Sigmund Freud at the table

At the table of a Viennese doctor of the Belle Époque, the day unfolds in four stages: a light Frühstück in the morning (coffee, bread roll), a hearty Mittagessen at midday — the real meal, soup followed by boiled meat —, the afternoon Jause (coffee and pastry, a social ritual as much as a gourmet one), and finally a modest Abendessen in the evening. Austro-Hungarian cuisine blends German, Czech, Hungarian, and Italian influences: braised meats, horseradish, caraway, and the ubiquitous Kaffeehaus as an extension of the dining room.

Grated fresh, pungent and peppery, Kren accompanies almost everything on a Viennese table, especially boiled beef. Together with caraway (Kümmel), which flavors breads and cabbages, it gives this cuisine its aromatic backbone, far more than pepper.