For the first time ever in my life, I made potato dumplings from scratch, thanks to my husband’s prompting. Before that, I always got the ready-to-use dough from the local supermarket.

Through my search for a good recipe for potato dumplings, I finally found the answer to an old question. Over the years, I had always wondered about the difference in Fränkische Kartoffelklösse (Franconian potato dumplings) and Fränkische Seidenklösse (Franconian silk dumplings).

I learned  regular Franconian dumplings are made 2/3 from raw potatoes, with the remaining 1/3 made from cooked potatoes. I decided to make the Seidenklösse as the dough is made solely from cooked potatoes and looked less time-consuming to me.

Fortunately for the family, the dumplings came out very well. I just hope I can go back to use the store-bought kind to keep my life simple because this happy housewife activity took more than 60 minutes.

Recipe:

2 kg potatoes (the mealy kind)

500 gr potato starch

3 eggs

salt and nutmeg – 1 tblsp each

toasted bread, cut into cubes

Instructions:

Cook potatoes in salt water, peel, press through the ricer. While the potato mash is still warm, add starch, eggs, salt and nutmeg. Knead thoroughly and shape into tennis size dumplings ( add bread cubes into the center).

Drop dumplings into boiling salt water. When they come floating to the top, let simmer for another five minutes.

This recipe makes 20 dumplings. Serve with pork roast and brown gravy.

Potato dumplings (and ricer in foreground)

Franconia is not far away –only two hours east of Frankfurt by car– and planning a visit there neither seems as exotic as Japan nor as far off the beaten path as the Faroe Islands do. But Franconia has a lot to offer.

But there is also something else about it: It is my birthplace. I was born in a small village called Hambach in Lower Franconia.

This song’s introductory line sums it up:

Im schönen Frankenland wo meine Wiege stand. (In beautiful Franconia where my cradle stood)

They sing this at every Weinfest, Bierfest, Pfarrfest, Feuerwehrfest, Kindergartenfest, Hoffest, Junggesellenfest, etc. They are a festive folk.

I left Franconia close to thirty years ago and on my occasional trips back, I realize how different they are from the rest of the Germans. When in casual conversation, there always seems to be a demanding undertone in their speech. When a happy Franconian speaks, his intonation might resemble a melody. The Franconians, being part of Northern Bavaria, are often referred to as the Beute-Bayern (the Bavarian predators made the Franconians their prey).

This area is full of traditions worth telling about.