Cuisine of Luxembourg

Luxembourg's cuisinereflectsthe country's position between the Latin andGermaniccountries, influenced by the cuisines of neighbouringFrance,BelgiumandGermany. Recently, it has been influenced by the country's manyItalianandPortugueseimmigrants. As in Germany, most traditional, everyday Luxembourg dishes are of peasant origin, in contrast to the more sophisticatedFrenchfare.
Luxembourghas many delicacies. In addition to Frenchpâtisseries,cakeand fruit pies, local pastries include thePretzel, a Lent speciality;Quetscheflued, azwetschgetart;verwurelt GedankenorVerwurelter, smallpowdered sugar-coateddoughnuts; andÄppelklatzen, applesen croûte.Luxembourg'scheesespeciality isKachkéisorCancoillotte, a soft cheese spread.
Fish from the local rivers such astrout,pike, andcrayfishare the basis for dishes such asF'rell am Rèisleck(trout in Riesling sauce),Hiecht mat Kraiderzooss(pike in green sauce) andKriibsen(crayfish), usually prepared in a Riesling sauce. Another favourite isFritürorFriture de la Moselle, small fried fish from theRiver Moselle, accompanied by a localMoselle white wine.
Meat dishes include coldÉisleker Ham, literallyOeslingham, from the mountainous north of the country, first marinated for a couple of weeks and then smoked for several days. It is usually served thinly sliced with chippedpotatoesandsalad.Perhaps the most traditional of all Luxembourg meat dishes isJudd mat Gaardebounen, smoked collar ofporkwithbroad beans. The pork is soaked overnight, then boiled withvegetablesandspices. Served in copious slices together with the beans and boiled potatoes, it is considered to be thenational dishof Luxembourg.Hong am Rèisleck, similar to the AlsatianCoq au Riesling, consists of brownedchickenpieces simmered inwhite winewith vegetables, spices andmushrooms.HuesenziwwiorCivet de lièvreis ajugged haredish served during the hunting season.
Other dishes includeliverdumplings(quenelle) withsauerkrautand boiled potatoes,Träipen(black pudding) withapple sauce, sausages withmashed potatoesandhorseradish, andgreen beansoup (Bouneschlupp). French cuisine is featured prominently on many menus, as well as certain dishes from Germany and Belgium.
Other Luxembourg specialties include:
Wine, mostly dry white wine, and sparkling wine is produced in Luxembourg, along the north bank of theMoselle, which has a winemaking history dating back to the Romans. The main varieties areRiesling,Pinot gris,Pinot blanc,Chardonnay,Auxerrois,Gewürztraminer,Rivaner,Elbling,Pinot noir, andCrémant de Luxembourg.TheMarque Nationale, on the rear of every bottle of Luxembourg wine, confirms its origin and states its quality level.
Beer, which is quite a popular drink in Luxembourg, is produced locally at three large breweries as well as in a couple of smaller establishments. Most of the beer brewed in Luxembourg is lager but there are also a number of special beers as well as beers withoutalcoholand Christmas beer in December.The main brands of beer are Bofferding, who also produce Battin; Mousel andDiekirch, who share the same brewery in Diekirch; and Simon. Since the 2000s there has been a resurgence of local microbreweries creating craft beer such as, Beierhaascht, Ourdaller and Grand Brewing.