Wundebavarian bites and delights on offer

THE TOPS at Spar Bierfest next month brings to life all things Bavarian, including the food. Think

- hot schnitzels, bockwurst schmidt and bratwurst and everything in between because there’s a lot more to Oktoberfest food than sausages.

Don’t know your eis(bein) from your elbow? Relax, we’ve got you covered. Check out our gastronomy guide to traditional Bavarian meals for instant bierfest foodie cred.

Brezen: These soft, pretzel-shaped breads are a staple in Germany and often simply served with butter or mustard. During Oktoberfest, though, they’re super-sized, and eaten with a variety of sausages and mustards.

Schweinshaxe: It’s as difficult to get your mouth around the name as the meal! Schweinshaxe is roasted pickled pork hock. In other parts of Germany it’s called eisbein.

Spätzle: Bavaria’s answer to mac and cheese, spätzle is a short, soft egg noodle served with fried onions, spinach or cheese.

Hendl is essentially rotisserie chicken roasted the customary way with butter and parsley or paprika.

Knödel: Great for soaking up beer, knödel is a poached or boiled potato dumpling. Locals call the dumplings

, which means “belly bauchrutscher bricks”.

Wurst: There are various wursts to choose from but no Oktoberfest is complete without bratwurst, currywurst and weisswurst (“white sausage”).

The latter is a Bavarian specialty and usually made with minced veal and pork back bacon, seasoned with parsley, lemon, mace, onions, ginger and cardamom.

Schweinsbraten is authentic Bavarian roast pork, known for its juicy succulence. The pork is sliced and accompanied by potato dumplings and sauerkraut or blaukraut (braised red cabbage).

Dampfnudle means ”steamed noodle”, although they look nothing like noodles. More like delicate dumplings, these steamed buns can be enjoyed with savoury or sweet toppings, the most popular being vanilla sauce with hot cherries and melted butter.

Caramelised nuts: A trademark of Oktoberfest is the smell of roasting nuts. Mouthwateringly delicious, they include almonds, macadamias and pecans, covered in caramel and sprinkled with cinnamon.

Lebkuchenherzen: These gigantic gingerbread hearts are a hallmark of Octoberfest.

They were traditionally emblazoned with messages of love to be given to one’s sweetheart but these days are also inscribed with generic Oktoberfest messages. A word of warning, the gingerbread hearts seen hanging from ribbons at outdoor stalls are actually souvenirs (read: rock hard)!

You can expect to find brezen, bockwurst and bratwurst; hendl, schweinshaxe and lebkuchenherzen at the Bierfest. – Weekend Argus Reporter