Eating Well: Vienna, Austria - #112

BURT WOLF: Vienna, one of the world’s great cities for good food. We'll visit some of their extraordinary coffee shops and find out who discovered our most popular drink. We'll uncover the story of the first croissant, and the battle it was baked for. We'll tour the town's food shops, and cook up some of their best-tasting recipes. Join me, Burt Wolf, Eating Well, in Vienna.

Vienna is a city of imperial beauty. Imperial is definitely the right word, since most of the great buildings in Vienna were constructed under the direction of one of the Austrian emperors, who ruled in Vienna for over six hundred years. Their palaces, personal residences, court buildings, they dominate the city, and give it a distinct character. The imperial lifestyle became part of Vienna's culture and is seen throughout the city. There are still splendid receptions given in the grand ballrooms, the waltzes of Strauss still dominate much of the music, the shopping has as inter-national an aspect as London, Paris, New York or Tokyo. It's what you'd expect to find in one of the world’s more interesting cities. And the town is still manageable in size. You can walk to most of the interesting sites. Saint Stephen's Cathedral, Schoenbrun Palace, Belvedere Palace, the Opera, the Vienna Boys' Choir, which has been singing here since 1498. And if you think these kids are well-coordinated, you've got to take a look at the horses in the Spanish Riding School. They've had their act together for four hundred years and they're Vienna's number one tourist attraction. And most attractive is Vienna's food and its fascinating history. 

A little over two thousand years ago, the city of Vienna was actually a small fishing village. Then the first of the Roman legions arrived. They built their temples and planted their grape vines. The temples and the grape vines are still here, only these days they're right smack in the middle of downtown Vienna. When the Roman Empire declined, Vienna went through a tough time. For about five hundred years, it was constantly subjected to invasion by barbaric hoards. The Visigoths came through, and the Vandals came through, even Attila the Hun stopped in for a piece of pastry. But by the year 1000, the first of the ruling families of Vienna took control. The Bobbinburgs came bob-bob-bobbing along. They turned the city into an important trading center. Crusaders traveling up and back between Europe and the near east, gave Vienna a taste for cinnamon, cloves and nutmeg. They also started the growth of the town's enormous sweet tooth by bringing in sugar. In the thirteenth century, the Hapsburg family took over, and began six hundred years of imperial rule. The Hapsburgs were lovers at heart, not fighters. They liked acquiring land through marriage, rather than might. And they did a pretty good job, too. In addition to Austria, they managed to add on Poland, Hungary, and parts of Switzerland, France and Italy, the Netherlands, even Mexico. And central to their power was their understanding that the way to a person's heart was often through their stomach. Why fight when you can flirt and feast?

Today, Vienna is the capital of a neutral nation. A democracy interested in political peace and gastronomic peace. A piece of strudel, a piece of torten, a piece of schnitzel and all the recipes drawn from countries that were once part of the Hapsburg empire. Let me take you on a little tour of Viennese cooking. 

Vienna's old market is one of the city's most famous landmarks. It's called the Naschmarket, which means the nibble market. For decades, it's not only been a central source of good food, but the main base for great gossip. You could find out if the fine tomatoes had come in from the countryside, as well as discover who was the apple of whose eye. Today the Naschmarket still reflects the position of Austria as a gateway between Europe and the near east. One vendor specializes in the dried, sweetened fruits and nuts of the near east. Next to him is a stand covered with the traditional produce of northern Europe, the cabbages and the root vegetables. Broccoli, brussels sprouts, cauliflower, and kale are in the cabbage family. They're high in vitamin C and contain calcium,and phosphorus. They also hold a substance called beta-carotene, which our bodies use to make vitamin A. Beta-carotene appears to help block some forms of cancer. 

Potatoes originated in South America and were brought to Europe in the 1500s. After a few years, they became a very popular crop with European peasant farmers. That's because they grew underground and the invading armies that wandered all over Europe couldn't find them. Those armies would take everything they could from the farmers -- and potatoes, being hidden, were fabulous. Potatoes are very high in nutrients. They've got lots of vitamin C, lots of potassium, lots of fiber, and they're low in calories. Here in Vienna, they're used to make a wonderful potato soup. And in the hands of Vienna's chef, Karl Malafa, potatoes are turned into the kind of hearty peasant soup that has made country cooking famous. Onions are sliced, leeks are sliced and peeled potatoes are sliced. A little oil goes into a pan. Then the onions, the leeks and some fresh marjoram. That gets stirred and cooked together for about five minutes. Then beef broth is added. The lid goes on. And the ingredients simmer together for about twenty-five minutes. The lid keeps the soup from boiling away and helps seal in the flavors. Just at the end of the cooking time, a quarter cup of cream is added in, a technique from the old style of Austrian cooking. I tested the recipe with buttermilk, and again with low-fat yogurt, and both worked out fine. Just don't re-heat the soup after the yogurt goes in or it will separate. Next, a little pepper, and some ground cardamon seed. At that point, everything is blended into a puree. Mushrooms are sauteed and placed into the serving bowl as a garnish. A few pre-cooked cubed vegetables are also added, the soup goes in and it's ready to serve. 

