A puck of sour-milk cheese marinated in onion vinaigrette, eaten with dark bread and butter in Frankfurt's apfelwein taverns. The Musik, the music, is the onions, and what they do to you later.

Handkäs is a hand-formed sour-milk cheese from the Hessen countryside, low in fat and high in pungency. Sachsenhausen's taverns made it their standard apfelwein companion by the 19th century, marinating the cheese in vinegar, oil and raw onions, the mixture locals call Musik. Tradition says you eat it with a knife on bread, never a fork, and the caraway on top is a dividing line between families. It survives because it does one job perfectly: it makes the next Schoppen of sharp cider taste sweeter than the last.

Where to eat Handkäs mit Musik in Frankfurt

4 editor picks for Handkäs mit Musik in Frankfurt, ranked by editorial score. All Frankfurt signature dishes · Handkäs mit Musik across every city.

  • Apfelwein Wagner

    Order Grüne Soße with boiled eggs and fried potatoes, €14.50

    Apfelwein Wagner is the Sachsenhausen tavern Frankfurt sends first-timers to, pouring its own Ebbelwoi beside Grüne Soße plates daily since 1931.

    DetailsDirections

  • Lorsbacher Thal

    Order A three-pour apfelwein flight chosen by the host, with Handkäs

    Lorsbacher Thal treats apfelwein like a cellar wine in Frankfurt's Große Rittergasse, 300-plus bottlings deep in a tavern running since 1803.

    DetailsDirections

  • Fichtekränzi

    Order Handkäs mit Musik with farmhouse bread, then whatever the slate board says

    Fichtekränzi has poured apfelwein under a braided spruce wreath on Frankfurt's Wallstraße since 1849, one of Sachsenhausen's oldest tavern rooms.

    DetailsDirections

  • Zur Buchscheer

    Order The estate pressing by the Schoppen, with Grüne Soße and eggs

    Zur Buchscheer is the Frankfurt tavern purists name first: apfelwein pressed on the premises since 1876, out in quiet leafy Sachsenhausen-Süd.

    DetailsDirections

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Make it at home

Serves Serves 4 as a snack4 hrEasy

Ingredients

  • 4 Handkäse or other firm sour-milk cheeses such as Harzer
  • 1 large onion, finely diced
  • 5 tablespoons white wine vinegar
  • 3 tablespoons neutral oil
  • 4 tablespoons water or apfelwein
  • 1 teaspoon caraway seeds
  • Salt, black pepper
  • Dark rye bread and butter to serve

Method

  1. Whisk the vinegar, oil and water or apfelwein with salt and pepper to make a sharp vinaigrette.
  2. Lay the cheeses in a shallow dish, scatter over the diced onion, and pour the marinade on top.
  3. Cover and marinate at room temperature for at least 4 hours, turning once, until the cheese turns glassy at the edges.
  4. Serve each cheese with plenty of its onion Musik, caraway scattered over, with buttered dark bread.

Editor tip. The cheese should go glassy and translucent at the rim; if your room is warm, marinate in the fridge and pull it out an hour before eating.

Common allergens: Milk.