Food in Styria
The province of Styria is renowned, among other things, for its Sterze (mashes made from grain). In 1881 the Styrian folklorist Anton Schlossar wrote: "The mash is usually made with buckwheat flour. Heidensterz (buckwheat mash) is one of the Styrians’ favourite everyday dishes." A classic combination is mushroom soup served with buckwheat mash. Despite the fact that buckwheat is not grown so much any more (although of late more and more is being planted), Heidensterz has never disappeared from the scene completely, and indeed it is even to be found on the menus of a number of restaurants in the Styrian capital, Graz.
Türkensterz (polenta or maize mash) is sometimes sewed with a beef consommé or brown roux soup, or with a glass of sweet or sour milk or a cup of coffee; the liquid may be eaten with a spoon or sipped separately, as the case may be, or else it can be poured over the mash. In the olden days, mash used to be served for breakfast, and at least three times a week - on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays - with the evening meal. The mash is so closely bound up with the Styrian sense of identity that a literary journal was even named after it.
At one time Styria was famous for its poulards and its mutton, and both were a byword in the Austria kitchen on account of their fine quality.
Styrian Wurzelfleisch (a stew containing a variety of root vegetables) eventually came to be a regular item on household and restaurant menus outside Styria as well. Roughly sliced pork is cooked until tender in a stock flavoured with garlic, onions, salt and a bouquet garni. The finely chopped root vegetables are then simmered in the stock to which a dash of vinegar has been added. The meat is arranged on serving dish, covered with the vegetables, sprinkled with grated horseradish and chopped parsley and the cooking juices poured over it. Plain boiled potatoes are served with this dish.
A Styrian dish closely related to the one just described is Klachelfleisch, which is made with pork knuckle. Among the definitions given in Unger’s dictionary of the Styrian dialect, the word "Klachel" can mean a bell or mill-clapper, but it can also mean a clumsy (or tactless) person. It would seem that the name of the dish is an allusion to the shape of the cut of meat involved. Incidentally, a cartoon character in a Styrian daily paper notorious for her pithy, sometimes deliberately blunt comments on topical affairs is called Amanda KIachl.
Another Styrian speciality, Verhackert (a kind of terrine), is sometimes served as a snack, as part of a cold evening meal or as a buffet dish; it can also be bought in the small regional wine taverns. The preparation of the meat required for this dish (firm salted bacon with the rind removed) is very time- consuming - it takes about two months. Moreover, external conditions are important as well; the Storage room has to be cool and airy. The best Verhackert is made from winter-cured bacon which should have been allowed to freeze thoroughly two or three times. The bacon is eventually minced and pressed firmly into a wooden or earthenware tub so that no air pockets remain, otherwise it becomes rancid and mouldy. Nowadays Verhackert is usually bought at the butcher’s shop or at markets where farm produce is sold. In former times Verhackert was used as a cooking fat or as a preserving agent for smoked ham or sausages. These were completely immersed in the Verhackert and they could thus be stored in airtight conditions for some time.
Styria is renowned for its pumpkin-seed oil, sometimes referred to as "Styrian cart grease" because of its dark colour. Pumpkin-seed oil is very popular in the neighbouring province of Burgenland as well. In the rest of Austria the oil ranks as something of a delicacy. Styrians living abroad have their supplies shipped to them in unbreakable bottles. The oil is used in salad dressings but it is also suitable for other purposes - in the preparation of scrambled eggs, for example.
