Franconian Food — What to Eat with Your Beer

Obazda — The Beer Cellar Standard

Obazda (also Obatzda, Obazter) is a spiced cheese cream made from ripe Camembert, butter, cream cheese, paprika powder, caraway and onions. It is orange-coloured, spreadable, and belongs on every respectable beer cellar table. On a slice of Bauernbrot (farmhouse rye bread) with radishes alongside, it is the ideal beer cellar opener. What makes a good one: genuinely ripe Camembert, enough butter for creaminess, sweet paprika (not sharp), caraway.

Schäufele — The Franconian Sunday Roast

Schäufele is the pork shoulder — braised slowly on the bone until the meat falls away by itself. It is the centrepiece of Franconian gastronomy. It is not the Bavarian Schweinshaxe (pork knuckle). The Haxe is the lower leg; the Schäufele is the shoulder — finer-grained, juicier, less gelatinous, with a fat rind that forms a crust during proper braising. Served with potato dumplings (Kloß) and Blaukraut or Sauerkraut.

The Three Franconian Bratwürste

Nuremberg Rostbratwurst: Small — 7–9 cm long — strongly seasoned with marjoram, grilled over beechwood charcoal. Protected geographical indication (g.g.A.): may only be produced within the city limits of Nuremberg. Served three or six on a Weckla (bread roll) with sweet mustard.

Coburger Bratwurst: The opposite — nearly 30 cm long, grilled over pine cones. The resin from the cones gives the sausage a characteristic note. Coburg's street food equivalent of the Nuremberg Rostbratwurst.

Saure Zipfel (Blaue Zipfel): Bratwürste not grilled but poached in a stock of vinegar, onions, bay leaves and spices. They turn grey-blue in colour and develop a pleasantly sour, spiced character that pairs remarkably well with Kellerbier. Almost nobody outside Franconia has heard of them. Order them.

Cold Cuts — The Wurstplatte

Pressack: A pressed pork terrine from pig's head meat, formed in a press and chilled. Dark red, firm, intensely flavoured. Served sliced, with vinegar and onions drizzled over. This is what Franconians eat themselves — not tourist food.

Landjäger: Air-dried, smoked rectangular sausage — hard, intensely seasoned, shelf-stable. Hiking food: fits in a pocket, keeps well, sliced with a knife on the Fünf-Seidla-Steig it is the simplest and most satisfying Brotzeit possible.