Today on Food on Fridays we take a look at specialty food from Frankfurt: Cheese and Music, washed down with the local version of apple wine.

Well, there we were last week in Frankfurt, and of course I wanted to try the local food specialities as much as possible. So our friends took us to a place that offered the local drink, Äppler (“apple wine”) as well as the local appetizer, Handkäse mit Musik (“hand cheese with music”).  I ordered both of them, for blogging purposes only.

No, really – I’m serious —  I ordered these dishes really to be able to blog about them. I mean, the Äppler beverage was described as being popular (with young people) because it was cheap, even though it was a very sour/bitter beverage. The waiter actually seemed skeptical that I wanted to take it “straight” and not diluted with lemon soda or sparkling water.  But hey, when in Frankfurt, one has to try it the local way, right?

Right — except, well, that’s not necessarily the best way to try it. Let’s just say that sour/bitter doesn’t really capture the astringent and extremely unpleasant (IMHO) taste of undiluted Äppler. Without any food to accompany it, I was unable to take more than two very tentative sips, and I immediately looked for some other beverage to order instead.

But of course you’re supposed to drink Äppler with the Handkäse mit Musik appetizer. When that dish came, I tried the  Äppler again, and in fact it went pretty well with the sour flavor of the Handkäse mit Musik.

So, what exactly is Handkäse? Here’s part of the description from the Wikipedia entry:

[Handkäse] gets its name from the traditional way of producing it: forming it with one’s own hands.

It is a small, translucent, yellow cheese with a pungent aroma that many people find unpleasant. It is sometimes square, but more often round in shape.

The Handkäse mit Musik dish is Handkäse served in a dish smothered in oil and raw onions. It’s the onions that lead to the mit Musik part of the name, as described in that same Wikipedia entry:

Strangers to this custom will probably ask where the “Musik” is. They will most likely be told that “Die Musik kommt später,” i.e. the music “comes later.” This is a euphemism for the flatulence that the raw onions usually provide. A more polite, but less likely explanation for the “Musik” is that the flasks of vinegar and oil customarily provided with the cheese would strike a musical note when they hit each other.

I didn’t eat enough to “hear” the music, though. The taste of the dish was OK, and interesting to try, but overall it wasn’t my favorite. I’d have to say that as an example of a traditional Frankfurter food, it was definitely an acquired taste … and I have yet to acquire that particular one, unfortunately. Ah well – always fun to try something new.

In any case, the photos below will give you a peek at these dishes,  without the bitter aftertaste … and without the music that comes later. 😉

Enjoy.