Throughout most of history people ate small amounts of foods throughout the day. We were hunters and gatherers, catching small animals and sharing them. We gathered food and shared that too. What we hunted and gathered, we ate in what would be the equivalent of five or six small meals, spread out throughout the day. But the industrial revolution of the early 1800s changed the way people ate. Factories like to run with the fewest interruptions. So we shifted our eating habits to three meals a day. One before work got started, one after work ended, and a single interruption called lunch. Great system for production, not so great for good health. 

Researchers are telling us that our bodies were really designed to take in small amounts of food at one time. When we go to a big meal, we really endanger the system. Having a lot of food at one time can increase yous cholesterol, increase your body fat, increase your weight and impair your body's ability to deal with blood sugar. Those are all serious things, and you don't want to do that to yourself. Your best bet is to take the calories that you would normally have at breakfast lunch and dinner, pull out some of those, and have them as low-fat snacks in between those meals. Better for you, lots more fun, too.

There is no city in the world where music is so much a part of the history, the culture and the everyday life, as it is here in Vienna. This was the home of Strauss and Schubert, of Mahler and Mozart, of Beethoven and Brahms. Why? Why so much music? Well, to a certain extent the forces that brought this city great food, also brought it great music. For over six hundred years, this was the center of an enormous empire that stretched halfway around the world, encompassing people with different philosophies, different religions, different cultures, different levels of society. To be a great artist, you had to practice in a medium that was well understood by lots and lots of people. And music is the universal language.

And the royal court loved it. And remember, the ruling Hapsburg family preferred wedding to warring, and music is the food of love. For hundreds of years, when the music ended, the munching began. Find a concert hall, and across the street, there's a cafe. In Vienna, Beethoven almost always comes with boiled beef. And what are the classic dishes of this city? The meals on Mozart's menu? Well, the most famous is wienerschnitzel. 

Slices of veal are cut from the loin, placed on a flat surface, covered with a piece of plastic wrap and pounded until they're quite thin. The plastic keeps the veal from breaking up. A little salt, but no pepper; the chef feels that pepper would be too sharp for this dish. A little lemon juice on both sides. Then the veal is lightly floured, dipped in a mixture of beaten eggs and chopped parsley and breaded. Don't press too heavily on the veal when you're breading it. You just want a light coating. Then into a saute pan of hot, clarified butter or a mixture of butter and oil. The chef tests the temperature with the edge of the veal, to make sure it's hot enough. That's a very important tip. The oil should be heated to just under the smoking point, three hundred and seventy-five degrees fahrenheit. In that way, the veal will be properly cooked but it will absorb a minimum amount of oil. The pan is constantly shaken to keep the schnitzel moving. About forty-five seconds on each side, and it's done. Onto the serving plate, topped with cooked parsley, half a lemon, and you're ready to go. And what traditionally comes along with this dish, like Franz and Schubert? Viennese potato salad. Schubert may not have finished all of his symphonies, but he always finished his vegetables.

Small new potatoes are cooked in simmering water until tender. Then, they're allowed to cool down. Still warm, but cool enough to handle, they're peeled and sliced into rounds about a quarter-inch thick. A little fresh pepper, a little salt, some wine vinegar, a little vegetable oil, and in keeping with Austria's sweet tooth, a few tablespoons of powdered sugar, a little mustard, some chopped red onions and some hot beef broth. The ingredients are mixed together and left to rest for half an hour outside of the refrigerator. It's important that the broth be warm, and that the salad be left to marinate for thirty minutes. It's given a final mixing by hand. For most chefs, their hands are their best tools, especially for a dish like this. Your fingers are delicate enough so they won't break up the soft potatoes, but strong enough so you get a good grip. The potatoes go onto the plate, there's a garnish of greens, and finally, a speciality of Austria, oil crushed from pumpkin seeds. It comes from a part of Austria called Styria. Chefs call it the green heart of the country. Arnold Schwarzenegger comes from the green heart of Styria, too, but nobody crushes Arnold's pumpkin. 

Good cooks have always known how important the right seasoning is to a recipe. The right amount of salt and pepper, fresh herbs, special spices. For thousands of years, these have been highly valued commodities that have changed the course of world history. Remember what Columbus was really looking for was a cheaper way to get spices from Asia to Europe. Every European ruler knew that if they controlled a spice route, they would be wealthy beyond their wildest dreams, but even if a dish is properly seasoned, there is a trick of the trade which will increase your pleasure from the flavor. 

Each seasoning stimulates a different pattern of taste buds in your mouth and the more a taste bud is stimulated, the less it responds and the less taste you taste. The way to avoid the problem is to alternate bites of the foods on your plate. Don't take two bites of the same food in a row. Each bite should be a different food, stimulating a different pattern of taste buds. The result is more flavor from the same amount of food. And that can be a great help to people who are on a weight loss program. Very often, when you are on a low-calorie diet, you feel the need for more food. Sometimes you can satisfy that need for food by just getting more flavor, and this is a great way to do it. 

Spices are the dried flowers, seeds, leaves, barks, and roots of various big, woody plants that are usually found growing somewhere in tropical countries, but how do I tell a spice from a herb? And “herb” is the correct English pronunciation. The first spice venders to come to the colonies from England, came from a part of England that had a very specific accent and they mis-pronounced the word as erb, we kept it that way. Whether it's an herb or an erb, it's different from a spice. It doesn't come from a woody plant in the tropic, it comes from a perennial plant, usually put down from seed, every year. And the most flavorful parts are the flower, the stem and the leaves. 

