruit, each example with its own unique geography of scuffs and bulges and creases. They look… untamed. I flag down one of the chefs moving quickly and purposefully behind the counter to ask, “What are these?” Gregor Streun, a young man with an open, friendly face who also happens to be the number two chef behind the counter, tells me that the mysterious fruit are quince. He says that large parts of Austria are not under agriculture, and it’s in these places that quince and other wild fruits and vegetables thrive, and become ingredients in local cuisines.

Austrian wild quince

Quince

In another of the large baskets a mountain of another ingredient that can be found in the wilds of Austria: chanterelle mushrooms, a soft and inviting yellow-brown against the dark weave of the basket. Apparently, wild chanterelles are only found in pristine natural environments, and finding them can be a real challenge. Chef Dieter Stamminger tells me that he remembers heading into the mountains with friends to go chanterelle-hunting in the autumn.

Crispy cones filled with beef tongue salad with Styrian pumpkin seed oil.

Crispy cones filled with beef tongue salad with Styrian pumpkin seed oil.

Herb Topfen and chantrelles mushrooms wrapped in pancakes

Herb Topfen and chantrelles mushrooms wrapped in pancakes

Foie gras lollipops with quince jelly – a little playful design to go along with a deeply rich taste.

Foie gras lollipops with quince jelly – a little playful design to go along with a deeply rich taste.

lollipop und wine

From left, chefs Gregor Streun, Dieter Stamminger and Gerhard Passruger.

From left, chefs Gregor Streun, Dieter Stamminger and Gerhard Passruger.

“Schinkenspeck,” a stunning Tyrolean cured ham that has been air-dried and then smoked to give the meat a deep and subtle flavour.

“Schinkenspeck,” a stunning Tyrolean cured ham that has been air-dried and then smoked to give the meat a deep and subtle flavour.

Horseradish awaits the grater.

Horseradish awaits the grater.

Laugenbrot

Laugenbrot

Chef Gerhard Passruger grates horseradish onto paper-thin portions of Schinkenspeck ham.

Chef Gerhard Passruger grates horseradish onto paper-thin portions of Schinkenspeck ham.

Onion confit, Schinkenspeck, sea-buckthorn jam on top of laugenbrot, with sprinkles of horseradish.

Onion confit, Schinkenspeck, sea-buckthorn jam on top of Laugenbrot, with sprinkles of horseradish.

The chefs today are accomplished, dedicate denizens of the professional kitchen, and so every example of Austrian culinary arts they put together is just as pleasing to the eye as it is to the palate. And pleasing they are in both taste and texture; morsels of meticulously crafted balance, poise and pure enjoyment.

But within all these pleasing and obviously carefully considered flavour creations and artful presentation, I also feel hints of the home hearth; tasty touches of a mother’s table. Austria is a long, long way from Japan, but eating this home-inspired food sparks in me a certain warm nostalgia. It’s an effect I’ve noticed before, whenever I experience a dish that has been shaped by local ways of life and the collected wisdom of generations, and infused with love and nourishment and the desire to make the diner truly happy in the instant of eating.

Take, for example, many of the ingredients on the counter and the dishes themselves: sauerkraut and blood sausage; pork cheek stewed in Austrian beer; leftover bread and bacon transformed into a delicious dumpling; and ham, air-dried and then smoked to infuse it with the particular aromas of the wood, paired with jams made from wild fruit. Indeed these are all foods designed to fill the needs of surviving a hard winter, but flavour and satisfaction have not been relegated to the back seat – quite the opposite. We can taste and imagine the care, effort and ingenuity of ordinary people that has gone into crafting everything available even in the toughest times of the year into dishes that surprise and delight. There is a warmth and familiarity in that, and it makes me think that such food traditions must form a happy vein in Austrian culture.

“Brunzenknöderl” Dumplings filled with blood sausage simmer.

“Brunzenknöderl” Dumplings filled with blood sausage simmer.

Trout smoked in two stages -- with apple chips and herbs.

Trout smoked in two stages — with apple chips and herbs.

Brunzenknöderl and a slice of smoked trout topped with sauerkraut soup.

Brunzenknöderl and a slice of smoked trout topped with sauerkraut soup.

An example of Austrian culinary ingenuity: "Servietten Knöderl," a dumpling made of leftover bread scraps.

An example of Austrian culinary ingenuity: Servietten Knöderl, a dumpling made of leftover bread scraps.

It's mixed with bacon, nutmeg, salt and pepper, wrapped in a cloth and tied up…

It’s mixed with bacon, nutmeg, salt and pepper, wrapped in a cloth and tied up…

…before taking a hot bath.

…before taking a hot bath.

Unwrapped, it's sliced to serve as the base for...

Unwrapped, it’s sliced to serve as the base for…

…pork cheeks braised in beer sauce with Tyrolean lingonberries.

…pork cheeks braised in beer sauce with Tyrolean lingonberries.

A red made from the Zweigelt grape varietal and from Austria’s Wagram region.

A red made from the Zweigelt grape variety and from Austria’s Wagram region.

The executive chef here is Salzburg native Gerhard Passruger, who has been cooking up a storm even as he’s explained every dish and drink that’s arrived before us. Closing in on the end of the meal, he starts buttering slices of bread and dabbing it with one of a selection of honeys – sunflower and linden tree flower and two kinds of honeydew honey, “forest” and “Christmas tree”. It’s a simple and tasty treat, and one that has connections with Gerhard’s past in Austria.

Some time later at a different table, Gerhard tells us that the Austrian mountains were virtually right outside his childhood home, and that he used to go hiking up the slopes with his father, an expert mountaineer. Come autumn, he’d spend whole days wild chanterelle-hunting, sometimes stopping at his uncle’s farm, where he’d snack on bread baked fresh by his aunt and dressed in butter and honey.

