Nine things and Saxon specialties from the Ore Mountains

Neunerlei and Saxony's home-style cooking in the Erzgebirge

What is a nine-line and what Saxon specialties from the Erzgebirge are there? We asked this question between Seiffen, Annaberg-Buchholz and Oberwiesenthal (Map) to the bottom. That's why we spent three days on a culinary tour Discovery tour through the Ore Mountains. The region in Saxony lends itself in the run-up to Christmas. Advent is the time when visitors make their way to the Erzgebirge. Not only traditions and local dishes entice, but also spices from granny's kitchen contribute their part to the attraction.

 

 

Miners have to eat well

The food in the Erzgebirge is very easy. No wonder in a mining region, because life in mining towns was tough. Here, silver, copper, tin, bismuth, cobalt and even uranium were mined. The underground work demanded a lot from the residents. The mine operators were aware of this. Their workforce could only do their job with good nutrition. So it was natural for them to grow some of their food themselves. The altitude of the region, however, limited the selection of vegetables. Potatoes thrive well in these heights. They therefore play a major role in the kitchens in the Erzgebirge to this day.

 

 

Potato dishes often meet us on our journey. There's meat and game. But also cakes and pastries. We discovered that on the way.

 

 

The nine things or "noerlaa"

One of the specialties that are typical of the Christmas season is the Neunerlei. It is a dish that is served on Christmas Eve. It consists of a meat, poultry or vegetarian centerpiece with nine ingredients. The cook places a piece of goose, duck, turkey, pork or a vegetarian dish in the center in special plates. Around it he distributes "nine different" ingredients.

 

 

Each of them means something. A “green dumpling” made from raw and boiled potatoes promises prosperity for the coming year. A bratwurst with mustard guarantees strength. Peas or lentils ensure that there is always enough change in your wallet. Mushrooms and beetroot promise joy. Baked apples ensure the sweetness of life. You even think of beauty. Bread milk with almonds makes the skin beautiful.

We enjoyed a ninefold pork roast and nine ingredients right next to the Advent market in Annaberg-Buchholz

Ratskeller »Zum Neinerlaa«
Markt 1
09456 Annaberg-Buchholz

 

 

 

In addition to nine things, potato dishes play a role in the Ore Mountains

In addition to hearty meat dishes such as beef roulades and sauerbraten with potato dumplings, you will often find ham jelly with fried potatoes and tartar sauce on menus in the Ore Mountains. However, there are also simpler potato dishes. We got to know a few of them on our trip.

Round potatoes with quark and salad

 

 

In the Leffelstub in Neudorf, there are round potatoes with quark and salad, a dish that I usually only know from my mother's kitchen from childhood. These are potatoes cooked in the shell. Serve with a spicy quark with salad. Exciting is the spoon, with which everyone eats in the Leffelstub: he is constructed so that even when spooning soups dripping nothing. At the beginning he is a bit strange. After a few bites, however, you have the trick and can enjoy your meal. Your sweater, shirt or blouse will remain spotless.

Leffelstub
Carlsbad street 189
09465 Sehmatal-Neudorf

 

 

Griene Klitscher

Another potato specialty that is brought to the table in the Ore Mountains is "Griene Klitscher". This is a dish that you have probably already made at home. Only the name is probably unknown to you. Because "Griene Klitscher" are nothing more than potato pancakes. The "grien" in the name indicates the raw potatoes that are processed in it. In Saxony, they are prepared with caraway seeds. This gives them a spicy taste. These potato pancakes are either eaten with applesauce or cinnamon and sugar, or both. For us they were a delicious lunch snack at the Christmas market in Annaberg-Buchholz. He chose "specialties from Grandma's kitchen" as the motto. Therefore, you will find more dishes there, like those that came to the table in the mining families.

 

 

 

As a dessert to the Neunerlei, there's cake like grandma made

Also in the dessert one likes to fall back in the Erzgebirge on grandma's recipe collection. In the restaurant colorful house in Seiffen we made the selection on the menu curious. There was an apple poppy seed cake with poppy seeds and cinnamon crumbles and an egg peel to grandma's recipe for choice. Homemade and like grandma's kitchen, we received two large pieces of cake, which were already filling as a full meal alone. Such cakes are rarely found in restaurants. Here they fit perfectly.

