What do people eat in Austria?
Austrians eat bread rolls for breakfast, a warm lunch such as Wiener Schnitzel or goulash, and often a cold Jause of bread, cheese and ham in the evening. Coffee and cake in the afternoon is an institution.
Typical dishes and their calories
Breakfast
Breakfast is a Semmel, a crusty white roll, or dark bread with butter and jam, or with ham and cheese, and a coffee. At the weekend there are soft boiled eggs, Topfen (curd cheese) and muesli. A Semmel with butter and apricot jam is about 280 kcal. Mid morning many people have a small Jause, a slice of bread with cheese or ham.
Lunch
Lunch at about 12:00 was traditionally the main meal, and many Gasthäuser and canteens still serve a Mittagsmenü of soup and a main. A classic soup is Frittatensuppe, beef broth with strips of pancake. Mains are Wiener Schnitzel with potato salad (about 470 kcal for the schnitzel alone), Gulasch with a roll, or Tafelspitz, boiled beef with apple horseradish.
Dinner
Dinner is often cold, especially in the countryside: a Jause or Brettljause, a wooden board with bread, cured ham, sausage, cheese, pickles and horseradish, eaten around 18:00 to 19:00. When lunch was light, dinner is warm, for example Käsespätzle, small noodles with melted mountain cheese and fried onions, at around 700 kcal a plate.
Starters
Meals usually begin with soup rather than a starter: clear beef broth with Frittaten, Grießnockerl (semolina dumplings) or a Leberknödel (liver dumpling). At a Heuriger, a wine tavern, the table gets Liptauer, a spicy paprika cheese spread, with bread and radishes. A bowl of Frittatensuppe is about 150 kcal.
Desserts
Austria takes desserts seriously: Sachertorte, a chocolate cake with apricot jam served with unsweetened whipped cream, Apfelstrudel at about 300 kcal a slice, and Kaiserschmarrn, a torn, caramelised pancake with plum compote. Kaiserschmarrn and Marillenknödel, apricot dumplings rolled in buttered breadcrumbs, are often eaten as a whole meal.
Drinks
Coffee is the daily drink, and the Viennese coffee house, listed as intangible cultural heritage in Austria since 2011, serves it with a glass of water. The Melange is the local coffee with milk. Beer goes with food, wine regions drink a Gspritzter, white wine with sparkling water, and Almdudler, a herbal lemonade, is the soft drink. A half litre of beer is about 215 kcal.
Street food
The Würstelstand, the sausage stand, is open late and sells Käsekrainer (a smoked pork sausage filled with cheese), Bosna (a spiced sausage in a bun with onions and curry powder) and Leberkäse in a Semmel. A sausage is about 300 kcal before the bread. In winter, markets sell Maroni (roasted chestnuts) and mulled wine.
Normal there, odd elsewhere
A sweet dish like Kaiserschmarrn or apricot dumplings counts as lunch, with nothing savoury before it. Coffee always comes with a glass of water, and you can sit for hours over one cup without being asked to leave. A sausage stand is a normal stop after the opera or a night out.