About the Schaffermahlzeit

Bremen chicken soup and Riga butter

The Schaffermahlzeit begins with a Bremen chicken soup, as described by Betty Gleim in her cookbook published in 1808. The Bremen chicken soup is, so to speak, the first course before the welcome address by the 1st Schaffer, the speech by the 2nd Schaffer on the Federal President and the fatherland, and the 3rd verse of the German national anthem. The last course is Rigaer Butt, also known as Rigsche Butten or Rigaische Butten. This is smoked plaice from Riga, which is served at the Schaffermahlzeit together with anchovies, sausage, tongue, Chester cheese and cream cheese, as well as a fruit basket for dessert – before the speech by a captain’s Schaffer and the speech by the guest of honor. Rigaer Butt is a reminder of the Bremen colony in Livonia, which in turn is a historical region in what are now Estonia and Latvia. There is a little story behind this: a Bremen ship laden with goods, which was on a coastal voyage (known as cabotage at the time), had strayed off course and had to enter the Daugava River. What initially seemed like bad luck later turned out to be a stroke of fortune. On the banks of the Daugava River, the people of Bremen, led by Canon Albert von Buxhövede, who was appointed Bishop of Livonia by the Archbishop of Bremen and called himself Albert I, founded the city of Riga in 1201, as recorded in the chronicle of Rinesberch, Schene, and Hemeling (early 15th century). Unfortunately, the co-author and mayor Johann Hemeling (died 1428), who was responsible for this information, cheated a little when he wrote: “Albertus buwede (built) the city of Riga with the borgeren (citizens) of Bremen.” From today’s historical perspective, the founding of Riga by the people of Bremen is untenable, but that should not bother us. The date, 1201, is correct in any case. And Rigaer Butt has been eaten at the Schaffermahlzeit since time immemorial.

Stockfish – the main meal

It is quite possible that stockfish was the main course for the Schaffer from the very beginning. Stockfish was either served with melted butter or with a “white, thick, very tasty sauce,” as Johann Georg Kohl wrote in the mid-19th century, “which is expertly prepared in Bremen.” Today, stockfish is served with mustard sauce.

Stockfish is split and dried cod, which the people of Bremen have been importing from Norway since time immemorial. It was popular in Bremen, especially as it was relatively cheap. Today – in the age of fresh fish – stockfish is hardly ever served.

Johann Georg Kohl writes in his book “Alte und neue Zeit” (Old and New Times) that in the 18th century, stockfish was the “inevitable dish served every Friday,” but it did not have only fans at the lunch table.

Kohl: “If the table companions, especially the young comptoirists who had immigrated from abroad, did not like the taste of this Bremen dish and chewed it very slowly, the old Bremen host would make a most displeased face.”

Kale and sausage

The potato, which is now an indispensable part of every lunch table in Bremen, had a very difficult start in the Hanseatic city.

When HAUS SEEFAHRT was founded, potatoes did not yet exist in Europe, and when they did, the people of Bremen did not like them for a long time. Even in the 18th century, they still considered potatoes to be harmful, unhealthy, and poisonous.

Kale, known elsewhere as green cabbage, was served with carrots, turnips, and chestnuts, which are still served today at every Schaffermahlzeit. The fact that fried potatoes are now also served with cabbage is a concession to the times and to the out-of-town guests at the Schaffermahlzeit.

After all, one cannot expect them to have to grapple with a dish that contains several unknown ingredients. It is important to know that it takes an old and strong habit to find cabbage and Pinkel enjoyable. Karl-Josef Krötz, the long-standing former Ratskellermeister, who comes from a winery on the Moselle and has felt very much at home in Bremen for years, recently said during a cabbage dinner that cabbage and Pinkel were certainly not what drew him to Bremen.

At the top of the list of unknowns that make up this favorite dish of the people of Bremen is Pinkel. We are, of course, talking about Bremen Pinkel, not Oldenburg Pinkel.

Pinkel is a type of sausage made from kidney fat, streaky fresh bacon, flomen (beef fat or tallow), plenty of onions, and roughly the same amount of oat groats. Around 20 grams of salt per kilogram is added, along with pepper, cloves, allspice, and other spices, most of which are trade secrets.

The groats, which have been soaked in broth, and the spices are mixed with the fat tissue minced with onions and heated. After filling, the product is cooked for about 60 minutes and, after cooling, smoked until golden brown.

Sauerkraut and ham

In 1670, after the “white” and “brown” soups and the stockfish, sauerkraut with ham and smoked meat was served. Only then were cabbage and pinkel sausage served.

But let’s hear from Chef Müller, who was responsible for the Schaffermahlzeit in 1869. During the preparations for the meal in front of the leaders and craftsmen, he listed “Among other things, white and brown soup, stockfish, smoked meat with brown cabbage and pinkel sausage, ham and sauerkraut, Frankfurt sausages, etc. Even Riga herring was not forgotten.”

The chronicler reports: “…that a very calm feeling of reassurance took hold of the assembly in view of such expertise; he (the cook Müller) was quickly dismissed, recommending the best delivery, especially of the stockfish, and warm plates, and noting that an unforgivable mix-up had occurred earlier with the pepper and salt bags, and that he should make sure that the silver bag contained the salt and the gold bag the pepper.

However, Chef Müller did not leave without taking a dig at the female chefs, claiming that he could not provide warm plates without their assistance in washing them in boiling hot water …”

Roast veal, celery salad, Catherine plums, steamed apples

Sauerkraut and ham used to be part of the Schaffer meal, as did Frankfurters, although it must be said that stomachs, not only those of the Schaffer and their guests, were somewhat more robust in the 17th, 18th, and 19th centuries than they are at the dawn of the 21st century.

From the end of the 19th century onwards, roast veal was served. The side dishes correspond to the customs of the time and, like the stockfish before them, provide a culinary surprise.