All Along the Rhine
Recipes, Wines and Lore from Germany, France, Switzerland, Austria, Liechtenstein and Holland

by Kay Shaw Adams
(Hippocrene Books, 2001)
Hardcover, 234 pages, $24.95

Along the shores of the Rhine you will find a wealth of culinary delights, wines and gastronomic traditions. The river is not claimed by Germany alone—although the Teutonic myth of the beautiful Lorelei, a sirenlike maiden with flaxen hair who lured boatsmen to their deaths, is inextricably interwoven with that magical water. France, Liechtenstein, Austria, Switzerland and the Netherlands share the Rhine, and Kay Shaw Nelson's charming little book is a careful selection of "recipes, wines and lore," from German gemütlichkeit to the gastronomic crossroads of Alsace. While the wine sections are small and don't shed much light on, for instance, the complexities of German wine terminology (Auslese, Spätlese, half-dry etc. ad infinitum), the selected recipes are true originals. A simple German fruitcake is a delightful light treat-and has zilch in common with its unpopular U.S. counterpart. Learn how to make onion tarts, sauerkraut with apples, gulyás suppe, linzertorte, roll mops, pears in red wine or dandelion salad.

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