TRADITIONAL VORARLBERG DISHES
These specialties MUST be tasted
Vorarlberg is an area dominated by mountain farms. Milk and cheese production was and still is the top priority. From the hearty Vorarlberg Mountain Cheese to the intensely spicy Räßkäse to the Montafoner Sour Cheese, which is used to prepare Käsknöpfle, the yellow loaves are used almost everywhere and every day.
Traditional bourgeois cuisine in Vorarlberg
As early as the 14th century, clear differences could be seen on the menus of the citizens and the peasants. On the one hand, there was poultry, roast meat, ham and baked goods, and on the other, the peasants' diet was very different, with oatmeal, beans, rolled barley and Turkish porridge. The cuisine, by the way, is very similar to that of Switzerland as an immediate neighbor.
These dishes are loved by locals and guests
The main dishes at lunch were mostly stews with sauerkraut. In the past and still today, potatoes or a milk soup are served. Often the soups (roux, cheese or barley soup) in Vorarlberg are very thick. For snack there is mainly home-baked bread, cheese, bacon, smoked meat, sausage and a must. But the specialties also include a trout stuffed with mushrooms and parsley and fried in a pan.
And of course, what immediately comes to mind when you think of the westernmost province in Austria? Of course, spaetzle, dumplings, Schupfnudeln ("Schupfnudla"). But potatoes, rolled barley, noodles and rice are also popular side dishes. Speaking of side dishes, the Vorarlbergers also like it very sweet: especially compotes with different kinds of fruit, Schmarren, Küchle (doughnuts), Ofenkatze (a cake made of yeast dough) and Gugelhupf.
In addition to Hollerwasser, the "house tea", which is prepared from various herbs and which is available in Vorarlberg in vast quantities, is extremely popular to this day.