The mix of Cream Cheese, Quark, and sweet paprika (Paprika-edelsüß) forms the core of Spundekaes (DE: Spundekäs, Spudenkaas), the bright-orange dip, traditionally served with small crunchy pretzels, is popular in the cities of Mainz, Wiesbaden as well as other parts of the middle Rhine valley. Outside of the region, the dip is fairly obscure even amongst Germans.
The origins of Mainzer Spundekaes are wrapped closely in local legend. A popular but unprovable one revolves around the Zum Birnbaum brewery and restaurant, owned by the famous tavern owner Michael Geier who was one of the founding members of the Mainzer Carneval Club in 1898. It is told that Geier’s first wife (he had two, of which he had 36 children with) was the inventor of dip, though this is furiously disputed amongst other residents of the city. Whatever the case, Spundkaes has taken on a special place in the culture of the city and is integrated into wider Fassenacht (Carnival) traditions, most famously in a rhyme written, in local dialect, by the president Adolf Gottron of the Mombacher Carneval Verein, another club involved in the organization of the Mainzer Fassenacht:
Ein jeder wääß, zum achte Gläsje
Gehört dem Mensch e Spundekäsje.
Des reizt de Gaume, stärkt de Mage –
Korz, mer kann widder ään vertrage!“
- Adolf Gottron
Spundekaes takes its name from the German words käse, meaning cheese, and Spund meaning ‘Bung’, the stopper for plugging holes in a barrel. This name was bestowed by the winemakers of the region whom added butter to the concoction, firming it up, and shaped it into an oval, which was reminiscent of the bungs used to seal their wine barrels.
Today, Spundekaes is available at every Mainz bar, restaurant and party with each person possessing their own secret recipe. It is often perfectly matched with dry, white wines from the region, such as Riesling, and thin-cut vegetables such as onions or radishes in addition to the more-traditional crunchy and soft-baked Pretzels.
Mainzer Spundekaes
Ingredients
200g Cream Cheese (Frischkäse)
200g Schmand (German Sour Cream (20-30% fat. sub in normal sour cream if you can't find it)
200g Quark (Soft German Cheese Curds)
1-2 cloves garlic (or 1 tbsp garlic powder), finely chopped or grated
1 small onion (or 1 tbsp onion powder)
10g sweet paprika (or more, to taste)
Salt and white pepper to taste
(Optional) 50g butter, softened
How to do it