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Carnival is finally over. This is a blessing not because I don’t like Carnival, I do. I’ve enjoyed the kitchy television variety shows and the sound of parade music wafting across the Enns valley. Yesterday in the Spar, the staff were costumed as cats, ears and whiskers and furry vests or animal print shirts. I’d have been happy to attend the local Carnival parade, but Aigen, being a smallish locale, has theirs every two years. Still, I’m glad it’s over because I could not bear to eat one more Faschingskrapfen. I’m sick to death of jelly donuts.
Faschingskrapfen show up in Austria right around Christmas time and they hang out until Lent, though they’re at their highest profile the week of Fasching/Carnival. During this week (which is over today) it seems we could not leave the house without coming home to a bag of home made Krapfen tied to the doorknob. It’s as though they were stalking us, waiting around the corner for us to drive away. As soon as the coast was clear, the Krapfen would invade. Off to the supermarket? Taking out the trash? They’d pounce as soon as we were out of sight.
We started eating Faschingskrapfen at the end of December, though they were not quite as aggressive then, being overshadowed by Christmas cookies. A baker near the pension we like in Vienna tossed one or two in with the rest of our goodies at the end of the day. A fresh batch would sit politely in the display case of the Eduscho café in Liezen, and a friend would order one. A paper bag containing one was found in my coat pocket while skiing. They were around, but they weren’t on alert. And they never seemed to be in the apartment.
About a week ago, the first four made their way beyond the front door. Apricot filled, they were, and very fresh, having made their way over from just around the corner. They were followed by another dozen that boldly wandered in with Josefa, tucked under her arm as though she was their best friend. Another batch followed two days later. We found them tied to the front door, wrapped in paper towels.
Of course I sampled them all. I’m not just sucking up to my mother in law when I say that hers were the best. They had the edge, though, they arrived still warm, the powdered sugar melting in to their golden brown fritter like crust. The other two batches were bready where Josefa’s were fluffy, and they seemed dry in spite of the jam filling, where Josefa’s were moist and steamy. The bakery Faschingskrapfen were exactly what you’d expect from a jelly donut, only slightly less oily than a yankee is used to. A day old bakery Krapfen makes a fine ski snack, it turns out.
Faschingskrapfen make use of a number of ingredients that one is not meant eat during Lent. Meat, butter, cheese, milk , eggs, fats, and bacon are banished from the Catholic kitchen until Easter. I’ve not been confronted with a bacon jelly donut, (my heavens, a less kosher item I can not think of!) but in other areas where Carnival is observed there is a sort of bacon fritter that sounds both horrible and wonderful. In principal, I don’t object to the idea of a bit of apricot with my bacon either, so I could be missing out. In this part of Austria, however, it’s just the standard jelly donut.
As of today, Ash Wednesday, there will be no more Faschingskrapfen. They’re to be replaced with pretzels. The humble pretzel, with its little arms crossed in prayer, makes use of none of the artery hardening ingredients found in the jelly donut. The thing is, after you’ve been stuffed with jelly donuts for days on end, a pretzel looks surprisingly appealing. Indeed, after months of feasting on Christmas cookies, elaborate New Year’s desserts, treat after treat after treat getting you through the blackest part of winter on a never ending sugar binge, well, Lent makes a shocking amount of sense.
I’ve been cursed with allergies for as long as I can remember. During a particularly difficult spring, I decided to try something different and went to see a naturopath. In retrospect, the recommended treatment looked an awful lot like Lent combined with Passover. (The Passover fast is shorter and eliminates yeast from the diet, which would put a damper on the beer soup recipe I found for Lent.) I don’t know much about the dietary restrictions for Ramadan, but I suspect the underpinnings would have health benefits much like that of Lent or Passover.
I’m tempted to observe Lent for the rest of the time I’m here in Austria. Besides, the elimination of a block of ingredients from the diet does not necessarily mean deprivation. This afternoon I’m invited to attend a Herringschmaus, the meal that kicks off Lent. It’s a feast of vegetable salads and fish, foods that I love to eat. I don’t know if there’s a dessert afterwards, but if there is, it is guaranteed not to be a jelly donut. I could not eat another jelly donut.
Reading that list of ingredients that one is supposed to exclude during Lent made me realize that growing up, we must have been very bad Catholics…ha!