Fields and gardens

In spring, the foundation for the food menu is laid. The farmers' wives plant tender cabbage and tomato plants, seed potatoes as well as lettuce and herbs in their fields. They have to estimate the necessary quantities correctly so that every guest can enjoy these valuable farm products. The fruit trees and berry bushes also need to be looked after. 
 

In late summer and autumn, the fruits and berries are not only used to make delicious juices and syrups, but also tasty jams, which are indispensable as fillings for the popular doughnuts. After months of cultivation, the potatoes are also harvested in late summer. They are an important ingredient in many typical Tyrolean dishes such as Erdäpfelblattln (fried thin potato slices) Erdäpfelnudel, (pasta made with potato) Kartoffelteigtaschen (ravioli made with potato dough) and Röstkartoffel (roast potatoes). 
 

The farmers know exactly which variety is ideal for which dish. This is how the farmhouse specialities turn out particularly well. Cabbage is also an important component of rural cuisine. Fresh, it is served in the form of cabbage salad with the typical bacon dumplings. In fermented form, i.e. as sauerkraut, it has proven itself for centuries as an important source of vitamins in winter. Connoisseurs know that sauerkraut, which goes perfectly with home-made sausages, tastes slightly different on every farm. Depending on the recipe and processing method, it is sometimes more tender, crunchier, spicier or milder. It is precisely this variety of flavours that guests love so much.

 
Animals on the farm
A special highlight at South Tyrol's Hof- und Buschenschänke are the meat dishes. Every Red Rooster farmhouse inn offers at least one meat dish from the farm's own production. This is not without its own merits. A piece of roast veal, for example, requires countless hours of work. The calf is fed twice a day, the stable is mucked out twice a day and, depending on the season and location, it is let out to pasture and brought back into the cowshed every day. The production of bacon and sausages also requires a lot of work, but also a lot of knowledge. Here they work according to old recipes. This is the only way that the subtle smoked aroma of a slice of bacon can fully unfold on the palate.

 
The winery 
As is well known, an important component of the Buschenschänke is the wine. The vineyards were created with great effort in the often steep slopes. From pruning in winter, to tying the canes in spring, to harvesting in autumn, countless steps are necessary. Once the grapes are in the cellar, a great deal of care is needed to produce a delicious, flawless wine. The wines are therefore also tasted annually by a group of experts from the Laimburg Experimental Centre. Only Buschenschänken with faultless wines are allowed to present themselves in the "Bäuerlicher Feinschmecker" (Rural Gourmet Guide).

 
The inner conviction
It would be a simple matter to order all the ingredients for the dishes from the nearest food supplier. Every year, the farmers take up the challenge to produce as many ingredients as possible from their own resources. There is a lot of conviction behind this, but also a very special passion. Because the glow in the eyes of the guests when the farmer's wife serves a delicious barley soup or a fully loaded plate of doughnuts rewards the efforts and motivates them to tend the fields and gardens again next spring.