If you're substituting dried herbs for fresh ones, the general rule of thumb is to use half as much dried as fresh. Dried herbs have a much more concentrated flavor and you'll only need half as much to get the same results. And it's always a good idea to crush the herbs before you add them to the recipe. Breaking up the structure of the dried plant releases the natural oils that produce the best flavor. It's also a good idea to remember that dried herbs are sensitive to light. You don't want to store them in direct sunlight. That will reduce their flavor. 

This book is a reproduction of a medieval health book. Page after page of illustrated recommendations on how to use specific herbs and spices to help cure illness. Some of the ideas go back over five thousand years. And in those days, herbs and spices really were the medicines. Let's take look at what it says here. Sore throat. The medieval medic recommends a little bit of sage to clear that up. Stomach upset. Poor thing. Out into the garden for a few basil leaves. Can't remember why you went to the doctor in the first place? Rosemary. Ancient doctors believed that a bit of rosemary would help protect you against the loss of your memory. But before we start laughing at these recommendations as unscientific, let's see what researchers have to say about herbs and spices today. 

Many scientists believe that the loss of memory associated with aging is partially caused by oxidation of brain cells. Rosemary contains a series of anti-oxidants. Sage for sore throats, why not? It contains some of the same compounds as antibiotics. I'm definitely not recommending that you start medicating yourself with herbs and spices, that would be nuts. But it is nice to take a look at the old books and see that they still have some sage advice.

Vienna has been a bridge between Europe and the near east. Its culture and its cuisine have been influenced by both areas. Coffee is a perfect example of what I mean. Coffee originated in Ethiopia, and by the sixth century Arab communities in the area were cultivating coffee. The Moslem sect called the Dervishes loved the stuff. They realized that when they drank coffee, they had more energy and they were able to stay up longer. That gave them more time at prayer. So they figured it was a gift from their God. The called it 'kava,' which is where our word coffee comes from. Moslem armies attacked Vienna in 1683. When their siege failed and they headed back to the Near East, they left behind them sacks and sacks of coffee beans. The Viennese discovered it, figured out how to brew it and opened up their first coffee houses right then and there. The caffeine in coffee that kept the Dervishes whirling still affects many people, but the type and intensity is very different for each person. Caffeine is a stimulant to the central nervous system and can give you a jump start and increase your alertness. How much you should drink for a positive effect and at what point you've had too much is dependent on your personal caffeine tolerance. Members of the American Dietetic Association feel that if you are pregnant or you have a heart problem, you should discuss caffeine with your doctor. Coffee, however, in moderation can be one of the great joys of life. Nobody knows that better than the Viennese, where coffee drinking is a keynote in the symphony of daily life. When you go to make a cup of coffee, you have to start with fresh water, not water that comes out of the hot water tap and not water that's been standing around. If it's old water, it's not going to have enough oxygen and oxygen is essential to give coffee a clean, clear taste. 

When you're choosing a brewing method, forget about your percolator -- it keeps water and coffee together for too long. Two or three minutes is the maximum amount of time. Otherwise you draw out vinartanic acid and that's not good. The best brewing method is the single pass-through system where the water passes through the coffee one time only and quickly. The water should be just under the boiling point. 

Here's another sweet piece of gastronomic history from the city of Vienna. When the Turks attacked Vienna in the 1680's, they permanently changed the way people eat. Not only did they introduce coffee to the cities of Europe, but it resulted in a food which changed the way people in Europe had breakfast and is now beginning to affect the people of the United States. At the time of the siege, the city of Vienna was totally surrounded and nothing was getting in; nothing was going out and things were not looking too good. And a baker who had a shop near the city wall got up early one morning, bakers do that, to start working on his bread. While he was working on it, he heard something going on underneath his shop. He suddenly realized that the Turks were trying to tunnel under the city walls. He notified the guards. The guards counterattacked; the Turks fell back. The city was saved. The ruler of Vienna rewarded the baker by giving him a patent to produce a bread and the shape of the design on the Turkish flag. It was to remind the people of Vienna that they had devoured the Turks. The symbol was the shape of the crescent moon and the bread was the first croissant. So the next time you have a croissant for breakfast or it's offered to you as part of sandwich, remember you owe it all to a Viennese baker in the 1600's.

The Austrian empire was really serious about managing through marriage. So when things got a little tense with the Prussians during the 1860's, the Austrian Archduke Albrecht arranged for a marriage between his daughter and a member of the Prussian royal family -- Duke Phillip of Wartenberg. The old couple married and settled down in a simple house, set up housekeeping. Phillip hung a picture of himself over the staircase, so everybody would know it was his place, but after a while, Phillip got tired of living in one building and moved on. You know, dukes can be that way and it was a good thing he did too because at the time the city was getting ready for the World Exhibition of 1873 and the Emperor of Austria, Franz Joseph needed a royal and imperial building to house all of the royal and imperial guests that would be coming to the city. And that's how Vienna's Imperial Hotel came to be. 

And wait, here's more...

