Culinary Highlights in and around Basel
The way to one's heart is through one's stomach. This must have been a familiar phrase for the earliest people of Basel too, since no other place in Switzerland has as many different culinary highlights as this city on the Rhine. And hardly anyone celebrates the local specialties as abundantly as the people of Basel. For you as a food connoisseur this means that you will eat your fill in Basel.
The best-known specialty are the "Basler Läckerli," cookies made with honey, hazelnuts, almonds, candied fruit peel, and kirsch. It's no wonder that the delicacies are known the world over: The first "Läckerli" were produced over 700 years ago by spice merchants and have since become as much a part of Basel as the Carnival in Basel (Fasnacht) or the Rhine.
You can buy "Läckerli" from any confectioner in the city. But for a special experience, we recommend a visit to "Genusswelt Läckerli Huus." Not only can you sample the delicacies here, but you can also find out all you need to know about how they are produced. And whilst we're on the subject of confectionery, just as popular are the colorful "Mässmogge," which are thumb-sized sugar candies. The origins behind the name are clear: The chunks ("Mocken" in German) were first offered for sale in 1860 at the Basel Fair ("Messe" in German). Nowadays they form part of Switzerland's culinary heritage.
Mehlsuppe & Ziibelewaije
It may be less colorful but the Basler Mehlsuppe, a simple soup made from wheat flour or rye flour, is just as historically significant as far as local cuisine is concerned. Previously it was particularly popular among less-prosperous citizens. Nowadays, however, it's still mostly eaten regularly as Lenten fare around carnival time. And similarly, so is a "Basler Ziibelewaije." This is an onion tart, but not just any onion tart. The "Basler Ziibelewaije" is THE onion tart and is another firm feature of the Carnival in Basel (Fasnacht).
A Beer Conquers the World
Around the same time as the "Mässmogge," another Swiss culinary cultural asset started its triumphal march very close to Basel: In Rheinfelden in 1876, the "Kollektivgesellschaft Wüthrich & Roniger Brauerei zum Feldschlösschen" brewery was established, nowadays commonly known as Feldschlösschen. The original brewery is still in operation and is not to be missed: As part of a tour of the palatial building, you will learn all you need to know about hops and malt. And at the end of the tour you can sample different beers. Proscht!
