Traditional German „Handkäs mit Musik“ (Sour milk cheese with music)

You‘ll need

1 roll (4 slices) Handkäse (a sour milk cheese with only 0,5% fat) - 1 to 2 weeks before „best before date“ otherwise it is too young.

2 little onions chopped into 2mm cubes, a few onion rings for decoration maybe

A marinade consisting of:

3 Tbs apple vinegar

3 Tbs apple juice (100% juice)

2 Tbs rapeseed or sunflower oil, but NOT olive oil because it is too strong

1/2 tsp (shortly roasted) caraway seeds

Salt and Pepper

Place the rolls in a 0.5 litre container, mix the marinade, chopped onions and caraway seeds and season with salt and pepper. Place the mixture between and on top of the cheese slices, use a spoon to ensure that the marinade gets everywhere, sprinkle over the remaining onion slices as decoration and close the container airtight with a lid.

Leave to marinate at room temperature (~20DegC) for at least 6 hours, preferably 12 hours, and then enjoy. You can delay the start of the maturing process by putting the box in the fridge first and only allowing the maturing process to start when you take it out.

It is eaten with fresh butter on sturdy grey bread or brown bread. Pumpernickel is also fine if necessary, but never toast or anything white like that. It goes well with cider or a top-fermented beer. No wine with it! Enjoy your meal (and I don't care where you get the cheese in New Zealand - here in almost every grocery shop) 😈.

Oh yeah, what's the music? Well, the onions and the dressing. Be careful, if it is left to mature for too long >24h, the whole thing will tingle like champagne bubbles on the tongue. 😉