Gastronomic delights of the Meuse River on EuroVelo 19

Every vehicle needs fuel to keep moving – cars need petrol or batteries, bicycles need a well-fed human. While cycling, our legs are the engine, and food is our fuel. On a cycling trip, it means a lot of food. And what better way to explore the local gastronomy than eating your way along EuroVelo 19 – Meuse Cycle Route?

France

The starting point of EuroVelo 19 couldn’t be even more Frenchy. Or better say, cheesy. The Langres plateau has its own original cheese that shares the same name. Since Langres cheese holds a PDO label (Protected Designation of Origin), you can experience its true original flavour only in cheese produced in the districts of the Haute-Marne département, in four villages in Côte-d’Or, and in the city of Neufchâteau in the Vosges département.

But Langres cheese is not the only authentic piece of French gastronomy you can taste in Neufchâteau. The traditional local speciality called Le Néocastrien has its origins there too. This light, crunchy cake, made from meringue biscuits layered with cream or praline filling, can be occasionally found in artisan bakeries around the city and throughout the Vosges region.

And obviously, without a glass of good wine, it would not even be a gastronomic exploration of French cuisine. The country has many fine wine regions, but on the EuroVelo 19 stretch, Côtes de Meuse wines are the ones to taste.

One of many unexpected gastronomic experiences of EuroVelo 19 lies beneath the Verdun Citadel: a local oyster mushroom farm. Since the mushrooms are sold locally to the farmers’ markets, greengrocers, and restaurants in the area, they are easy to find and taste. Or you can pick them up directly on the Verdun Citadel site.

Other flavours around the Meuse River, particularly in the Meuse department, include saffron and truffles, which are part of the cuisine of many local restaurants.

Dry-cured ham with the smell of melon and the sweet flavour of dried and salted meat from the Ardennes dates back to the 18th century and is protected from imitations by a Protected Geographical Indication (PGI) label. Producing this ham was always more than just making meat: pig slaughter used to be a big event, and the ham was often the only meat families ate. That is why they developed its traditional salting method in order to preserve it, which is still used today.

Belgium

As you enter Belgium from the region of Wallonia, take it easy on the bike, because there are so many local flavours you don’t want to miss!

To start right at the border, Couque de Dinant, originating in Dinant, as the name suggests, is a local sweet speciality made only from wheat flour and honey. This hard cookie was created in the 15th century and was an ideal meal in case of a flooding emergency, simply by mixing flour and honey and et voilà: Couque de Dinant. You will recognise Couque de Dinant by its crunchy texture and sometimes surprising shapes. However, its texture is so hard that it is best eaten by breaking it into smaller pieces.

As you keep moving along the route to Wallonia’s capital, Namur, you pass the strawberry museum. In the summer season, you can grab some strawberry fuel either at the museum or at one of the small stands along the route.

Beyond discovering the local cuisine at the markets, the city's cycling culture also shows up in its café scene. "Cool Riders" bike café is one of them, yet not the only one in Wallonia! "MUR Coffee and Cycling" in the city of Huy is another option.

Although Belgian cuisine is known for its wide variety of beer and cheese, only one cheese holds a Protected Designation of Origin label. Herve cheese has been produced in Liège since the 15th century. But that is not the only delicacy here! Liège syrup (or Sirop de Liège, as locals call it) is dark molasses made from apple or pear juice, and its sweetness is a perfect match for another Walloon icon – the Liège waffle.

Gastronomy across the borders: Limburg

Many of us associate Belgium with a yellow beverage made of yeast, barley, hops and water – beer. However, the region’s gravel and limestone-rich soils, warm and relatively dry microclimate, and the moderating influence of the river Meuse and its lakes create ideal conditions for growing the fruit essential to another famous beverage.

One of the route’s great surprises is the emergence of Maasvallei Limburg as a distinctive wine region, on both sides of the border. And so, wine tasting is yet another gastronomic delight on EuroVelo 19.

Right on the route in the Belgian city of Maaseik lies local winery Wijndomein Aldeneyck, where you can taste a wide range of wines, several of them recognised among Belgium’s finest, while overlooking the vineyards.

After the wine tasting, we recommend not hopping on the bike again, and rather taking a break for the rest of the day. Meanwhile, you can try another local speciality – Maaseikse Knapkoek.

In the 17th century, Maaseik was a flourishing port with many boats and hungry sailors passing through. Maaseikse Knapkoek thus originated as a treat for those passersby. Nowadays there might not be that many sailors anymore, but this sweet treat is just as good a snack for all the cyclists on EuroVelo 19 as it was for sailors.

But wine and Knapkoek are not the only taste of the region. A bit further from Maaseik is Kinrooi, a small town famous for its asparagus. Besides, small farms and farm shops along the route always welcome cyclists with seasonal fruits and products.

Netherlands

The Limburg region does not share only the border between the Netherlands and Belgium and the river Meuse, but also its local gastronomy.

In fact, vineyards on both banks of the Meuse share the same PDO status (Protected Designation of Origin) for Maasvallei Limburg, making it at the same time the world's first cross-border wine region.

Apart from wine, Belgian and Dutch Limburg also share the iconic Limburgse vlaai. This fruit tart holds a PGI (Protected Geographical Indication) label, meaning only bakeries in the Netherlands or Belgium can use this name, and only if they make it according to strict standards that preserve its authentic quality.

Limburgse vlaai does not have one specific fruit filling, and it depends on seasonal availability. In the past, winters were usually the time for rice pudding filling. Every bakery across the border has its own recipe, most likely passed down through generations, which guarantees a unique tasting experience of every Limburgse vlaai.

On top of that, you will find cuisines renowned far beyond the border on both sides of the river. Some boast a Michelin star, others pride themselves on a mention in the Gault&Millau restaurant guide. Chefs here work with whatever the season and the Meuse Valley have to offer. In spring, it is all about asparagus: fresh from the field, harvested the very same day. If you visit in summer or autumn, you will find that same dedication reflected in fresh fruit and vegetables from local growers. This makes cycling EuroVelo 19 a unique tasting experience at different times of the year.

Moreover, the Brabant region has various food-themed cycling routes already carefully prepared. Although these culinary exploration routes do not lie directly on EuroVelo 19, they are worth a detour. Some follow hop fields (breweries), others cherry orchards, beekeeping farm, dairy or organic vegetable farms, and various local restaurants and businesses offering local and seasonal products. To learn more about these unique cycling routes, go to the Visit Brabant website.

Before reaching the final destination, we have one last gastronomic stop. The Netherlands is not only a country of cheese but also windmills. Over the years, they have been used for various purposes, including flour milling. Molen’t Vliegend Hert is a reconstructed old windmill, with a functioning milling system. At a local restaurant right next to the windmill, you can taste pastries made with this organic flour milled at Molen’t Vliegend Hert, as well as buy the flour or its products to fuel your body for the last kilometres of EuroVelo 19.

Whether it is PDO-labelled wine from Limburg, (almost dangerously) hard Couque de Dinant biscuits, Limburgse vlaai or oyster mushrooms from beneath Verdun’s citadel, EuroVelo 19 is a gastronomic odyssey revealing unexpected culinary surprises along the River Meuse.

Article by Barbora Labudová