Kringle (, ) is a

Northern European The northern region of Europe has several definitions. A restrictive definition may describe northern Europe as being roughly north of the southern coast of the Baltic Sea, which is about 54°N, or may be based on other geographical factors s ...

pastry Pastry refers to a variety of Dough, doughs (often enriched with fat or eggs), as well as the sweet and savoury Baking, baked goods made from them. The dough may be accordingly called pastry dough for clarity. Sweetened pastries are often descr ...

, a variety of

pretzel A pretzel ( ; from or , ) is a type of baking, baked pastry made from dough that is commonly shaped into a knot. The traditional pretzel shape is a distinctive symmetrical form, with the ends of a long strip of dough intertwined and then twi ...

. Pretzels were introduced by Roman Catholic monks in the 13th century in

Denmark Denmark is a Nordic countries, Nordic country in Northern Europe. It is the metropole and most populous constituent of the Kingdom of Denmark,, . also known as the Danish Realm, a constitutionally unitary state that includes the Autonomous a ...

, and from there they spread throughout Scandinavia and evolved into several kinds of sweet, salty or filled pastries, all in the shape of kringle. In Danish and Norwegian, the word is ''kringle'', plural ''kringler''; , plural ''kringlid''; , plural ''kliņģeri''; , plural ''kringlor''; , plural ''rinkelit''; and Icelandic: ''kringla''. The word originates from the

Old Norse Old Norse, also referred to as Old Nordic or Old Scandinavian, was a stage of development of North Germanic languages, North Germanic dialects before their final divergence into separate Nordic languages. Old Norse was spoken by inhabitants ...

''kringla'', meaning ring or circle. Viipurinrinkeli22

In the

Netherlands , Terminology of the Low Countries, informally Holland, is a country in Northwestern Europe, with Caribbean Netherlands, overseas territories in the Caribbean. It is the largest of the four constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Nether ...

, a particular type of sweet kringle is well known under the Dutch name ''krakeling''. The shape of the kringle has given name to a similarly entangled feature found in some

protein Proteins are large biomolecules and macromolecules that comprise one or more long chains of amino acid residue (biochemistry), residues. Proteins perform a vast array of functions within organisms, including Enzyme catalysis, catalysing metab ...

s, the so-called

kringle domain Kringle domains are autonomous protein domains that fold into large loops stabilized by three disulfide linkages. These are important in protein–protein interactions with blood coagulation factors. Their name refers to the Kringle, a Scand ...

Scandinavia

In Denmark, ''kringle'' denotes the

-like knotted shape rather than the pretzel pastry type. Kringler may be made from

puff pastry Puff pastry, also known as , is a light, flaky pastry, its base dough () composed of wheat flour and water. Butter or other solid fat () is then layered into the dough. The dough is repeatedly rolled and folded, rested, re-rolled and folded, encas ...

(like

Danish pastry A Danish pastry (sometimes shortened to danish; , ) is a multilayered, laminated sweet pastry in the '' viennoiserie'' tradition. Like other ''viennoiserie'' pastries, such as croissants, it is a variant of puff pastry made of laminated yeast- ...

) or

yeast Yeasts are eukaryotic, single-celled microorganisms classified as members of the fungus kingdom (biology), kingdom. The first yeast originated hundreds of millions of years ago, and at least 1,500 species are currently recognized. They are est ...

dough, filled with remonce or

marzipan Marzipan is a confectionery, confection consisting primarily of sugar and almond meal (ground almonds), sometimes augmented with almond oil or extract. It is often made into Confectionery, sweets; common uses are chocolate-covered marzipan and ...

and

raisin A raisin is a Dried fruit, dried grape. Raisins are produced in many regions of the world and may be eaten raw or used in cooking, baking, and brewing. In the United Kingdom, Republic of Ireland, Ireland, New Zealand, Australia and South Afri ...

s, sprinkled with coarse sugar, nut flakes or icing. Other types of kringles in Scandinavia include ''saltkringler'', which are small salty kringler - the Scandinavian equivalent of pretzels -, and ''kommenskringler'' which are half-hand-sized breads in the kringle shape, made from unsweetened yeast dough spiced with

caraway Caraway, also known as meridian fennel and Persian cumin (''Carum carvi''), is a biennial plant in the family Apiaceae, native to western Asia, Europe, and North Africa. Etymology The etymology of "caraway" is unclear. Caraway has been ...

seeds. ''Sukkerkringler'' are similar, but sweet pretzels, sprinkled with sugar instead of caraway. ''Fødselsdagskringler'' are a large sweet bread pretzel for birthday celebrations. ''Smørkringler'' are large crusty and sweet pretzels with a spread of butter on the backside. Smørkringler are not as popular nowadays. Kringler are pastries with a long history in Denmark, and are still popular items in modern Danish bakeries. Nowadays, kringles are usually made with only one crossing and not two, as in the original kringle and pretzel shape. Official homepage of the Baker's Guild of Copenhagen.

