Pumpkin Galore
Tonight, I’m having a sleep-over at an Austrian friend’s place. Her youngest son just finished having a bowl of “Kürbiscremesuppe” with “Backerbsen” and “Kurbiscremeöl”.
I watched his mother make the soup from scratch earlier this afternoon, boiling the ‘Kürbis’ (pumpkin) and adding spices to it, before puréeing it into soup. No tinned soup, nothing from the supermarket freezer. Just a nice, fresh, whole pumpkin, turned into a healthy, fulfilling and yummy meal - perfect for this cold, dreary September day.
Her son thoroughly enjoyed it and asked for a second helping, which, of course, Mother obliged. What Mother isn’t happy when she prepares a home-cooked dish and her child asks for seconds?
As I watched her son, 4 years of age , focus all his attention on his enjoyment of the soup, reminding his Mother to add the Backerbsen, it occurred to me how very, VERY Austrian this dish is. I have seldom seen a child tuck into a dish quite that enthusiastically. It was quite heart-warming. And I wondered whether other children, say in Argentina or Azerbaijan, would also like Kürbiscremesuppe, what with its distinct taste? I tend to doubt it. But here in Österreich, they love it, can’t seem to get enough of it. It’s very popular, and today, I witnessed just how Austrian this dish is.
So move over Wiener Schnitzel and Apflestrudel, it’s Autumn and the pumpkins are out!
Watching this child nourish himself with this soup, my mind wandered to all things Austrian, and I remembered two warnings that everyone gave me, when I first moved to Austria, 6 years ago. The first was that waiters are rude, and not to take it personally; it’s a Viennese thing, and I was told I had to just accept it, not fight it.
The second warning that many people gave me when I first arrived, was to beware that Austria is 50 years behind the rest of the world. Even Austrians were telling me this.
Six years later, and I can adamantly say, yes, the waiters are indeed very rude. And yes, I have learnt to deal with it and accept it even…. but we are still not amused!!
But as to being 50 years behind the rest of the world, well, no, that is not so. I would, in fact, say that Austria is at least 100 years ahead of the world. How so, you ask? Well, let me tell you.
In Austria - throughout Austria, not just in the cities, or just in the villages in the countryside, but in the whole, entire country - Austrians are very environmentally aware, and take excellent care of their trees, the soil, the plants, and their farm animals. Nothing is spared in the care they give their land, and nothing is too expensive or too good. Only the best of the best will do.
Even in their architecture of buildings and trains, they design the building/train to be as environmentally friendly as possible. For example, if you go to the toilet in either a little or big café, the lights come on automatically when the light detector detects movement, to ensure that the light is on only when it is needed. Same in train compartments (the ones with 6 seats). If no one is there, moving about, the light switches itself off.
Another example is the meat. The quality of beef, pork, and chicken here is very good, and it really does taste better than in most places in Europe.
And they don’t stop there - with the lights and the meat that is, it’s not just companies and businesses that work sustainably, but the citizens themselves, too.
Austrians don’t let fruit and vegetables go to waste. With the excess peaches, apricots, apples, plums, and other fruit they grow and buy, they make jams and apfelstrudel and preserves. Often, they make more than their family can consume, even over a period of 3 - 4 months in the Winter, so they simply give it to relatives, friends, and neighbours. For free. They genuinely do not want anything in return for it, not money, not a favour, nothing. They just don’t want the fruit and vegetables to go to waste and not be consumed. I have gotten so many jams from a lady who lives in an average size flat in the heart of Döbling, and have often wondered how she manages to make so much jam in her average-size kitchen. But I guess with years of experience, she’s mastered the jam-making process to a tee, and continues to experiment, combining different flavours. I’m sure I’m not the only person who appreciates her hobby. I bring her my empty jars, and in return she gives me jam-filled ones! She once made a pineapple and pear jam, and when she told me what it was, I thought it would taste awful, but it was deeeeeeeelish! You would never find a quality jam like that in any shop anywhere in the world, let alone get it for free! All you are required to do is enjoy it, preferably on a thick slice of yummy Austrian bread.
I think nowhere in the world, is the Zero Waste Movement as strong as in Austria. From early childhood, Austrians learn to appreciate what the land and the animals have to offer. They know its value and feel very close to the land. They shop locally at the farmer’s market, which is a daily occurrence, not a weekly or bi-weekly thing, and they buy seasonally.
Even the supermarkets buy their fresh produce from local Austrian farmers. And when the supermarkets have food that is left over, like breads, cakes and sandwiches, rather than throw it away, they give it away. In Vienna, there is a large, well-organized group of people who collect this leftover food from supermarkets and then distribute it on a number of Food Sharing Platforms throughout the city. They use social media to let people know what can be had where.
See here, right in the heart of Vienna, in front of the Hofburg, saved food on offer, just help yourself and take whatever you like and as much as you like.
This is not a movement to help the homeless and the poor, but to save food from ending up in the dumpster. So everyone chips in however they can, either by volunteering to pick up the food and distribute it, or by going to the distribution points, to get the food. It’s a mentality, ingrained in the culture.
Individuals also use social media to share other excess food. I once saw that someone had written that her grandmother had too many plums and that she was helping her grandmother save them, by giving away as much as possible, so that they didn’t just rot into the soil. Not that that would be a bad thing for the soil and the insects, but the tree was planted there so that we humans can pluck its fruit. I responded to that call to save her grandmother’s precious plums, and to my surprise I got apples, carrots and a few other things as well. Two bag fulls of super yummy fruit and veg, were given to me that day, not just some plums. I ended up having to give a bag to a friend as it was too much for me. All this fruit and veg is grown organically with no use of pesticides. That is very evident in the taste.
Austrian plums are exceedingly tasty, and the plum season is finishing up now. In season now, are all things pumpkin, as is Sturm. Sturm is a wine made from young grapes, so does not contain much alcohol, and it’s slightly sparkly. It’s almost like fizzy lemonade with a bit of alcohol. It’s very nice.
Typical of Austrian sustainability is also to not have your own washing machine and dryer, but to use the communal one in your building. And for adults to rent a flat together, rather than each having their own. It’s called living in a WG - “Wohngemeinschaft”.
Where there is room for improvement is on the roads. Drivers need to respect cyclists more. But hey, Austria will never be like Holland in that respect, if only because Holland is as flat as a pancake, so it can afford to be the world’s leading cycling country. Can you see Austrians taking to bicycles en masse, and cycling up and down the Alps with their shopping bags, and their toddler on the back of the bike? No, me neither. We’ll give them a free pass on that one, then.
So after six years of living in Austria, the moral of this story is that Austrian waiters are indeed rude, and Austria will never be a nation of cyclists, but…. when it comes to green, sustainable, zero waste living, Austrians are light years ahead of the rest of the world, in a league of their own.
Namasté.
