Enjoyment, Culture and Tradition

Bavaria is an area of Germany where a rich culture has evolved over time and where traditions are still very much alive. Traditional customs are maintained in every region of Bavaria - and this very much extends to cuisine as well! No wonder then that Bavaria offers a particularly large number of typical regional specialties: raw products, dishes and drinks with a long history and carefully maintained recipes.

Lots of specialties have now become firmly established throughout Bavaria, but the region of origin is always still known, sometimes even the exact location. Quite a few delicacies are borrowed from festive traditions, and nowadays they are usually enjoyed all year round. And lots of specialties are a firmly established part of traditional customs anyway. From Munich veal sausages, which should be consumed before 12 noon, and a glass of "Most" (fruit wine), which is still given to visitors today in the traditional fruit-growing regions of Bavaria as a gesture of hospitality - through to Upper Palatinate Zoigl beer which can be enjoyed in the lounges of home brewers wherever the six-pointed "Zoigl star" is found hanging on the house door ...

So far we have compiled more than 200 typical Bavarian regional specialties in our database. The individual portraits of each delicacy tell you everything you need to know about the origins and significance of the specialties, how they are prepared and made and their culinary tradition. An entertaining read for connoisseurs and a useful reference source for amateur chefs and caterers!

The collection was started in the mid-1990s as part of a series of research projects conducted by the Department of Agricultural and Food Marketing (head: Professor Dr. Michael Besch) at the Technical University of Munich/Weihenstephan. Staff from the Bavarian Offices of Agriculture, local cultural historians and other experts and laypeople with an interest offered lots of useful tips and suggestions.

A raw product, dish or drink must fulfill the following requirements to be included in the database of Bavarian specialties:

1.	Tradition: the specialty must have been produced or cultivated in the region for at least 50 years.

2.	Local historical relevance and links: the specialty must feature a history (detailing how it arose) which proves that the product has close ties to the region in which it is produced.

3.	Consumer expectations: consumers must perceive the product to be typically Bavarian or typical of a region within Bavaria.

The collection of typical regional specialties does not claim to be exhaustive, but is instead intended to continue to grow.

Every suggestion sent in which we decide to publish after examining it will be rewarded with a Bavarian cooking apron.