(MUSIC)

(CONTINUES) The night before the Emperor himself was to inaugurate the hotel, an apprentice cook set about preparing a cake that he wanted to offer to his beloved mama, five extra-thin layers of almond paste, interspersed with chocolate, topped with marzipan and finished with chocolate icing. It was the first square chocolate cake in culinary history. And the Emperor loved it! And that is how the world-famous Imperial Torte was invented. And it shares its name with the hotel in which it was created. Vienna's Imperial Hotel is placed on the main street that rings the old city. A magnificent structure on the outside, it is even more impressive on the inside. The grand staircase invites you up to the imperial chambers. Old world luxury on top; modern technology underneath. The royal suite gives you a clear idea of what life was like at the tippy-tippy-top. The hotel's restaurant is a favorite dining spot for serious eaters. The chef has given a light, creative touch to the traditional Austrian ingredients. And what could be more traditional for Vienna than a piece of Viennese apple strudel? Flour and egg and a little oil are used to make a very smooth dough. It's given a light coating of oil to keep it from drying out and set to rest for half an hour. Meanwhile, apples are peeled, quartered, cored and cut into 1/8 inch slices. They go into a bowl and are mixed with the juice of lemon, sugar, cinnamon, raisins, chopped walnuts and a little sour cream. When the dough is fully rested, it goes onto a floured cloth where it is rolled out and pulled into as thin a sheet as possible. They say the great strudel makers get their dough so thin that they can read a newspaper through it. Now I get my news from television, so I'm just going to estimate a quarter of an inch. Holes are repaired with patches, crumbled cookies go on, the apple mixture, more crumbled cookies. The dough is rolled up around the filling. The strip goes onto a baking sheet and into a 350 degree oven for about twenty minutes until the dough is cooked through. And out of the oven, sliced while it's still warm and served with a dusting of powdered sugar and cinnamon. Strudel is at the heart of Austrian cooking and what a sweetheart it is too! 

To understand how the people of Vienna feel about sweets, all you have to do is take a look in a classic, old Viennese cookbook. You'll find that about 20% of the book is devoted to appetizers, soups and main dishes. The rest of the book--all 80%--will be given over to sweet desserts and baked goods. People of Vienna don't have a sweet tooth. It's an entire upper plate! In the old days of the Austrian empire, every family that could afford one had a woman who baked sweet goods and desserts and that's all. Even today, Vienna is the center of the pastry world. And to see what's going on here, and get the full effect, all you have to do is stop into a shop called, Demels.

Vienna's most famous pastry palace opened in 1786. Within a few years, it was the official sugar baker to the Imperial Court. For over 200 years, this business has been the culinary cornerstone of Viennese cooking. They've held onto the old traditions and kept up a level of quality, not as a business practice, but as a matter of national pride. And wonder of wonders, there's a piece of reliable scientific research that indicates that a sweet at the end of the meal is good for weight-loss dieters. Looks like people who've grown up in Western societies have become conditioned to a sweet at the end of the meal. It works like a bell, telling us that the meal is over and we can stop eating -- and without that signal, many people tend to overeat. So don't desert dessert. Just try and make sure that you're torte is tiny.

Most people believe that when they are cooking at home, they have a fighting chance for a low-calorie dish, but when they are eating in a restaurant, they feel they're trapped in Fat City. And they give up all hope for a low-fat, low-calorie meal. But that doesn't have to be the case. There are a few very simple things that you can do to help avoid the problem. First, think about the type of restaurant you're selecting. If it's French food, you're going to be confronted with high-fat sauces on many dishes and irresistible desserts. On the other hand, if it's a Chinese restaurant, you'll have a wide selection of low-fat dishes and fresh fruit for dessert. Picking the right type of restaurant is your first opportunity for control. And when you go into the restaurant, check out the items in the menu that you're interested in. Find out if they've been cooked with cream. Ask the waiter about the preparation techniques. Usually if something on the menu is described as “crispy,” it means it's been deep-fried, but it can also have been roasted for a long time to get that crispiness. You have to ask to find out. When your dish comes to the table, eat the foods that you like best first. Then you won't be tempted as the meal goes on. And have the waiter take the dish away as soon as you're satisfied. A lot of over-eating takes place just because the food is sitting there. Boredom is not a valid reason for over-eating. 

So anything from Vienna on the relationship of good food to good health? You bet. Members of the cabbage family -- broccoli, brussels sprouts, cauliflower and kale are excellent for you. Potatoes: lots of fiber, vitamin C, potassium and they're low in fat. Buttermilk is a nice, lowfat liquid that can make a good substitute for cream in many soup recipes. If you're going to do any deep-fat frying, make sure the oil is at 375 degrees fahrenheit before you put in the food. That will help reduce the absorption of fat. And a sweet little bit of news, a little sweet at the end of the meal, can act as a signal for many people and tell them to stop eating. So don't desert dessert, just act in moderation. And finally, you may ask, how can the good people of this city constantly partake of this fabulous food and not feel guilty? Easy. This is the hometown of Sigmund Freud, the birthplace of psychoanalysis. When you feel guilty about something you've eaten in Vienna, you just lie down and talk about it until the guilty feeling passes. "You see doc, I have this dream about a big piece of chocolate cake and a hand kept putting white cream on top of it, but a voice...

