Eat + Trink

Humble Handkäse and Underrated Silvaner

by Ursula Heinzelmann

The most “umlaut” cheese of all may well also be the most humble. Made from skimmed milk, without rennet, prone to (very) intense aromas and a byproduct of churning butter, as central to Germanic food culture as olive oil is to the Mediterranean: may I introduce Handkäse? This, together with quark (which is a kind of fromage blanc - but that’s a different story), and a small selection of Danish and Dutch cheeses, represents the cultured milk canon of my childhood.     

But why even think about this underdog – especially in connection with wine? The first answer requires me to put on my food historian’s hat: Handkäse is one of the most ancient Germanic cheeses...

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