 

 

The cakes - and also a very good lunch - you get in the restaurant

Colorful house
Hauptstraße 94
09548 resort Seiffen

 

 

The perfect dessert for the Neunerlei – the Fichtelberg cake

But there are also fine cakes in the Ore Mountains. For one of them we even went to the 1215 m high Fichtelberg, the highest mountain in the Ore Mountains. In the Hotel Fichtelberghaus, the Fichtelberg cake is on the coffee menu. This cake is an invention of the Enderlein confectionery in Oberwiesenthal. However, as it was closed on the day of our visit, we took the opportunity to take a trip to the Fichtelberg. This detour gave us not only a fantastic view of the wintry Ore Mountains, but also a delicious coffee break.

 

 

The Fichtelbergtorte is an invention of Frieder Enderlein, the father of the current owner of the confectionery Enderlein in Oberwiesenthal. With its round shape, it is reminiscent of the Fichtelberg. In cake form it is covered with a layer of sweet snow from loose biscuit. The filling consists of fresh cheese cream with raspberries and blueberries. The reference to the region is thus not only in form and name, but also in the forest berries that grow in the forests of the Ore Mountains. This cake is really worth a visit! The magnificent view from Fichtelberg, of course, as well!

By the way, in the Hotel Fichtelberghaus there is not only the hotel restaurant and café where we enjoyed the cake. One floor up is the gourmet restaurant "Das Guck" by Dirk Meinel, which with its stylish ambience is also suitable for romantic candlelight dinners.

Fichtelberghaus
Fichtelbergstrasse 8
09484 health resort Oberwiesenthal

 

 

 

Last but not least: the gourmet kitchen in the Landhotel Rittersgrün

That in the Erzgebirge not only simple miner's kitchen, we learned in the Landhotel Rittersgrün. There we had dinner in the hotel restaurant. Already on the way there it was clear that in this hotel emphasis is placed on good food. In the hotel corridors were photos showing Alfons Schuhbeck during a visit to the Landhotel Rittersgrün. It was also clear to us, that this hotel like to visit by the celebrities. Among other things, the Saxon Prime Minister Tillich has stayed here. We were all the more curious about what awaits us at our dinner.

 

 

We should not be disappointed. After a spicy greeting from the kitchen with bacon and beans, a salmon rosette of fennel and orange salad follows. As a main course I chose sliced ​​calf's liver with mashed potatoes on caramelised onions. And for dessert there was vanilla ice cream in almond coat on advocaat cream. The food was as good as it sounds. The caramelized onions were melting away. They had an apple flavor that harmonized beautifully with the calf's liver. The same applies to the salmon appetizer with the extraordinary salad combination of fennel and oranges. At dessert, I wondered how to make vanilla ice cream into a compact ball that was covered with almonds. This complemented perfectly with the advocaat cream. All in all an absolutely successful conclusion of our pleasure trip through the Ore Mountains!

Landhotel Rittersgrün
Karlsbader Str. 23
08359 Breitenbrunn

 

 

The Erzgebirge is a place for connoisseurs, and not just because of the nine things

If you want to get to know regional cuisine, the Ore Mountains are definitely the right place for you. Here, for example, the cuisine tells stories of the hard lives of the miners. It also bears witness to the ingenuity of the people of the Erzgebirge, which is not only expressed in culinary terms. We'll tell you more about this elsewhere. Last but not least, our selection of culinary experiences will show you how enjoyable you can dine in unexpected places. When traveling through the Erzgebirge, you should not ignore the regional specialties. They offer pleasant surprises and are the perfect refreshment after one Hike.

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By the way: suggestions for Vacation in Germany by car you can also find here.

 

 

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Source: own research on site. We would definitely like to thank you Tourist Association Erzgebirge eV for inviting me to this press trip. However, our opinions remain our own.

Text: Copyright Monika Fuchs and TravelWorldOnline
Photos: Copyright Monika Fuchs and TravelWorldOnline