 (CONTINUES) kept saying, "Moderation. Moderation." Well, that's Eating Well in Vienna. Please join us next time as we travel around the world looking for something good to eat that's good for you too. I'm Burt Wolf.

Eating Well: Salzburg, Austria - #111

BURT WOLF: Salzburg, Austria. A town that's been around for over three thousand years, and the spot where Mozart grew up. We'll take a look at the city's beauty, discover who invented the pretzel and why it has its very special shape. We'll discover the reason people though it was unlucky to spill salt at the table and we'll cook up some of Salzburg's best tasting recipes, including an awesome raspberry tart. Join me, Burt Wolf, Eating Well in Salzburg. 

Salzburg, Austria. The name means salt-town, and it is thought of as a world capital for the beauties of life. An antique jewel in a rich, alpine setting. Magnificent scenery, art, architecture, music, good food, great shopping, and one of Europe's most inviting cities, and it's been this way for thousands of years. Why? Why this incredible history? Well, the answer can be found in one simple word, salt. For almost three thousand years, the people around Salzburg have been mining salt and for most of those years, salt has been incredibly valuable. If you controlled the production of salt, you were well-seasoned with wealth, power and fame. In the years before refrigeration, salt was just about essential for the preservation of food. Salted foods lasted through the winter. Societies without salt, didn't.

The ancient princes of the Celtic tribes set up shop here and traded salt to the Greeks and the Roman legions, for gold, jewelry and works of art. In the year six hundred and ninety-six, a bishop named Rupert began construction of this monastery, the church of Saint Peter. The statue of Rupert in front of the church shows a bucket of salt next to him. It was the basis for the monastery's wealth. There's a restaurant inside the monastery that opened in 803. That makes it the oldest restaurant in Salzburg. By the eleventh century, the area came under the control of a group of prince-bishops, half prince, half bishop. They were part of the church, but they were often equally involved with their own wealth and power. They built the Hohensalzburg Fortress. It's the largest and the best-preserved structure that's still around from the middle ages. Inside is the Bull of Salzburg, a cylindrical organ built in 1502. The first and the final chords imitate the bellowing of a bull. 

The fortress is high above the town and has a great view of Salzburg and the surrounding countryside. In 1587, Wolf Dietrich was elected Archbishop. He wanted to make Salzburg the Rome of the north and he did a pretty good job of it, too. He used Italian architects to design much of the city, including the cathedral. Next to the cathedral is the official residence of the bishops. Mozart played here as a child, and across the square is the Glockenspiel Tower. [BELLS PLAY] Its thirty-five bells have serenaded the townspeople since 1704. Hey, play it again, Sigmund. [BELLS PLAY]

Salzburg's many years of wealth and power and its history of trade with other parts of the world, have given it a great sense of gastronomy, and you can see it clearly in the city's old market. The open market in Salzburg is one of the cleanest, neatest and best-organized markets in Europe. It has all of the fruits and vegetables that you would expect, lots of nuts, fresh herbs, meats, great breads, cheeses, and flowers. It's set up every morning except Sunday in University Square, in front of University Church. The townspeople come in by foot, buy what they need for the day’s cooking and walk home. It's been pretty much like this for about a thousand years. Throughout the changing season, different specialties show up in the market. Salzburg is well known for its decorative bouquets made from herbs and spices and those are called krampus, stick figures made from raisins, prunes and dried pears. They're given to children around December sixth, which is celebrated as Saint Nicholas' Day. The doll is a reminder to behave properly during the holiday season, or else the dried fruits may be your only gift. 

Another Salzburg specialty is the pretzel. Pretzels have been around since Roman times. and they've been part of the foods of Salzburg for over a thousand years. They were originally straight, but some time in the early six-hundreds, they took on this new form. A monk shaped the pretzel dough into a form that reminded him of praying arms. Now this may be sacrilege to say in Salzburg, but if you love pretzels and you are salt-sensitive, you can get off most of the salt by just rubbing the outside of a pretzel. In general, pretzels are a wonderful low-fat snack. 

During the past fifteen years, we've seen a steady stream of scientific reports that accuse a particular food or drink or food additive of causing cancer. The stories are very dramatic and always cause a great deal of comment. Additionally, national opinion surveys tell us that tens of millions of Americans are very concerned about the relationship between what they eat and their over-all good health. So it's really nice to have some good news reconfirmed. There are a group of vegetables and for reasons we really don't understand completely at this point, they appear to have the ability to help block the development of cancer. They are called cruciferous vegetables. 

Cruciferous means that if you turn the vegetable over, and look at the base, you will see the ribs forming a cross. Hence the name cruciferous. All the members of the cabbage clan, broccoli, brussels sprouts and cauliflower, seem to contain something that helps the body's natural defense system. As a matter of fact, the ancient Romans thought that cabbages were so important as a defense against disease, that at one point they actually started drafting a law that insisted that their soldiers eat it every week. Two thousand years later and scientists are telling us that the ancient Romans might have been right. And when It comes to putting that cabbage into a recipe, try Salzburg's sauteed red cabbage. 

