Dining with Beethoven: Beethoven and his eating habits

Gastronomy has never been the national obsession in Germany. So it’s not surprising to say that Beethoven was not a foodie at all, he regarded food as little more than sustenance to get him from one page of writing to another.

His friend J.A. Stumpf, a London-based composer and harp maker, recalled an outing in 1824, when after a long walk across a valley near Baden, the two of them stopped to eat at an outdoor cafe.

“Why so many dishes?” When Beethoven saw all the extravagant platters, he said. “Man is certainly very little higher than the other animals if his chief delights are those of the table.”

The composer’s eating habits were reported by a number of friends, including Ignaz von Seyfried, an Austrian musician friend of the composer. He wrote about Beethoven’s fondness for “a kind of bread soup cooked like mush,” which he looked forward to every Thursday, along with ten sizable eggs on a plate.

Ignaz Von Seyfried

Von Seyfried also wrote that Beethoven kept a creamy Italian cheese called stracchino and Verona salami in his room.

Stracchino cheese

Beethoven also preferred fish to meat, and his favorite dish was pollock with potatoes, He liked flat water and light Austrian wine. After a meal, he would go back to his piano and play until late at night . He would rarely have supper, perhaps some soup or leftovers. Von Syfried also wrote that the composer often forgot about mealtime, he would just take bites from his room when he got hungry.

One of his most famous quirks was his strict approach to coffee. He insisted on using exactly 60 coffee beans per cup, carefully counting them to ensure consistency. This habit highlights his meticulous and perfectionist nature, which mirrored his approach to music.

Pollock with potatoes

Beethoven’s assistant Anton Schindler wrote that when Beethoven first arrived in Vienna, “He cared little about good food, his favorite dish was macaroni with plenty of cheese on top.”

Ignaz Von Seyfried wrote about Beethoven
(Source: Beethoven, Impressions by his Contemporaries by O.G Sonneck)

It should not be overlooked that Beethoven suffered lifelong digestive problems that caused him lots of pain and discomfort. Maybe this could be the reason why he preferred bland bread soup, macaroni and cheese, and his impatience with food culture.