Slices of bread in thick butter blankets and topped with Austrian honey.

Slices of bread in thick butter blankets and topped with Austrian honey.

Marillen Topfenknöderl, an apricot topfen dumpling, coated in caramelised breadcrumbs.

Marillen Topfenknöderl, an apricot topfen dumpling, coated in caramelised breadcrumbs.

Kaiser Mélange – with egg yolk, honey and cognac. “Coffee was brought to Austria by Turks,” and Austrians took it in new, delicious directions.

Kaiser Mélange – with egg yolk, honey and cognac. “Coffee was brought to Austria by Turks,” and Austrians took it in new, delicious directions.

Biedermeier Kaffee – with whipped cream and apricot liquor

Biedermeier Kaffee – with whipped cream and apricot liquor

Gugelhupf with chestnuts and lingonberry

Gugelhupf with chestnuts and lingonberry

For every one of these columns, I’ve asked the people at the table the same deceptively simple question: If you could choose only one thing, what would you say you like most about your country? His answer: the mountains. Gerhard says that this might be because he’s from Salzburg, a city surrounded by mountains on almost every side, and because of all the days spent on mountain trails with his father. But then he’s given essentially the same answer as a group of fellow Austrians – people from quite different backgrounds and different parts of the country — I interviewed some months before during a lunch at the Austrian ambassador’s residence: mountains. I smile. It was the response I’d been waiting for, but I’m also a touch thrilled at what feels like a small discovery.

Gerhard’s career has taken him to some of the world’s most renowned cities; the glittering cosmopolitan hubs of London, Sydney, Hong Kong, Shanghai, and now Tokyo. But, when he visits home, one of the very first things he does is head into the mountains for a few days of solo hiking. Gerhard adds that being in that stunning wilderness, at the mercy of whatever mood the weather may be in, he cannot help but feel how small we really are.

“It’s beautiful,” he continues. “And I think that in that moment in that nature, because there is something in these mountains you cannot take away, you cannot compare to many places in the world. This is nature, that is so rough in itself. And because it is so inaccessible, it is still real nature. Because many places in the world that you go today, nature has become very dominated by men. In Austria it is partially so, but it will never be cultivated in a sense, because the mountains are rough, still today.”

Gerhard Passrugger from Salzburg and Arnold Ackerer from Carenthia.

Gerhard Passrugger from Salzburg and Arnold Ackerer from Carinthia.

I ask Carinthia native Arnold Ackerer the same “best thing about your country” question, and he sounds a similar note: “Accessibility to the nature.”

“You can do anything in a short range,” he goes on. “You step out of your home, you go skiing, you go mountain climbing, everything in the range of 30 minutes.” I’m impressed yet again with the consistent love and respect for nature I’ve heard from every Austrian I’ve asked this question.

Caviar, eggs of the oldest fish kind in existence -- 250 million-year-old -- sturgeon. This Austrian fish farmer takes sustainable method -- the eggs are taken out without killing the fish.

Caviar, eggs of the oldest fish kind in existence — 250 million-year-old — sturgeon. This Austrian fish farmer takes sustainable method — the eggs are taken out without killing the fish.

And yet I’m reminded, Austria is crisscrossed by high mountains, dividing the country into smaller regions that have historically had their own distinct cultures and traditions. So, I ask, do Austrians identify more strongly with their region or the country as a whole? The question on identity prompts a laugh from Gerhard. He tells us that he’s often asked, “So, which part of Germany are you from?” And he’ll reply, “From a small province in the south, called ‘Austria’. And they go, ‘Oh, my God! I am so sorry.’” But, he goes on, “It is FINE. Honestly, I think once you live so long, so far away from home, it becomes so small.”

A surprising sparkling made from Austria’s own Grüner Veltliner grape.

A surprising sparkling made from Austria’s own Grüner Veltliner grape.

A person’s home region may be an easy go-to when it comes to questions of identity. But then people also place themselves on the human map based on shared ideas and philosophies. That’s what talking to the Austrians I’ve met has made me think. No matter how far from their home towns they live, for how many years, surrounded by values that may differ from their own, the Austrians I’ve met never forget their love, respect and powerful awareness of Austria’s natural grandeur. It’s an admirable trait.

I, too, was raised in a place where you can always see the mountains, which cover some 75 percent of Japan’s territory. And yet, listening to the Austrians speak of mountains and nature, I felt like I was being reawakened to a sense of values I had long kept closeted deep in my heart.

As I talk to Gerhard, it quickly becomes clear we share other ideas as well, especially when it comes to the meaning – and the opportunity – of food.

“Whenever I travel, food is beautiful,” he says. “Food is a very strong representation of their full culture. One of the first things you think about when you go to a country is cuisine. And you look forward to it and identify a country (by it). That’s why I think food is extremely important for any country.”

The Austrian food I’ve been lucky enough to try this time is rooted in what seems to me a historically deeply ingrained philosophical aspect of that country’s culture: respect for nature.

Dessertwine and cheese

But then it’s not exclusively Austrian; nothing about food culture can be exclusively of one country as defined by the lines drawn on a map. One of the most meaningful aspects of our food cultures is that they are the products of so many thousands of years of human history and ways of life, unconfined by national borders and spreading like watercolours across the map, intermingling with neighbouring traditions to create new shades and hues.

Identity, philosophy, commonality. I feel that, by delving into the culture of our food, I have just arrived at the entrance to understanding all three.

Story by: Rika Sakai

English Text by: Robert Sakai-Irvine

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