Medieval Jewish sources contain numerous records of dishes and their methods of preparation, which do not differ in any way from those eaten by non-Jews, except for the Jewish dietary laws. On weekdays cabbage, vegetables and cereals were the main staples. Meat, fish, pies and desserts were eaten only on holidays. Jews took the obligatory division of meat and milk very seriously. Rabbi Schalom reports: “In my day, there was an inhabitant of the Yeshiva named Muschel who was so pious that meat dishes were to be eaten only in a room especially reserved for it, while milk dishes were eaten in another room in his house” (HMM, Nr. 148 - responses to questions related to Jewish customs).
In some cases, Austrian Jews were less strict regarding food compared to Jews from the Rhineland, they ate bread and sauerkraut prepared by non-Jews. Wine was for religious reasons an essential part of each Shabbat dinner. Rabbi Isserlein mentions several times the wine cellars of the Austrian Jews and the different kinds of wine which were served. And the Austrians had a rich variety of wines. Some liked heavy ones, others preferred light wines, and there were also those who fancied sparkling and sweet wines. Since vineyards were common and there were a lot of wine-merchants, there certainly was no lack of wine in Austria.
The preparations for the Shabbat began early on Friday morning. They baked a "Pastete", a dough filled with meat and herbs, and the “Challot”, the special bread for Shabbat. The main course would be a fish dish. Josef ben Rabbi Moses reports that Rabbi Isserlein went himself to the market to buy fish and even prepared it occasionally himself.
The first course before the main course was called "Schertebil" (deriving from the French "sur table"). For lunch they ate "Tscholent" (from French "chaud"), a stew dish kept in the oven from the beginning of the Shabbat. It was important to serve also beef and poultry. A special treat was goose liver. People liked crispy pastry like flat cakes, rolls, doughnuts and a pastry with honey called "Lezeltin" and the delicate pastry “Hol-Hipe”. For dessert, fresh fruit, such as apples, nuts, melons or pomegranates, sometimes cooked, were served. Special traditional dishes for specific holidays, like "Kreplach" on Purim, and "Chremslach" are mentioned as well.