Food & Tradition

Käferbohnensalat with pumpkin seed oil is one of the dishes where Styria insists on origin: the Styrian Käferbohne bean carries the EU's PDO seal, while Styrian Pumpkin Seed Oil carries the PGI seal. According to the regional tourism board, 90 percent of Austria's Käferbohne beans come from Styria. The salad is dressed with onions and vinegar and best eaten while still lukewarm or after it has had time to marinate.

The seed oil is pressed from roasted pumpkin seeds, dark green with a reddish sheen, and smells nutty. Drizzled over salad or soup, it adds a toasty, slightly bitter note to the plate. A dry, fresh pear brandy afterward can pair well, since its freshness cuts through the oil's richness.

The Hirschbirne pear also appears dried on the table, as Kletzen. Styria's three Ks are Kürbis (pumpkin), Kren (horseradish), and Käferbohne (beer bean), and Styrian Kren, the horseradish, provides the sharpness that a brandy's warmth nicely follows. Pumpkin and Käferbohne here are dishes, not brandy ingredients.

A fruit brandy after a meal is part of Austria's digestif culture. Does schnapps actually aid digestion? Quite the opposite, really: alcohol slows gastric emptying. The sense of relief after a small glass comes from relaxation, not faster digestion, no matter how rich the meal was.

Where farm and table sit close together, as in Eastern Styria, the brandy is served in small glasses to round off a meal. It's the small measure that matters here, not the whole bottle.