A red cabbage is shredded, a few caraway seeds are sprinkled on, the juice of a lemon and little red wine vinegar. The vinegar is important, not only because of the flavor that it adds but because it helps the cabbage hold its red color. Everything is mixed together. Then into the refrigerator to marinate for about ten hours. Perfect thing to do overnight. Next, a little vegetable oil goes into a saute pan, a few tablespoons of sugar are added and heated until they turn a light brown. A few tablespoons of chopped onion, the cabbage that's been marinating, a little apple juice, a little lemon juice, a grated apple, stir, cover, simmer for an hour. 

Getreidegasse number nine. The birthplace of Salzburg's main man, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. Born on the twenty-seventh of January, 1756, he grew up in Salzburg and produced some of his finest music here. By the time he was five years old, he had learned how to play the harpsichord from his father. He could also play the violin, but he had learned that from just watching. At the age of seven, he went on tour with his father and his sister; she was eleven at the time. When the Mozarts gave their performance in Germany, a woman in the audience was so impressed that should decided if she ever had a son, she would make him a musical prodigy, just like little Wolfgang. And she did. Her son's name: Ludwig Van Beethoven. So, not only did Mozart produce an enormous amount of magnificent music on his own, he inspired a second body of work in Beethoven. 

But Mozart's inspirational qualities were not just limited to music. Evidence the Mirabelle Mozart Kugel, the national candy of Austria. It was originally produced in the 1800s to mark the hundredth anniversary of Mozart's death. Now watch this. The company was founded in Salzburg. Salzburg is also the birthplace of Mozart. But in addition to that, it is an ancient cross-point in gastronomic history. It stands as a gateway with the foods of Europe to the west, and the foods of the Middle East and the Orient to the east. And its tradition is to take the best of both areas, and mix them together into something new. 

The Mozart Kugel is a prefect example of what I mean. It's made from three basic elements. The first is marzipan. That's a mixture of egg whites, sugar, and almonds, that's made into a paste. It is an ancient Middle Eastern confection. The second is nougat. Nougat is clearly from the Orient. The third is chocolate. And that's really western. It originated in Central America, was brought to Spain by the conquistadors, and wound up in Salzburg with a group of traveling monks. Obviously, this is a marriage that will melt in your mouth.

With 1991 being the two hundredth anniversary of Mozart's death, an enormous amount of additional information on Mozart's life is coming to light... including the things he liked to eat. It appears that Mozart loved fish. Could it be that a low-fat diet put the magic in Mozart's flute? And if you're looking for a magical menu to go along with Mozart's music, just waltz over to the kitchen of chef Herbert Berkelhoffer.

For the past twenty-five years, Herbert Berkelhoffer has been cooking in the kitchens of Salzburg's hotel Goldener Hirsch, and for the past two years, he has been researching and recreating recipes from the period of Mozart's life in Austria during the late 1700s. One of Mozart's favorite recipes appears to have been a fish soup and here's the way it was prepared. 

Two cups of fish stock go into a pot, a little cream, or you can substitute low-fat buttermilk, which works fine. Not traditional, but then, neither was Mozart. A little saffron, the juice of half a lemon; that simmers for about five minutes. Meanwhile, a little vegetable oil is heated. Pieces of boneless, skinless catfish are lightly floured and sauteed. Dumplings are also made from pureed catfish. The sauteed fish goes into a serving dish. And the dumplings are added. The soup, a garnish of cooked strips of vegetables and some chopped chives. Well, it may not be magic for Mozart's flute, but it could put little music into the night. 

Mozart is probably Austria's most famous musician, but tafelspitz is its most famous dish, and it got that way because of Austria's most famous emperor, Franz Joseph the First. Now whatever Franz did, everyone else wanted to do too. So when the world got out that His Imperial Majesty preferred a boiled beef dish called tafelspitz, for lunch, to everything else, it was tafelspitz mania, and it still it. Here's the classic recipe.

You start with a stock pot filled with cold water. Whenever you're choosing a stock pot, make sure that it's long and narrow. The flavor of the stock comes from the bubbling up of the water through the food. If you use a flat pan it's not going to work. Long and narrow. Add three pounds of beef bones. Let the water come to a simmer and skim off any solids that come to the surface. Then add in three pounds of brisket of beef or beef chuck. Next, some onions and turnips that have been browned, a few carrots, a few leeks. Let everything simmer together for about an hour. Then adding few whole white peppercorns, a few whole black peppercorns, a few bay leaves. Then, two or three more hours of simmering and it's ready to serve. The beef comes out, and it's sliced against the grain. Important point. Slicing it against the grain gives the meat the proper texture. The beef is traditionally served with a horseradish sauce, a puree of spinach and pan fried potatoes. 

But that's not all there is to this dish. Once the tafelspitz is removed from the stock pot, we'll have a perfect beef broth. And when the cooking of the soup is completed it's finished off with one of the land-lieben soup garnishes. Now, this is a classic piece of Austrian cookery, right out of the old empire. You get a choice of pearl drops, which are made from yeast dough, or omelet strings, which are like strips of pancake, or egg puffs, which are made from a puff paste of flour, eggs and vegetable oil. They're crunchy, and they add a nice texture to the soup. A traditional piece of Austrian cookery. 

