Interview with grandparents
Austria
The people our students interviewed reported about their eating habits in the late postwar period (in the mid-fifties). They talked to the rural population who produced almost everything they needed themselves. They baked bread, made butter and curd cheese, grew vegetables and had their own fruit trees. They slaughtered their animals (pigs, goats and sheep) only in the winter months because it was difficult to preserve meat during the summer months. Since food was scarce the portions were small and the menu was limited to certain dishes. The recipes were plain consisting of only a few ingredients.
The people had the following meals: breakfast, snack, dinner, supper.
A) Eating habits during the week:
1. Breakfast
They had breakfast after feeding the farm animals and clearing the barns. The majority of the people ate sour cream soup with bread or potatoes, they did not have bread and butter and jam very often. They drank goat- or cow milk and coffee substitute from barley malt.
2. Snacks
This meal was eaten in the late morning and in the afternoon. It mainly consisted of bread, butter, curd cheese and lard and sometimes it was supplemented with smoked bacon. Common drinks were cider, home made juices and water.
3. Dinner
People had meat dishes like smoked bacon, dumplings filled with greaves or meat, dishes made from innards or a stew of rice and meat once or twice a week. Vegetarian dishes and sweet dishes as the main course were cooked four to five times a week. Dishes such as potato noodles, roast potatoes with cabbage or sauerkraut, apple strudel, pancakes, bread and apple pie, poppy seed noodles, steam noodles, dumplings filled with plums, "Grießschmarren" (semolina porridge baked in the oven) or cakes containing yeast. When they had dishes made with yeast (doughnuts, yeast dumplings, strudels with poppy seed or nut filling) they usually drank a mug of warm milk or coffee substitute with it. Soups (mainly cream soups such as vegetable soup but also clear soups like liver dumpling soup) was usually served before a sweet dish. It was quite common to have skimmed milk for dessert.
4. Supper
As mentioned above many people had a snack in the late afternoon. They often ate up the leftovers from lunch. Having finished their work in the evening most of the people had a simple warm meal like sour cream soup, semolina porridge, "Einbrennsuppe" (soup made with roux), mashed potatoes or a slice of bread with a mug of warm milk.
B) Eating habits on Sunday
On Sunday people enjoyed food which they couldn't afford every day. In the morning they liked to eat a roll or a "Briochegebäck" (sweet white bread) with butter and jam. After attending the mass the men usually went to an inn for the morning pint while the children had religious instruction in the vicarage and the women had ot hurry home to prepare dinner. A Sunday dinner consisted of a clear broth with garnish, a meat dish and a dessert. Typical main courses were roast pork with dumplings and cabbage, stuffed veal or cutlets with potatoes and salad. They also had chicken, hare, mutton and kid goat. Just once a week, on late Sunday afternoon they indulged themselves with various kinds of sausages. When they had guests they served all the goodies they had.
C) Eating habits on special occasions:
1. Lent:
On Ash Wednesday and Good Friday people only ate once a day. On these days they usually had sour cream soup with potatoes. During Lent people abstained from meat. Potato dishes, cabbage, sweet dishes made with yeast, cream soups and fish were common meals.
2. Easter:
At Easter they enjoyed different traditional dishes whose preparation caused a lot of work during the Holy Week. Home slaughtering and baking the "Osterkipferl", "Osterpinzen" and "Biskuitlamperl" were common activities.
The consecration of food is part of the Easter liturgy. Bread, smoked bacon, eggs and salt were consecrated at the end of the Easter vigil and eaten together at home afterwards. Different kinds of meat such as hare, lamb or pig served with dumplings and salad were typical main courses on Easter Sunday. In the afternoon godmothers treated their godchildren with red eggs and "Osterkipferl" or "Osterlamperl."
3. Christmas
December 24th was a day of fasting until the Christmas Mass. After the mass people had a common meal of "Bratwürstel", "Blutwürste" ( black pudding), "Ripperl" or "Beinfleisch" meat dishes. On December 25th they dished up (enjoyed) similar viands as on Easter Sunday, except for dessert. Gingerbread and Christmas cookies served with sweetened tea were a must on that day. During Christmas time people consumed more meat than during the rest of the year.
D) Eating habits and religious festivals:
Since the standard of living was very low at that time most of the people could not afford a big banquet at an inn on the occasion of baptism, first communion, confirmation or wedding. Children who received their first communion were treated with a croissant and cocoa at the vicarage and at the best with Viennese sausages at an inn. On the day of their confirmation their godfathers paid for the meal. The confirmands were treated with pork chops or cutlets and lemonade. And a home-made cake for dessert was a proudly cherished speciality. Guests by-invitation-only participated in the wedding feast which consisted of broth with garnish, roast veal with side dishes and wedding cake. In the evening they enjoyed cold platters with meat and sausages. Alcoholic drinks like beer, wine and "Schnaps" were a must on this occasion. Relatives and friends gathered at funerals which were probably the biggest reunions at that time. Beef broth with garnish, boiled beef with sautéed potatoes and "Semmelkren" (horseradish sauce) followed by a croissant and coffee made up the typical meal for this occasion. The "Auflegsemmel" (a roll seasoned with aniseed, twice as big as big as the normal size) killed the hunger before the soup arrived. I hope I have been able to give you some idea about Austrian food culture.