Flönz

Flönz is made from a forcemeat filling with small pieces of fat. Ingredients include pork rind, fresh or frozen pork fat, pork meat and pig's blood, along with curing salt and spices; pork head meat, onions and meat stock are sometimes added. It's classified as a "simple quality" blood sausage, since the meat content isn't visually distinguishable. It's stuffed into natural or artificial casing, forming a curved cylinder with a round cross-section and tied ends—sometimes closed into a ring. There's no jarred or canned version of Flönz.

The spelling "Flunz" is also historically documented. The Ripuarian word is etymologically related to "Blunze," a thick blood sausage, and traces back to the Middle High German verb "blunsen" (to swell up). A onomatopoeic link to "plump" is also possible. The Rhenish Dictionary lists both Flönz and Flunz as terms for an "inferior blood sausage." In the 19th century, Flönz referred to the sausage ends left over from butchering, sold cheaply as dog food or food for the poor. Its present-day use in Cologne's culinary scene is documented from at least 1920 onward.

In the Bergisches Land east of Cologne, a piece of Flönz served without sides is called "Necke Hennes"; in the Krefeld dialect, it's "Näcken Hännes."

Flönz is often eaten cold on bread or simply held in hand. Served as Kölsch Caviar, it's sliced and paired with rye rolls (Röggelchen), red onion rings and pickled gherkins; in Düsseldorf it's served "met Ölk un Mostert" — with onion rings and mustard, typically a Düsseldorf-style mustard such as ABB or Löwensenf. Pan-fried, it accompanies Himmel un Ääd, sweet-and-sour lentils, or the vegetable medley Jemangs. It also appears in soups, including the pea soup Ähzezupp, lentil soup, or as Flönz-Zupp. In the Rhenish white cabbage bake Schlodderkappes, it's incorporated as well.