Käserei Horst
Family sour-milk dairy in Groß-Gerau, across the Rhine from Mainz, founded in 1862. Makes Mainzer Handkäse, Bauernhandkäse and Harzer; it does not ship, so the cheese is bought at the dairy.
About Handkäse
A small round sour-milk cheese of low-fat quark, broken up with baking soda and salt and shaped into small loaves, once by hand, which gave it its name, and now by machine. The loaves ripen in a warm, humid sweating room and are sprayed with brine, in some kinds one carrying red-smear cultures; unlike Mainzer Käse it can also be made as a white-mould cheese. It is popular in Rheinhessen, above all in Mainz, and is traditionally served as Handkäs mit Musik, marinated in onions, vinegar and oil. Only the name Hessischer Handkäse is protected, as a PGI for cheese made and packed in Hesse.
Made in: Associated above all with the Rhine-Main area and neighbouring parts of Hesse, Rheinhessen (above all Mainz) and the Palatinate. The PGI name Hessischer Handkäse is limited to cheese made and packed in Hesse
On the plate
Mild with a white core when young, more aromatic and then strongly flavoured as it ripens; fully ripe cheese has no white core, and overripe cheese turns translucent and ammoniac. Lean: under 1% fat and about 25% protein. Sold with or without caraway.
Rind: washed, orange and sticky
Wine and cheese
What to pour with Handkäse
Dry white wine (trockener Weißwein) Pfalz
Local traditionGerman Wikipedia says cider is the usual drink with Handkäse, but in some areas, the Palatinate among them, a dry white wine is drunk with it too. The wines listed are dry whites of medium body with high or medium acidity.
Dry estate or village Silvaner and Riesling (steel, some with a part in large oak cask) Rheinhessen
Local traditionGerman Wikipedia says cider is the usual drink with Handkäse, but in some areas such as Rheinhessen and the Palatinate a dry white wine is drunk with it too. It names no grape; a dry Silvaner or Riesling suits the sharp onion marinade.
Dry Riesling Pfalz
Our pickGerman Wikipedia describes the marinade mit Musik as onions, vinegar and oil. A dry Riesling of medium body and high acidity cuts the oil and meets the vinegar's bite.
Weißburgunder (Pinot Blanc) Pfalz
Our pickA young Handkäse is still mild and lean, with a white core. A dry Weißburgunder of medium body meets it without overpowering it.
The grapes behind these winesRieslingWeissburgunder (Pinot Blanc)SilvanerGrauburgunder (Pinot Gris)Sauvignon Blanc
From the source
Where to buy and taste it
Käsekontor
Cheese shop in Mainz's old town, run since 2014 by Christine Dörr, a trained fromelière. Alpine family-dairy cheeses, Rheinhessen wine, and tasting evenings in the Krämerei next door.
NOVUM Bio-Käsewagen
Yellow organic cheese wagon at the Mainz cathedral market on Fridays and Saturdays, with about 100 cheeses from the region and across Europe. NOVUM closed its Römerpassage cheese shop in June 2025.
DelikatEssen - Käse & mehr
Cheese stand at Alzey's Saturday market, run by Enrico Döhring and Nicole Bachmann since 2015, with up to 160 cheeses from France, Spain, Italy, Austria and Germany, plus salami.
Zur Käseglocke
Specialist shop in Neustadt an der Weinstraße for cheese, wine and delicatessen, open Tuesday to Saturday and closed on Mondays.
Cheese experiences nearby
Loschter Handkeesfescht
Volksfest in the Maiblumenwald at Lustadt, founded in 1925 around Handkäse, with Handkeesbrot, Weinschorle and Bellheimer beer. The 2026 edition was held from Friday 1 to Sunday 3 May.
Cheese-making course with Käsewerkstatt
Hands-on course with cheesemaker Barbara Kuhn: stir, cut and scoop the curd, finish a soft cheese with herbs and take it home, tasting her cheeses as you work. Autumn 2026 dates run from 7 October to 28 November.
Mainzer Wochenmarkt
Weekly market in the shadow of Mainz cathedral with 85 permanent stands; NOVUM's organic cheese wagon sells about 100 cheeses there on Fridays and Saturdays.
Landauer Wochenmarkt
Market on Landau's Rathausplatz every Tuesday and Saturday morning, with regional cheese stalls, Alsatian cheeses and a stand pouring Pfalz wines; some town festivals move it to the Alter Messplatz.
Alzeyer Wochenmarkt
Saturday market on Alzey's Obermarkt with a cheese stand and a bakery, and local winemakers at the market breakfast from April to October.
Handkäse: questions
What does "mit Musik" mean?
It is the traditional marinade of onions, vinegar and oil with pepper and salt. German Wikipedia says the name allegedly hints at the noises onions cause in digestion, and gives a second theory about vinegar and oil bottles once clinking when served.
Is Handkäse protected?
Only the name Hessischer Handkäse, registered as a PGI by Commission Regulation (EU) 784/2010. Since September 2010 only sour-milk cheese made and packed in Hesse may carry it, though the quark need not come from Hesse. Handkäse as a type is not protected.
What do people drink with it?
German Wikipedia says cider is the usual drink with Handkäse, but that in some areas such as Rheinhessen and the Palatinate a dry white wine is drunk with it as well.
Same cheeseboard
More cheeses from Rheinhessen
Plan the trip
Visit Handkäse country
Tastings and tours where it is made, and somewhere to stay.
Rheinhessen
Sip Wine Along the Rhine - Grape Day out from Frankfurt
All 114 experiences in Rheinhessen
Pfalz
Organic wine discovery tour with tasting at the Mohr-Gutting organic winery (Palatinate)
All 6 experiences in PfalzBooking links go to our partners (GetYourGuide, Viator, Zen Hotels), who may pay us a commission. It never decides what we cover. Editorial standards.
Sources: de.wikipedia.org, www.kaeserei-horst.de. The drawing is made from the cheese's recorded shape, rind and paste, not a photograph.