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Traditional food

The preparation of traditional dishes has of course changed in the course of time. It therefore comes as no surprise that dishes differ between the Unterland and the Oberland, between North Tirol and East Tirol.

Since recipes were traditionally handed down from mother to daughter, and as the kitchen staff didn't get around much, no new recipes or ways of preparing food found their way into the local kitchen.

As for a long time people learned to cook or taught others to cook without written manuals, there is no "exclusive" recipe for Tirolean Dumplings. Indications of quantity or detailed descriptions of how to prepare a dish were unnecessary for those who learned to cook by watching. And this knowledge was passed on to the next generation. As longs as a dumpling contained the main ingredients (e.g. bacon) and didn't differ too much from the common notion of how a Tirolean Dumpling has to taste, it passed as Tirolean Dumpling. By the way: this dish is called "Tirolean Dumpling" only abroad. In Tirol it is called "Speckknödel" (bacon dumpling) or simply dumpling.

All Tirolean dishes have one thing in common though: they are traditionally prepared with fresh local produce. The "Tirolean Inn Culture" initiative is devoted to reviving and promoting traditional Tirolean cuisine.