Dithmarscher Mehlbeutel

Dithmarscher Mehlbeutel belongs to Schleswig-Holstein, strongest in Dithmarschen, where the fields are flat, the cabbage is serious, and a flour pudding can still feed a table without asking permission. It is Brooken Sööt, broken sweet: one dish sliced in thick rounds, eaten first with Kohlwurst, smoked sausage, and then with cherry Grütze, a warm fruit sauce. Savoury, then sweet. Das ist kein Bierzelt.

The north has its bag dumplings and flour puddings; further south you meet Knödel, Spätzle, Dampfnudeln, and all their local arguments. Im Norden anders, im Süden anders. Here the batter is tied in a cloth or set in a pudding mould and cooked gently in water, because the old kitchen used flour, milk, eggs, and what the larder held: smoked sausage, preserved cherries, a little fat. Weggeworfen wird nichts, and a leftover slice fries well the next day.

The one technique is the water. It must tremble, not boil hard. A rolling boil throws the bag around, beats the batter heavy at the edge, and can force water through the cloth; gentle heat sets the eggs slowly and lets the flour swell into a clean, sliceable pudding. Grease and flour the cloth well, leave room for swelling, tie it tight enough to hold shape but not so tight it splits. Erst verstehen, dann kochen.