Sources of Pus in Vienna, or German Word of the Week: Eitrige

Via Faith is Torment, pictures of charming Vienna sausage stands by Stefan Furtbauer. The series is called Eiterquellen. More below the pictures.

Now, those of you who are German-powered™ will have noticed the strange title to this photo essay: Eiterquellen translates literally as 'sources of pus.'

Yilcch! Why is this? The answer is as simple as it is disgustinglicious. One of the most popular sausages you will find at these stands is my favorite sausage in the world, Käsekrainer (g), a variant of Slovenian Krainer sausage which has been filled with cheese (Käse). When you cut it open, it looks a little bit like this:

Are you beginning to grasp the scabrous secret behind the title of the photo essay? No? Then let me take you by the hand. In Vienna dialect, a Käsekrainer sausage is affectionately known as an Eitrige (the pus-filled one), after the German word for pus, Eiter. If you think this tells you a lot about the Austrian mentality, you are correct, sir.

So, a sausage stand is one place you can get a 'pus-filled one'. Next time you're in Vienna, I'll be the one at the wurst stand with pus dripping down my chin from an Eitrige im Schlafrock ('Eitrige in a sleeping-gown', basically a croissant).

Comments

[Martin]

@Andrew: I was pretty sure that this adjective doesn't exist and I would never endeavor to lecture you in your own language. But I could not resist the pun.

Martin

[Andrew]

@Martin: Allow me to defend my transliminamination.

Don't get me wrong, Martin, I like 'pussy' just as much as the next man. But if we want to roll all technical here, the proper adjective is purulent, a surprisingly pleasant-sounding word. But that still doesn't get you there, since nobody would understand you if you translated a 'pussyy' or 'a purulent'. They'd all be thinking 'a purulent WHAT?'

The problem is that English doesn't allow the general implied substantification of almost all adjectives the way German does, so you have to add something to indicate you're talking about a specific object, not a general quality. Hence the 'one'. Not pretty, I agree, but necessary.

[Martin]

@Andrew:

Your translation to "pus-filled-one" ("Eiter gefüllte") is not correct. As far as I understand how adjectives are created in English this should be the "pussy".

Guten Appetit with your "pussy-sausage"!

Martin

PS: This comment might incraease the traffic on your blog!

[xxx]

@Andrew. Sülze, or "head cheese" is peasant food like soul food (as you probably already know, because that's the wikipedia article where the picture you linked to comes from). If you starve you'll eat other people's leftovers. No need for civilization if you scramble for a living.

Once in a while I look up the price of head cheese when I wander around the isles of a local supermarket; it has gone up significantly while the assortment has gone down. Maybe the butcheries sell those leftovers to China now like they do with pig feet and pig ears.

Hey, this may even raise the standard of civilization in Germany.

[Andrew]

@xxx: But what kind of 'civilization' would produce (shudder) this?

[xxx]

Eek.... fried butter surely is borderline; if I ate that I´d surely die for some internal reasons. But seriously: how do you find out the best snacks if you don't enjoy experimenting with the ingredients?

[noribori]

More Texan Food
(take a look at that awesome French Fry Coated Hot Dog)

[xxx]

Looking at some Texan food stands
http://www.yelp.com/c/austin/foodstands
I assume that they might be less shiny but offer more wholesome snacks. I'd love to try some of that Amore Food! I wonder if it's one of those culture vs. civilization issues...

[Andrew]

Don't get me reminiscing about Texan food, xxx. One of the things I unequivocally miss about Texas. All your standard options, of course, plus first-rate Vietnamese, Ethiopian, Czech, German, Tex-Mex, Mex-Mex, soul food (ahem), and the glorious spectrum of BBQ. All pretty cheap, if you know where to look. Plus all the fancy imported cheeses and wines and beers you can shake a stick at in places like Central Market and Whole Foods, although you'll have to pay through the nose...

[xxx]

Looks delicious. Texans can have such great taste in food! Still, that sausage is not fried (yet). What do ya think?