Mosterei

Mühle Laden left; Mosterei behind Joe.

I (Betsy) enjoy Saturdays because I get to go shopping at the only store in our town: the Mühle Laden ("Mill Store"). It has limited hours during the week and I'm always at work. It's a small shop that sells regional produce and other products and organic stuff as well, and it's housed in the old mill next to our house (hence the name). Today I noticed trailers full of apples just behind the store. When I asked the staff inside I got the answer I was looking for: the mill is processing local apples into cider, and we could bring our empty bottles and fill them up.

"Most" apples being processed.

"Most" is the juice that comes from a special kind of apple that grows in this region; one I'm told that is not good for eating but makes great juice. Two liters of freshly pressed juice cost us 2.7 euros and will last about 2-3 days in the refrigerator before it starts to really ferment. We have to keep the lids on a bit loose to let out the gas. To my understanding, this is also the initial product that goes into making apple wine (also called "Most").


We went several times this summer to a special place called a "Besen." It literally means broom, and a Besen is usually marked by a traditional broom over the sign. A Besen is a small restaurant open only seasonally that serves locally produced wine. Our local summer Besen is in Schloss Roseck, one of our nearby castles, perched on a hill. We had great views of our valley ("Ammertal"), while enjoying Most wine this summer. Starting this October, the "Altstadt Besen" (Besen in the "old town") opens in Tübingen (see blog post from last March describing an earlier visit). We will go again with my work colleagues next week. The Altstadt Besen serves young wine from grapes that grown in the Ammertal, the valley where we live. All the red wines have funny names related to communism, and it's rumored the folks that operate the Besen are communists. Well, we will at least take part in the communal drinking!