Food & Tradition

Among the Altes Land's best-known dishes is the Altländer Hochzeitssuppe, or wedding soup. The original recipe calls for beef, celery, leeks, parsley root, nutmeg, ginger, egg and butter. It's served with warm raisins, white bread and raisin bread.

A small glass of apple brandy can serve as a counterpoint to such a hearty plate. The apple's freshness and acidity cut through fat and sweetness. Whether that pairing appeals to you is a matter of taste, there's no hard rule here.

The after-dinner schnapps has its own reputation too. The claim that it speeds up digestion, however, doesn't hold up. Measured evidence shows alcohol actually slows gastric emptying rather than speeding it up. If things feel easier after a glass of apple brandy, that's down to relaxation, not digestion.

The year's cycle begins with the apple blossom. The Altländer Blossom Festival takes place in Jork on the first weekend of May. In late summer and autumn, from August to October, come the Altländer Apple Weeks, the region's big harvest celebration featuring farm festivals, markets and tastings. During the Open Farm Day, fruit growers open their operations to show how apples are picked and pressed. Anyone wanting to catch both the blossom and the harvest festival should plan trips for May and autumn, since the orchards are mostly just green in between.

Those looking for distilleries will have the best luck at farm shops and small manufactories. Tastings generally happen wherever the producer offers them, and the brandy is poured in small measures, just as at any other visit.