United States

In the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

, kringles are hand-rolled from Danish pastry dough (''wienerbrød'' dough) that has been rested overnight before shaping, filling, and baking. Many sheets of the flaky dough are layered, then shaped into an oval. After filling with fruit, nut, or other flavor combinations, the pastry is baked and iced.Marialisa Calta
"Fare of the country: Wisconsin, Danish Pastry With a Classic Twist"
''The New York Times'', July 9, 1989.

Racine, Wisconsin Racine ( ) is a city in Racine County, Wisconsin, United States, and its county seat. It is located on the shore of Lake Michigan at the mouth of the Root River (Wisconsin), Root River, south of Milwaukee and north of Chicago. It is the List ...

, has historically been a center of Danish-American culture and kringle-making. A typical Racine-made kringle is a large, flat oval measuring approximately 14 inches by 10 inches (35 cm by 25 cm) and weighing about 1.5 lb (680 g). The kringle became the official state pastry of

Wisconsin Wisconsin ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest of the United States. It borders Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake Michigan to the east, Michig ...

on June 30, 2013. A Wisconsin distillery in Middleton, Wisconsin, makes a kringle-flavored cream liqueur from Wisconsin cream, rum, sugar, and natural kringle flavor. In other parts of the United States, kringle may refer to a slightly sweet buttermilk cookie shaped like a pretzel or figure eight. Other places where kringles may be found in the United States include the Ballard area of

Seattle Seattle ( ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Washington and in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. With a population of 780,995 in 2024, it is the 18th-most populous city in the United States. The city is the cou ...

, Washington; Redmond, Washington; Solvang, California; Story City, Iowa;

Burr Ridge, Illinois Burr Ridge (formerly Harvester) is a village in Cook and DuPage counties in the U.S. state of Illinois. Per the 2020 census, the population was 11,192. Geography Burr Ridge is located at (41.753030, -87.919998). According to the 2021 census ...

;

Springfield, Missouri Springfield is the List of cities in Missouri, third most populous city in the U.S. state of Missouri and the county seat of Greene County, Missouri, Greene County. The city's population was 169,176 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 censu ...

, and

Watertown, Massachusetts Watertown is a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States, part of Greater Boston. The population was 35,329 in the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. Its neighborhoods include Bemis, Coolidge Square, East Watertown, Watertown Sq ...

. In 2005,

Dana College Dana College was a private college in Blair, Nebraska. Its rural 150-acre (607,000 m2) campus is approximately 26 miles (40 km) northwest of Omaha, Nebraska, Omaha and overlooks a portion of the Missouri River Valley. It closed in 2010. T ...

Blair, Nebraska Blair is a city in and the county seat of Washington County, Nebraska, United States. The population was 7,990 at the 2010 United States Census, 2010 census. Blair is a part of the Omaha-Council Bluffs metropolitan area, Omaha-Council Bluffs Me ...

, held a Kringle Kontest, which was won by Kirsten's Danish Bakery in Burr Ridge, Illinois.

Symbolism

Baker's

guild A guild ( ) is an association of artisans and merchants who oversee the practice of their craft/trade in a particular territory. The earliest types of guild formed as organizations of tradespeople belonging to a professional association. They so ...

s in

Europe Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...

have used the kringle or pretzel as a symbol for centuries. It is told (but currently unconfirmed by historic documents), that when Vienna was besieged by the Turkish Ottoman armies in 1529, local bakers working in the night gave the city defence an early warning of the attacking enemy. For this, they were later rewarded by the

Pope The pope is the bishop of Rome and the Head of the Church#Catholic Church, visible head of the worldwide Catholic Church. He is also known as the supreme pontiff, Roman pontiff, or sovereign pontiff. From the 8th century until 1870, the po ...

, with permission to use a crown as part of their kringle guild symbol. The guild in Denmark is now the only baker's guild in the world with official authority to display a royal crown as part of their baker's guild trade symbol that is often hung outside of bakery shops. Official homepage of the association of Bakers and Confectioners in Denmark.

References

External links

Racine Kringle Recipe
''taste of home'' *https://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/kringle-recipe0-1941189 Racine Kringle Recipe]

Food Network Food Network is an American basic cable channel owned by Television Food Network, G.P., a unit of Warner Bros. Discovery, who manages and operates it as a division of the Warner Bros. Discovery U.S. Networks Group. The channel airs both televi ...

{{pastries Danish pastries Estonian cuisine Norwegian cuisine Cuisine of Wisconsin Cuisine of the Midwestern United States Pretzels

Scandinavia

United States

Symbolism

See also

References

Further reading

External links