One tastes it, the other one hates it. Labskaus has always divided minds. The red mush made from beetroot, potatoes, cured meat and matjes is not for everyone. Legend has it that Labskaus has been eaten by seafarers for centuries. A sailor’s saying even goes: “Everything that the sailor has lost in the course of the last week is found again in Labskaus”. It is said that Labskaus came about out of necessity. The swell was so high that it was not possible for the chef to prepare anything sensible. So he took everything he could find and mixed it into a hearty porridge that stuck to the bowl, plate or spoon so well that it could be eaten even when the swell was high.
Another theory is that a resourceful ship’s cook grounded salt beef and cooked it to a pulp with other ingredients such as ship’s biscuit because many sailors had scurvy and were therefore toothless. The fact is that all the ingredients found in Labskaus have a good shelf life and are transportable. In the end, however, the Labskaus remains one thing above all: a matter of taste.