An intense, sweet, warming aroma reminded us of a morning skiing in the Alps before we had lunch in a mountaintop hut, ordering apple strudel made with raisins, cinnamon and plenty of high-strength Austrian rum. The food theme stayed with us on the palate: pain au raisin, apple crumble with oats, chocolate rolled-oat biscuits and spicy marzipan cookies known in the Frankfurt/Main region as ‘Bethmännchen’. With the addition of water, we had more Christmas spices as well as cinder toffee, cocoa powder and candied citrus peel, while to taste we had a glass of mead made with quince and wildflower honey.