Reibekuchen
SavouryNov to Dec
Reibekuchen suit anyone who wants something hot, salty and filling between sweet stalls, and the trade-off is the frying fat, which can be lard. Ask what's in the pan if that matters to you.
The name
Reibe + Kuchen
Grated cake, from reiben, to grate. Puffer in Kartoffelpuffer comes from puffen, for the way the batter rises or the sound it makes in the pan.
german
SourceWhere to eat Reibekuchen
- Nuremberg ChristkindlesmarktNuremberg
The market's vegan tour ends at a stall selling vegan Kartoffelpuffer, which Franconians call Baggers.
Reibekuchen are flat cakes of grated raw potato and onion, squeezed dry, bound with flour, salt and egg and fried crisp in lard, clarified butter or oil. Every German region has its own name. Kartoffelpuffer is the general one, Rievkooche the Cologne word, Reiberdatschi the Bavarian and Baggers the Franconian, and German Wikipedia lists more than a dozen others.
The Rhineland makes them its own way. Cooks there let the starch settle out of the grated potato's liquid and stir it back into the mix, and they eat the cakes with Rübenkraut, a dark sugar-beet syrup, as often as with apple sauce. With bacon and onion in the batter, only the name Reibekuchen is used.
At Nuremberg's Christkindlesmarkt the vegan tour ends at a stall selling vegan Kartoffelpuffer made from freshly grated potatoes, and the market's page notes that Franconians call them Baggers.
Worth knowing
- Eat them straight from the pan; they go limp fast in the cold.
- Try them with sugar-beet syrup in the Rhineland if you've only had them with apple sauce.
Quick answers about Reibekuchen
What is the difference between Reibekuchen and Kartoffelpuffer?
They're the same dish under different regional names. Reibekuchen is the usual word in the Rhineland and Kartoffelpuffer the general German one.
What do you eat with Reibekuchen?
Apple sauce is the classic. In the Rhineland people also eat them with sugar-beet syrup, and elsewhere with sauerkraut or sugar and cinnamon.
How do you order Reibekuchen?
Order a portion and choose the topping: apple sauce is the classic, and the Rhineland also eats them with sugar-beet syrup. Elsewhere you'll see them with sauerkraut or a sprinkle of sugar and cinnamon. In Franconia the stall may call them Baggers, and in Cologne Rievkooche.
When is Reibekuchen in season?
Reibekuchen: Year-round in German kitchens, and on market stalls through Advent.