Our food expectations for Backnang Weinachtsmarkt were not especially high. Don’t misunderstand me I enjoy Christmas Market foods, but, there is only so much Bratwurst one girl can take. Both MrC and I were looking forward to crispy, garlicky Langos and possibly some soup but our minds were soon changed when we saw what was on offer.

As with any Christmas Market we haven’t visited before we always have a mooch around first, take pictures, check out all the stalls and then decide what to eat and drink. Check out my post here.

This is the only Christmas Market I’ve been to where I didn’t have Glühwein, which is unlike me, and that’s only because of the range of alternatives on offer (alcoholic and non). Hot spiced Apfel Most (apple wine) was the drink of choice for the evening, I’m planning on buying some so I can make some at home, it was that tasty. The lovely thing about this market is that all the stands are run by local companies and Vereine (groups/organisations), from cheerleaders to religious groups to hunting groups, meaning that 99% of the everything available was home made.

These little delights, Piroschki, I think Ukranian in origin, but the stand was too busy to ask too many questions. Fist sized donut textured buns, filled with either Hackfleisch (minced meat), Sauerkraut or Marmelade (jam). Having been pre-fried, each bun was microwaved for a few seconds to warm it up, I wasn’t expecting a lot at this point. We ordered one meat and two (actually one, but this is a common misunderstanding with us) sweet buns. Mr C tucked into the meaty one which was filled with a bolognese tasting mixture, whilst I went for the sweet. The filling turned out to be chunky spiced apple jam, not what I was expecting from ‘Marmalade’ but a fabulous surprise since I love apples.

After refilling on Apfel Most, we set about finding MrC the burger he was craving. The local hunting club had a double sized trailer offering both hot and cold meaty produce, Mr C opted for the venison burger, I was concerned that the meat might be too gamey for me, but after a taste I went and ordered one too. They sold exclusively venison and wild boar, the queues got really long after we got our food, it was definitely worth a wait though.

So having had a chance to check out the market before we started eating we had found a stand which looked interesting. Take a close look at the picture and the decorations for sale. Yes, this stand got two reactions, a wow or a yuck, no in-betweens. Now I haven’t tried Schnecken (snails) before but snails raised on vineyards ‘Weinbergschnecken‘ seemed like too good an opportunity to miss.

We opted for the Bärlauchbutter (wild garlic butter) version, they also made tasty looking Flammkuchen and soup with snails too. I’m sure I’ve said it before but anything covered in garlic is just about heavenly to me and these were no exception. Like a chewier, meatier, landier, mushroom kind of taste, I almost regret sharing a plate with MrC.

So to round off this food adventure, something sweet. A Nutella Langos was in the running until I spotted something I’d not seen before. Rosenküchle is a kind of deep fried pancake dough, which is dipped into the fryer on a special crinkly cutter on a stick which creates the fabulous shape. Served with apple sauce or icing sugar the Rosenküchle itself is actually very light and surprisingly not greasy, though the icing sugar goes everywhere. The outer ‘leaves’ are crispy and as you get towards the middle it ends up a little softer, I could easily have eaten the whole thing. I would say that it was fairly awkward to eat, we ended up in an alley behind the stall with other couples eating theirs, and getting covered in sugar too.

So Christmas Markets aren’t all Bratwurst and Glühwein. Happily surprised by Germany once again, just when I think I’ve got this place worked out a curveball hits me, every time. Happy eating!

What are your favourites foods and drinks at the Christmas Markets?