Chestnuts roasting on an open fire…

It is Maroni Zeit (roasted chestnuts time) in Vienna! They are not roasted on open fires (for safety reasons), but in giant chestnut roasters. As the weather gets colder and colder the Maronibrater set up their chestnut huts all over town. There is hardly a street corner where you can’t find these comfort foods. They come in little bags, ranging from 7 to 12 pieces for 1.50 to 2.00€. It doesn’t sound like a lot, but they are satisfying, I usually buy the small bag and I’m full. The huts also sell Kartoffelpuffer (hash brown patties) and roast potato wedges with various dressings (garlic, cocktail, ketchup, barbeque, etc). All these are wonderful foods for warming you from the inside out.

Here in Austria people are still very much in tune with the change of seasons and how that affects our bodies and psyche. It is truly amazing, but every season comes with its own healing and strenghtening powers in the form of herbs, vegetables or fruit. So the Austrian prepares for winter by eating lots of vitamin rich vegetables and fruit and drinking extract of elder juice. In spring they drink Entschlakungstee (detox tea) and eat stewed nettles to cleanse their blood. A lot of herbs, fruits and vegetables are known to have particular healing or well-being properties, you can constantly read about it in magazines, in the stores or watch it on TV. The Vienna city website, for example, often brings articles about what to eat and drink for the season and how to stay healthy.

Long before potatoes had made it to Vienna, Maroni were eaten here all winter long. The old Austrians must have known that Maroni are good for the nerves. They contain lots of vitamin B and phosphor. They are highly recommended for stressful times. What a wonderful pick-me-up for bleak November days! They also contain “good” carbohydrates, without any of the fat. So if you are out and about, running errands or doing Christmas shopping, it is worth picking up a little bag which is a little meal in itself. And these little bags are high quality, controlled by the ever vigilant Vienna market officials. If you get two or more rotten nuts in your little bag, you can go complain at the Marktamt, and they take their job seriously.

So where do you find the best Maroni in Vienna? Hard to say, you sort of follow your nose. Often it is a convenience buy, like right before getting on the subway, or while you shop the downtown pedestrian zone. Mostly the Maroni have to bee nice and plump, not too dark or dried out, and really hot when you buy them. They are at their best at the beginning of the season. Although the Maroni season goes from October through March, I find they are not as tasty in March, just like the apples are not as juicy in spring.

So what to do if there are no Maroni street vendors where you live? That’s easy! All you need to do is buy the desired quantity of chestnuts at the local market or produce store. Then you need to make two cuts across each nut (a big “X”) to avoid explosion, trust me, it’s not pretty and a cleaning nightmare. Afterwards soak the chestnuts in warm water for about 10 minutes, it makes them easier to peel afterwards. Drain and lay out on a baking tray covered with aluminium foil. Pop into the 400 °F pre-heated oven with a small oven proof dish filled with water to retain chestnut moisture. After 15-20 min. take out a nut every 5 min. to check if they are done. As soon as your taste buds are satisfied take them all out of the oven and enjoy peeping hot. Mahlzeit!. If you want to know more about chestnuts, customs and recipes, here is a good book recommendation for you: The Chestnut Book.

It is November in Austria. While everywhere in the US folks are shopping for turkeys and pumpkins and beautiful place settings, the Austrian polishes him- or herself and goes out to Martinigansl Essen. Today is the official Martinigansl day. And no, that is not a goose marinated in Martini (although some have tried to do it), it is the official food for St. Martin’s day, as the turkey (tofu or real) is the culinary symbol of Thanksgiving. So Austrians, big and small, will celebrate all throughout this weekend by eating the traditional dish of roast goose, with Knödel (really heavy huge dumplings) and red cabbage sauerkraut. The goose can be stuffed with everything imaginable and palatable, although the favorite stuffing involves Maroni (chestnuts). Most Austrians celebrate within the intimate setting of family and friends, but many restaurants offer the calories drop-dead dish all throught November.

St. Martin’s day also marks the end of the wine-growers’ year. It is the “baptism” day of the new wine, in Lower Austria also called Martiniloben (Martin’s praise). The Saint is the patron of the province of Burgenland, so the day is the occasion for many feasts in several places, especially at Eisenstadt, the capital of the province. In the caves of many wine-growers in Lower Austria and the Burgenland, the new wine is tasted, and the restaurants have the Martinigansl on their menu.

There are also lantern processions by children on St. Martin’s day. In Bregenz-Oberstadt (Vorarlberg) the Saint’s legend is acted out in a St. Martin’s Ride: St. Martin on horseback shares his cloak with the beggar. Children carrying lanterns accompany him. The lanterns procession is a relatively new custom taken over from Germany, and in Austria mainly performed by the kindergartens and lower school grades. The Bregenz version was introduced from Augsburg in 1920 and is unique in Austria. We did it last year also (with my daughter’s class) and to this day the melody of Ich geh mit meiner Laterne, und meine Laterne mit mir… (i’m walkin’ with my lantern, and my lantern walks with me) still rings in my ears. It was dark and it was rather cute to see little kids walking around with beautifully crafted chinese lanterns, kind of like the dwarf procession from Snow White. Afterward we went back to the school and had cake and punch. However, this type of holiday is not nearly as attractive for kids as Halloween is, when they actually get candy for walking the streets at night.

In St. Martin near Feldkirchen (Carinthia) the Geflügelopfer (poultry offering) is carried out on St. Martin’s day. At 6 p. m. mass is celebrated, followed by a procession and an auction of chickens, geese, rabbits, etc. on the village square. Though in form very recent (since 1972), the custom is a revival of earlier traditions. The relation between the Saint and the poultry has its origin probably in the simple fact that his feast falls into the traditional slaughter-time. You may be wondering if this year’s avian flue rumours are going to stop the Austrian from celebrating centuries old traditions…well…they’re not. Even if the world stops turning, the Austrian will NEVER let go of tradition. Mahlzeit!