Name: Obatzda with Pretzels (Bavarian cheese spread)
Prep time: 15 min
Total time: 45 min
Yield: 4 servings
Cuisine: Bavarian
Ingredients: 300 g ripe Camembert or Brie (room temperature; the rind can go in or be cut off first); 50 g soft butter; 2 tbsp soured cream; 1 small red onion, very finely diced; 1.5 tsp paprika, sweet; 0.25 tsp paprika, hot (for more heat up to ½ tsp); 0.5 tsp caraway seeds, ground; 0.5 tsp medium-hot mustard; 40 ml pale lager or wheat beer; salt and freshly ground black pepper (to taste); chives, snipped (to sprinkle); 4 lye pretzels (to serve)

Preparation

Take the cheese out of the fridge about half an hour before you start so it softens and mashes easily. Cut off the rind or leave it on, as you like, and dice the cheese roughly.
Mash and mix the cheese, soft butter and soured cream with a fork in a bowl or on a deep plate. The result can stay a little lumpy.
Mix in the diced onion, both kinds of paprika, caraway, mustard, salt and pepper, and finally stir in the beer until the mixture is creamy.
Leave the Obatzda to infuse in the fridge for at least 30 minutes and sprinkle with chives just before serving.
Bring to the table with fresh lye pretzels and a well-chilled drink; it tastes best on the day it is made, but keeps for 1 to 2 days in the fridge.

Drink with it

Pale lager · excellent match
Bavarian Helles, well chilled
The soft maltiness and fine carbonation carry the creaminess of the cheese without covering the caraway and paprika.
Pils or Helles: What's the Difference?
Wheat beer · excellent match
Hefeweizen (wheat beer)
Wheat beer belongs with Obatzda in the beer garden; fruitiness and strong carbonation loosen the butter and ripe cheese, and a splash often goes into the spread itself.
Wheat Beer: Where Do Banana and Clove Come From?
Fruit brandy · excellent match
Obstler or plum brandy (Zwetschgenwasser), ice cold, neat in a small glass
The clear spirit clears butter and ripe Camembert from the palate after each bite, and its fruit stands to the cheese as Calvados does to Camembert; in Bavaria it belongs to the Brotzeit (snack).
What is Calvados? Apple brandy with origin
White wine · good match
Franken Silvaner, dry
The herbal freshness and acidity of the Silvaner cut the cheese fat and cope with caraway and raw onion.
Which wine pairs with food? A simple approach to choosing
Sour beer · good match
Berliner Weisse, neat
The lactic acid cuts through the fat and salt of the ripe Camembert and keeps the spread fresh.
What is sour beer? Recognizing intentional acidity

Why it pairs well

Besides beer, the Obstler is a surprise: it is the Bavarian Brotzeit answer to the fat.

Preparation

Take the cheese out of the fridge about half an hour before you start so it softens and mashes easily. Cut off the rind or leave it on, as you like, and dice the cheese roughly.
Mash and mix the cheese, soft butter and soured cream with a fork in a bowl or on a deep plate. The result can stay a little lumpy.
Mix in the diced onion, both kinds of paprika, caraway, mustard, salt and pepper, and finally stir in the beer until the mixture is creamy.
Leave the Obatzda to infuse in the fridge for at least 30 minutes and sprinkle with chives just before serving.
Bring to the table with fresh lye pretzels and a well-chilled drink; it tastes best on the day it is made, but keeps for 1 to 2 days in the fridge.

Drink with it

Pale lager · excellent match
Bavarian Helles, well chilled
The soft maltiness and fine carbonation carry the creaminess of the cheese without covering the caraway and paprika.
Pils or Helles: What's the Difference?
Wheat beer · excellent match
Hefeweizen (wheat beer)
Wheat beer belongs with Obatzda in the beer garden; fruitiness and strong carbonation loosen the butter and ripe cheese, and a splash often goes into the spread itself.
Wheat Beer: Where Do Banana and Clove Come From?
Fruit brandy · excellent match
Obstler or plum brandy (Zwetschgenwasser), ice cold, neat in a small glass
The clear spirit clears butter and ripe Camembert from the palate after each bite, and its fruit stands to the cheese as Calvados does to Camembert; in Bavaria it belongs to the Brotzeit (snack).
What is Calvados? Apple brandy with origin
White wine · good match
Franken Silvaner, dry
The herbal freshness and acidity of the Silvaner cut the cheese fat and cope with caraway and raw onion.
Which wine pairs with food? A simple approach to choosing
Sour beer · good match
Berliner Weisse, neat
The lactic acid cuts through the fat and salt of the ripe Camembert and keeps the spread fresh.
What is sour beer? Recognizing intentional acidity

Why it pairs well

Besides beer, the Obstler is a surprise: it is the Bavarian Brotzeit answer to the fat.

Obatzda with Pretzels (Bavarian cheese spread)

Preparation

Drink with it

Bavarian Helles, well chilled

Hefeweizen (wheat beer)

Obstler or plum brandy (Zwetschgenwasser), ice cold, neat in a small glass

Franken Silvaner, dry

Berliner Weisse, neat

This pairs well too.

Käsespätzle with crispy fried onions (Swabian cheese noodles)

Mussels in Beer Broth

Cheese and Leek Soup with Minced Beef and Pork

Choucroute garnie (Alsatian sauerkraut with meats)

Obatzda with Pretzels (Bavarian cheese spread)

Preparation

Drink with it

Bavarian Helles, well chilled

Hefeweizen (wheat beer)

Obstler or plum brandy (Zwetschgenwasser), ice cold, neat in a small glass

Franken Silvaner, dry

Berliner Weisse, neat

This pairs well too.

Käsespätzle with crispy fried onions (Swabian cheese noodles)

Mussels in Beer Broth

Cheese and Leek Soup with Minced Beef and Pork

Choucroute garnie (Alsatian sauerkraut with meats)