The tasty tradition of Limburg flan
Maastricht, Gulpen
When you say Limburg, you say vlaai! Or vloaj, vla or flaai, but that depends on where from Limburg you come from. Yet the origin of the primal flaai is not in Limburg. It was the Germanic people of southern Germany who invented the flan, by baking leftover bread dough with old fruit or honey on a stone heated by fire. Later, in the Middle Ages, the flans were baked in German monasteries and used as sacrificial breads. The delicacy soon came to Limburg, which not only has many monasteries but also many farms and orchards. A new tradition was born. Initially, the flans were mainly served on public holidays. After church, a procession and a sumptuous meal, coffee was drunk with flan. But flan was also eaten on birthdays, weddings and funerals. On the coffee table at a Limburg funeral, you still often find the black plum flan, which is associated with mourning and farewell. Meanwhile, Limburg flan is an officially recognised regional product. To be a true Limburg flan, the flan must meet a number of characteristics. For instance, the flan has a flat bottom of yeast dough, about one centimetre thick and a diameter of at least ten and no more than thirty centimetres with a low raised rim. The filling of gooseberries, apricots, cherries, plums, apples, rice pudding, pudding, compote or even cheese is always baked in. Sometimes with a lid or lattice of dough, or with dough crumbs on top. Respectively called a dense flan, a ruuts or ladder flan and a crumb flan. But the flan can also be open. In Limburg style, you eat the flan by hand, so the bottom must be firm. Limburgers are hospitable and never frugal so the pieces are always generous. The ideal division ratio of a large flan is eight pieces, the absolute maximum is ten pieces. By the way, according to tradition, call it ‘pieces’ and not ‘points’. The p-word should be avoided altogether in Limburg. A vlaai is not a pie! Another Limburg custom, which you can probably get used to, is tasting as many varieties as possible. It is quite common to have three or four pieces on a birthday. This cycle route through the beautiful and colourful Limburg Hill Country, will take you past locations where you can taste flans, follow the baking process, attend a flan-baking workshop and past suppliers of regional ingredients. Take a look at a Limburg corn mill or pick fruit in one of the municipal fruit orchards to bake one of those delicious flans yourself at home. Would you like to combine the route with a workshop or tour at one of the interesting locations? Then it is advisable to plan and book this well in advance. Have fun cycling and don't forget to enjoy one of the delicious pieces of vlaoj on one of the local terraces! This Premium cycling route was compiled by our editor: Désirée van Uffelen.
| Directions | Distance | Total distance | |
|
Start: Landsraderweg , 6271 NT Gulpen-Wittem | 43.7 KM | |
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From
85
to
20
|
214 M | 0.2 KM | |
| Head southwest on Landsraderweg | 214 M | ||
| You are now at section 20 | 0 M | ||
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From
20
to
21
|
2480 M | 2.5 KM | |
| Head northwest on Pesaken | 2.5 KM | ||
| You are now at section 21 | 0 M | ||
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From
21
to
22
|
988 M | 1 KM | |
| Head north on Slenakerweg | 811 M | ||
| Make a slight left onto Euverem | 177 M | ||
| You are now at section 22 | 0 M | ||
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From
22
to
83
|
3659 M | 3.7 KM | |
| Head northwest on Euverem | 305 M | ||
| Make a slight left onto Oude Luikerweg | 726 M | ||
| Make a slight left | 2.3 KM | ||
| Make a slight left | 14 M | ||
| Continue straight | 6 M | ||
| Turn left | 46 M | ||
| Turn right onto Gulperstraat | 283 M | ||
| You are now at section 83 | 0 M | ||
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From
83
to
82
|
1609 M | 1.6 KM | |
| Head northwest on Terlinden | 1.4 KM | ||
| Make a slight left onto Bredeweg | 172 M | ||
| You are now at section 82 | 0 M | ||
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From
82
to
72
|
4290 M | 4.3 KM | |
| Head north on Dalestraat | 81 M | ||
| Turn left to stay on Dalestraat | 311 M | ||
| Turn right onto Bergstraat | 1.3 KM | ||
| Turn left onto Bruisterbosch | 1.9 KM | ||
| Turn right onto Roskuil | 228 M | ||
| Turn left onto Verlengde Schoolstraat | 257 M | ||