If I ate everything I wanted to eat, in the quantities I wanted to eat it, someone would have to invent a new size for television sets, because I definitely would not fit into any of the present models. I love good-tasting food, it's always been around me, and so, all my life I've had to work at controlling my weight, and do it quite seriously. One of the things that's been a great help to me, is soup. When you start to eat, your stomach sends a signal to your brain that food is arriving, and you can stop feeling hungry. Unfortunately, it takes about twenty minutes for the signal to get from your stomach to your brain. And it is in those twenty minutes that many people do their overeating. A series of experiments at the University of Pennsylvania showed that people who started their meals with a soup that was low-calorie and low-fat, like a broth, tended to have fifty calories less at that meal. Now that may not sound important. But if you take fifty calories at each meal, two meals a day, and the end of a year, that is ten pounds of body fat and that is significant. The study also showed that people who started their meal with a soup tended to have fewer fats and calories in any between meal snacks. Low-fat, low-calorie soups to start a meal. It's a great idea. 

Getreidegasse is the most famous of Salzburg's shopping streets. The name means “the street that's wide enough for horses to gallop.” But the only thing that gallops down Getreidegasse these days are the shoppers. Above each store is a wrought-iron sign that tells you what's for sale. This street has been around for quite a while. Town records show that it was already thought of as a busy place for shopping during the twelfth century. One of the most striking aspects of Salzburg is the age of the buildings and the businesses that you come in contact with. People have inhabited this area, on a regular basis, for at least three thousand years, and much of their work is still in working order. 

This bakery opened up for business in 1429. They have a lovely little section inside where they'll give you a discount on everything left over from the 1500s. Almost all of their breads are farm-style whole grain breads. In the old days, farmers couldn't afford bread that was refined and white. Those breads were for the rich. The farmers had to make do with whole grain and lucky for them too, because six hundred years later, we find out that those refined products are not so fine. Many of the most valuable nutrients were removed during the processing. My recommendation when you pick out a bread is go for the whole grain. More vitamins and minerals, in their natural state. Better for you. Also, lots of fiber. You know, the American diet is a little low on fiber and the American Dietetic Association is recommending that we get more fiber into our diets. Whole grain breads can help. 

And something else the American Dietetic Association is recommending, is a reduction in our nation’s sodium or salt intake. Salt has played such an important pole in human history that the very word has become symbolic of its value. The word “salary” comes from the word salt. It's a reference to the fact that in ancient times Roman soldiers received part of their payment in salt. 

To call someone “the salt of the earth” was to describe them as a trustworthy and responsible person. Salt was so valuable at one time, that if you spilled any at the table, you were thought to be in the presence of evil spirits. But you didn't have to worry, you just took a little and you threw it over your shoulder and they would run away. Evil spirits were thought to congregate behind you, and slightly to the left. See? It worked! 

Salt was also wonderful for finding out who was a witch. You put a little under a seat cushion and then invited somebody to sit down and if they refused to, hey, that was it. You were stuck with a witch. Salt had a negative quality too. Salt is a rock. And most people thought that eating a rock was kind of strange, so we use the salt phrase in two different ways. If you had a mine and it was totally worthless but you wanted to sell it to somebody, you'd take a little gold, and stick it around here and there, and try and convince the buyer that the mine was filled with gold. And that was called "salting" the mine. 

Mining salt has been the primary source of wealth for Salzburg. The fortress, the cathedral, the magnificent princely residences, the architecture, most of what you see here in Salzburg, owes its economic origin to the salt mines. But times have changed. During the last hundred years, modern technology has made salt increasingly available and very inexpensive. And for many Americans, in a strange way, salt's negative and dangerous overtones have taken over. Some people are salt-sensitive. Too much salt in their diet can lead to a rise in blood pressure and eventually to heart disease. Historically, people have fought and died for salt, now it looks like some people will die from it. 

When there's too much salt in the blood, your blood gets thirsty and it draws in more liquid to balance things out. But with more liquid in the system, your heart has to pump harder to move that liquid around, and for many people, the result is high blood pressure. The Federal Food and Drug Administration estimates that thirty-five million people have a problem with high blood pressure and there are no external symptoms. The only way to find out if you have a problem, is to check you blood pressure. So it's important to do that a couple of time a year, to find out how serious you should be about your salt mind. 

In the heart of the antique city of Salzburg, on one of its oldest and most picturesque streets, sits the world famous hotel Goldener Hirsch, “the golden stag,” with a history that dates back to 1407. Amazing, almost a hundred years before Columbus set sail for the new world, and people were trying to get a reservation here. I understand that if Chris could have booked a room, with a weekend rate, he would have come here, rather than go to America. Ah, such are the small twists and turns in the course of history. 

The present character of the hotel is a result of the work of Countess Harriet Walderdoff. She wanted the building to feel like a private manor house, and so she filled it with authentic period furniture, local works of art, traditional Austrian handcraft and locks that dated from the renaissance. Today the hotel is managed by the Countess's son, Count Johannes Walderdoff, who is determined to maintain the atmosphere of a home away from home. His office has a small tunnel window that looks down on the entrance area. It gives him the opportunity to constantly note the arrival of his guests and to welcome them. 

COUNT WALDERDOFF: Good morning, Burt. Good morning. 

