What specialities to try at Strasbourg’s Christmas Market?

Discover Alsace’s specialities

The Strasbourg Christmas Market is above all a great way to discover Alsatian cuisine and the region’s typical street-food dishes! But you’ll need a strong stomach to try it all. Sweet or savory, what are the culinary specialties of Alsace in Strasbourg? What are the must-try dishes? And what gourmet souvenirs should you bring back from your stay in the Christmas Capital? Here’s a short inventory if you’re in a strange land…

Another option is to take part in a food tour with me! On the program, 5 or 6 places selected by me to discover gourmet specialties…

Savoury culinary specialities

Pretzel

Even if it’s not a Christmas speciality, it’s hard to miss the mountains of pretzels and the dedicated stands! A plump, soft part, with thin, crunchy, intertwining branches, this leavened speciality is a true symbol of Alsace, and is sprinkled with coarse salt in its plain version. But you can also bite into the version au gratin with Gruyère, tarte flambée with lardons or even with Munster cheese. To be enjoyed with a good Christmas beer, of course! You can also find our recipe for home-made pretzels here.

Flambée baguette

A slice of baguette bread topped with cottage cheese, onions and bacon, the flammisch (or flambé) baguette is the meeting of the baguette and the Alsatian tarte flambée (Flammkuech). A hybrid recipe and a great classic at the small chalets of Strasbourg’s Christmas Market. Pimped with Gruyère, mushrooms or salmon for the gratin, forest and Nordic versions.

Spaetzle

The spaetzle are small Alsatian pastas traditionally eaten as a side dish, or even as a main course, mixed with a dollop of cheese. But also in street-food mode! At the Christmas market, you’ll find them cooked with crème fraîche, accompanied by a pan-fried mushroom, munstiflette-style (with Munster cheese) or even with sauerkraut and bacon, a good way to discover two specialties in one.

Alsatian sauerkraut

The winstub is fully booked? Don’t panic, the unmissable Alsatian sauerkrautcan also be enjoyed in tubs, on the corner of a stand-up table, but always with the right ratio of charcuterie, bacon and Alsatian knacks in mind! Other local specialties include Cervelas or Waedele (pig’s knuckle), often braised in beer.

Foie Gras from Alsace

Foie gras production has a long tradition in Alsace. At Strasbourg’s Christmas Market, you can enjoy duck foie gras on the go and in gourmet sandwiches from Maison Doriath on Place du Marché aux Poissons. Don’t forget to take home your own little ballotin or slices of duck breast for your festive appetizers.

Flammlachs or flamed salmon

It’s well known that Alsace is Southern Norway. Not exactly local, but no less delicious, salmon à la flamme regularly takes pride of place on Christmas markets.

Sweet culinary specialties

Bredele

Bredele, Winàchtsbredle or Bredala, in Alsace there are at least as many varieties and recipes as there are days of the year. Butterbredele (with butter), Schowebredele (with almonds), Spritzbredele (with piping), Vanillekipferle (vanilla croissants), coconut macaroons, to name but a few. To fill up on gourmet souvenirs at the Strasbourg Christmas Market, stop by the Boulangerie Pains Westermann stand on Place du Temple-Neuf, the Marché des Délices d’Alsace on Terrasse Rohan or the Marché des Irréductibles Petits Producteurs d’Alsace on Square Louise Weiss. And to make bredele like a true Alsatian, you’ll need to pick up our essential bredele recipe book!

our recipe book

Make delicious bredele with Alsatian home recipes ! The book is only available in FRENCH for the moment.

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Gingerbread

Don’t miss Mireille Oster, Strasbourg’s gingerbread queen. Mouthfuls, cobblestones and bars to share, her moist, fragrant creations can be enjoyed in all shapes and sizes. Whether for the holidays or all year round, you can enjoy them with tea, foie gras or sauerkraut confit. Don’t miss our stand overflowing with delicacies. Taste and take home specialties such as Le Couque, Pain des Anges and Déclaration d’Amour.

Rather dry and far from being the best (my favorite is still the one covered in dark chocolate), and yet… The sugar-glazed gingerbread from Fortwenger with its vintage vignette of St Nicolas is the one that best evokes the gingerbread of my childhood, the one that was distributed to all schoolchildren on December 6 in a bag accompanied by a mannele and a clementine. An authentic souvenir from Alsace. To make your own, read our recipe for decorated gingerbread rolls here.

Hützelbrot and Bärewecke, fruit breads

Much easier to eat than to pronounce, Hutzelbrot and Bärewecke are dense breads, richly stuffed with dried and sweet fruits (raisins, pears, candied citrus fruits, walnuts…) previously macerated in brandy. For a taste of the good stuff, stop by Mathilde’s stand, also known for one of Christkindelsmärik’s best mulled wines.

Mannele

This chubby, brioche-like, deliciously regressive little man makes his appearance in bakeries from mid-November onwards, and can be found on little wooden chalets throughout December. Chocolate chips, raisins, sprinkled with streusel or simply glazed with sugar, the Mannele (whose spelling and pronunciation vary according to geography: Team Mannala in Haut-Rhin, Mannele in Bas-Rhin) is the emblematic St Nicolas pastry! Enjoy it with a cup of hot chocolate, mulled wine and a clementine, in keeping with tradition. And if you want to make your own, you can find our mannele recipe here.

Christstollen

This traditional cake comes to us from our German cousins – and from the city of Dresden to be precise – but it also makes an appearance on Alsatian festive tables. Christstollen is a fragrant brioche bread with candied fruit, raisins and a marzipan center. Its religious significance is often overlooked, but its shape and thick layer of powdered sugar represent the infant Jesus swaddled in swaddling clothes. Only buy the genuine Christstollen with the AOC (appellation d’origine contrôlée) seal, not the over-hyped supermarket version.

And with that, what do we drink?

A red or white mulled wine, apple juice or warm orange juice to wash it all down! La Tribu des Gourmet on the Terrasse du Palais Rohan offers a fine white mulled wine. For red mulled wine, try the Chez Mathilde stand. Among the seasonal beverages, try Bière de Noël and bière chaude, a little curiosity you’ll find at the stand of the Corporation Libre des Artisans Brasseurs d’Alsace on Place Broglie.