I’d only lived in Bonn for a few weeks when I started to hear rumors of a fabled food called Rievkoche (Reibekuchen). All I knew was it contained potatoes and tasted wonderful. I had to wait until either Yuletide or Pützchenmarkt to buy some and they had to come from one or another of the approved booths. Finally, September rolled around and my friends Ralf and Monika took me to Beuel to ride on a huge ferris wheel and to eat the Rievkoche. When I finally saw them in Ralf’s hands, I blurted out: “Oh, latkes!” Ungrateful Yanks. We ate them with apple sauce, and they were oily, and they were delicious.
Posted by jim at December 20, 2003 08:27 AM | TrackBackThese are, of course, Baggers, see photo (admittedly not a close-up, but I can supply one):
http://www.margaret-marks.com/Transblawg/archives/000407.html
Posted by: MM on December 21, 2003 05:20 AMMargaret: I've never heard the term baggers before. From context I'm assuming it's snack food that's greasy and needs to be put in a bag. Am I close? Nice photos. Is that an onion before and after deep frying?
Posted by: jim on December 21, 2003 06:12 AMHaving grown up 50 kilometres from Cologne, Reibekuchen have, of course been a familiar, yet rare treat for me, since my mother never made them. When I was at primary school, I sometimes went to classmate's home after school. I had to go home for lunch, but her mother would give me the first Reibekuchen she had just made. Nothing has ever tasted quite so good...
Fridde un Freud för de Chressdäg un vill Glöck em neue Johr.
Hmm, homemade Rievkoche ... dat is ein herrliche Ding. Thanks, Bettina, and you have a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year, too.
Posted by: jim on December 22, 2003 09:51 AMHmm, I'm pretty sure that I dined upon something similar at a Hamburg Kristkindlmarkt, but my memory is vague, probably due to excessive Gluehwein consumption.
Regardless, it's clear to me that European pancake technology is highly advanced compared to that of the US
Posted by: MrBaliHai on December 23, 2003 08:29 AM