BURT WOLF: And for the Count, nothing counts more than the hotel's cooking. The leading culinary guidebooks to Europe regularly recommend the Goldener Hirsch restaurant as having some of the best and most authentic of Austrian food. And classic examples are found in the work of their pastry chef. A perfect example is a dessert called palatschinken, made from sweet pancakes. Traditionally, eggs go into milk, flour is added and mixed into a light batter which is panfried in butter, into pancakes. But the times they are a-changing. These days many Austrians are lightening up. Two of the four eggs have been replaced with egg whites, two whites for each whole egg replaced. And the whole milk has become skim milk. Instead of being cooked in butter, it's a pan with just a little vegetable oil. Tradition also calls for palatschinken to be filled with apricot preserves. They still are, but health-conscious Austrians are using preserves with high fruit content and much less sugar than standard preserves. 

They use fruits that are picked in the Austrian Alps, which has a very short growing season. The result is that the fruit has a very concentrated flavor, more taste for fewer calories. The apricot preserves go onto the pancake. The pancake is rolled up and goes onto the serving plate. A little powdered sugar on top and it's time to polish off the palatschinken. 

Here in Austria there is an ancient tradition for the making of fruit preserves. And one of the great recipes was developed by a man named Rudolph D'Arbeau, in 1879. He was actually an early advocate of natural foods and eventually developed a fruit spread that was sweetened with pure acacia honey rather than white sugar. As you might expect, fruit preserves are used as a spread on bread but they're also used as a spoon-sweetener in tea. It adds a pleasant fruit flavor, too. 

Preserves have also become a regular ingredient in Austrian deserts. Between layers of a chocolate cake, there's a line of apricot jam. As a topping in ice cream, on a cookie, and palatschinken. Palatschinken is definitely a passion amongst Austrian deserts, but the true heart of this country's cooking is found in their pastries, especially the tortes. The linzer tort is a classic example. 

The chef starts by producing a small mountain made up of ground almonds, crumbled cookies, flour, sugar, butter, the zest of a lemon, baking powder and cinnamon. The lake at the top of the mountain contains three eggs. All those ingredients are blended together into a very smooth dough. When it develops a silk-like surface, it goes onto a plate and into the refrigerator for an hour. That tightens up the texture and makes it easier to roll out. When it's ready, the dough is divided into two equal pieces, rolled out to the thickness of about a quarter of an inch, cut into a disk and placed onto a baking sheet. The second piece of dough is rolled out, and cut into strips. A little eggwash is painted around the edge of the disk. It acts like a glue when additional dough is built up along that edge, to form a wall. Raspberry jam is used to fill in the center. Strips of dough are placed on top of the jam to form a lattice-work. Another coat of egg wash, a sprinkling of sliced almonds, then into a three hundred and seventy-five degree oven for twenty-five minutes, or until the dough is fully cooked. 

Wine had been made in Austria for thousands of years. The first important vineyards were actually planted by the Roman legions about two thousand years ago. And there has been a constant increase in winemaking knowledge and skill. Wine tastings have been going on for thousands of years. Traditionally, one wine is tasted against another to see which is best. But how about a glass tasting? The wine stays the same, the glass changes. Well, not important, you say? Not so. Many of the world's leading wine experts are finding out that the size and shape of the glass has an enormous impact on the taste of what's inside. 

And the man who first discovered this was Austrian professor Claus Joseph Riedl. He started his work some thirty years ago, and was eventually able to design a set of glasses to meet the needs of most of the things we drink. The theory behind the work is quite simple. Your tongue has several taste zones. Sweetness is felt at the front, bitterness in the back, salt and sour along the sides. Say you were drinking a sweet, fruity, Austrian riesling; you would want to have the sweetness come through first. So curve the lip of the glass to direct the wine to the tip of your tongue, the part that's sensitive to sweetness. Professor Riedl has designed glasses for fifteen different types of wines and eight different types of brandies. But I have given him an even more complex task, and when he completes it, it will bring joy to the hearts of tens of millions of Americans. I have asked him to design the perfect glass for iced tea. [GLASS CLINKS]

So, what's the signal from Salzburg, when it comes to food and good health? Well, the first message is very similar to the history of Salzburg itself. Salzburg is old. People have been around here for about three thousand years. For most of those years, salt has been very important. But these days, salt is less significant and has a less positive role. And that message translates very simply as, as you get older, your body can tolerate less salt, so cut down on your salt intake. [BELL CLANGS]

Since some thirty five million Americans may be sensitive to salt and subject to high blood pressure as a result, have your blood pressure checked regularly; it's the only safe way to find out if you've got a problem. [BELL CLANGS] In general, we need more fiber in our diet and an easy way to add fiber to our meals is to use whole grain breads. [BELL CLANGS] Cabbage is packed with valuable nutrients and one of the best foods in our diet in terms of health. Eat more cabbage. [BELL CLANGS] Low-fat beef: it's a perfectly acceptable source of protein, and like almost any other food, it can be included as regular but moderate part of your diet. [BELL CLANGS] That's Eating Well in Salzburg. Please join us next time as we travel around the world, [MUSIC] looking for something that tastes good and makes it easier to eat well. I'm Burt Wolf.