| Turn left onto Korenhof | 3 M | ||
| Turn right onto Schoolstraat | 240 M | ||
| You are now at section 72 | 0 M | ||
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From
72
to
106
|
2430 M | 2.4 KM | |
| Head north on Buitenend | 1.4 KM | ||
| Make a slight left onto Schampeljoensteeg | 95 M | ||
| Turn left onto Dorpsstraat | 698 M | ||
| Turn right onto Klompenstraat | 219 M | ||
| You are now at section 106 | 0 M | ||
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From
106
to
73
|
2228 M | 2.2 KM | |
| Head west on Linderweg | 962 M | ||
| Turn right onto Eckelraderweg | 1.3 KM | ||
| You are now at section 73 | 0 M | ||
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From
73
to
5
|
1875 M | 1.9 KM | |
| Head west on Kampweg | 332 M | ||
| Turn right onto Keerderweg | 239 M | ||
| Make a slight left onto Kleine Molenweg | 1.2 KM | ||
| Make a slight right to stay on Kleine Molenweg | 85 M | ||
| You are now at section 05 | 0 M | ||
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From
5
to
4
|
2498 M | 2.5 KM | |
| Head north | 81 M | ||
| Turn left onto Oude Molenweg | 17 M | ||
| Turn right onto Bronckweg | 9 M | ||
| Continue straight | 10 M | ||
| Turn left | 2.4 KM | ||
| You are now at section 04 | 0 M | ||
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From
4
to
2
|
3714 M | 3.7 KM | |
| Head north | 753 M | ||
| Continue onto Hoge Weerd | 474 M | ||
| Continue straight | 2 KM | ||
| Turn right | 64 M | ||
| Turn left | 400 M | ||
| You are now at section 02 | 0 M | ||
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From
2
to
79
|
503 M | 0.5 KM | |
| Head northeast on Sphinxlunet | 385 M | ||
| Turn left onto Heerderweg | 118 M | ||
| You are now at section 79 | 0 M | ||
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From
79
to
6
|
2259 M | 2.3 KM | |
| Head east on Scharnerweg | 183 M | ||
| Continue straight | 116 M | ||
| Enter the roundabout and take the 3rd exit onto Scharnerweg | 64 M | ||
| Exit the roundabout onto Scharnerweg | 489 M | ||
| Enter the roundabout and take the 2nd exit onto Scharnerweg | 26 M | ||
| Exit the roundabout onto Scharnerweg | 97 M | ||
| Enter the roundabout and take the 2nd exit onto Wethouder van Caldenborghlaan | 17 M | ||
| Exit the roundabout onto Wethouder van Caldenborghlaan | 1.3 KM | ||
| You are now at section 06 | 0 M | ||
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From
6
to
65
|
2609 M | 2.6 KM | |
| Head southeast on Bemelerweg | 1.8 KM | ||
| Turn right onto Sint Laurentiusstraat | 599 M | ||
| Turn right onto Sint Antoniusbank | 174 M | ||
| You are now at section 65 | 0 M | ||
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From
65
to
67
|
1973 M | 2 KM | |
| Head southeast on Rootherweg | 18 M | ||
| Make a slight left onto Op de Kuiper | 620 M | ||
| Turn left onto 't Schoor | 1.3 KM | ||
| You are now at section 67 | 0 M | ||
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From
67
to
68
|
1438 M | 1.4 KM | |
| Head northeast on Keerderstraat | 133 M | ||
| Turn right onto Gasthuis | 1.3 KM | ||
| Make a slight left | 10 M | ||
| You are now at section 68 | 0 M | ||
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From
68
to
69
|
3021 M | 3 KM | |
| Head southeast | 1.5 KM | ||
| Make a slight left onto Limietstraat | 321 M | ||
| Turn right onto Limietstraat | 354 M | ||
| Turn right onto Scheulderdorpsstraat | 811 M | ||
| You are now at section 69 | 0 M | ||
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From
69
to
24
|
1715 M | 1.7 KM | |
| Head east on Scheulderdorpsstraat | 1.7 KM | ||
| You are now at section 24 | 0 M | ||
|
From
24
to
13
|
3436 M | 3.4 KM | |
| Head northeast on Wijnweg | 1.5 KM | ||
| Make a slight left onto Beversbergweg | 217 M | ||
| Make a slight left | 229 M | ||
| Turn right onto Heeselsweg | 495 M | ||
| Turn left onto Knibusweg | 362 M | ||
| Turn right to stay on Knibusweg | 50 M | ||
| Turn right onto Groeneweg | 325 M | ||
| Turn right onto Kiewegracht | 60 M | ||
| Make a slight left onto Dorpsstraat | 159 M | ||
| You are now at section 13 | 0 M | ||
|
From
13
to
85
|
719 M | 0.7 KM | |
| Head west on Rosstraat | 278 M | ||
| Turn left onto Ingbergrachtweg | 42 M | ||
| Make a slight right to stay on Ingbergrachtweg | 36 M | ||
| Make a slight right | 3 M | ||
| Turn left | 19 M | ||
| Make a slight left | 28 M | ||
| Make a slight right onto Molenweg | 148 M | ||
| Turn right to stay on Molenweg | 165 M | ||
| You are now at section 85 | 0 M |