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(), or , are a honey-sweetened
German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ger ...
cake Cake is a flour confection made from flour, sugar, and other ingredients, and is usually baked. In their oldest forms, cakes were modifications of bread, but cakes now cover a wide range of preparations that can be simple or elaborate, ...
molded cookie or bar cookie that has become part of Germany's Christmas traditions. It is similar to
gingerbread Gingerbread refers to a broad category of baked goods, typically flavored with ginger, cloves, nutmeg, and cinnamon and sweetened with honey, sugar, or molasses. Gingerbread foods vary, ranging from a moist loaf cake to forms nearly as crisp a ...
.


Etymology

The
etymology Etymology () The New Oxford Dictionary of English (1998) – p. 633 "Etymology /ˌɛtɪˈmɒlədʒi/ the study of the class in words and the way their meanings have changed throughout time". is the study of the history of the form of words ...
of ''Leb-'' in the term ''Lebkuchen'' is uncertain. Proposed derivations include: from the Latin ''libum'' (flat bread), from the Germanic word ''Laib'' (loaf), and from the Germanic word ''lebbe'' (very sweet). Another likely possibility is that it comes from the old term ''Leb-Honig'', the rather solid crystallized
honey Honey is a sweet and viscous substance made by several bees, the best-known of which are honey bees. Honey is made and stored to nourish bee colonies. Bees produce honey by gathering and then refining the sugary secretions of plants (primar ...
taken from the hive, that cannot be used for much beside baking.
Folk etymology Folk etymology (also known as popular etymology, analogical reformation, reanalysis, morphological reanalysis or etymological reinterpretation) is a change in a word or phrase resulting from the replacement of an unfamiliar form by a more famili ...
often associates the name with ''Leben'' (life), ''Leib'' (body), or ''Leibspeise'' (favorite food). ''Kuchen'' means 'cake'.


History

Bakers noticed that honey-sweetened dough would undergo a natural fermentation process when stored in a cool location for several weeks, creating bubbles that would improve the quality of the bread. ''Lebkuchen'' was started in November and baked in December after undergoing this fermentation period. Lebkuchen was invented by monks in
Franconia Franconia (german: Franken, ; Franconian dialect: ''Franggn'' ; bar, Frankn) is a region of Germany, characterised by its culture and Franconian dialect (German: ''Fränkisch''). The three administrative regions of Lower, Middle and Upper F ...
, Germany, in the 13th century. ''Lebkuchen'' bakers were recorded as early as 1296 in Ulm, and 1395 in Nürnberg (Nuremberg). The latter is the most famous exporter today of the product known as ''Nürnberger Lebkuchen'' (Nuremberg Lebkuchen). Local history in Nuremberg relates that emperor Friedrich III held a Reichstag there in 1487 and he invited the children of the city to a special event where he presented Lebkuchen bearing his
printed Printing is a process for mass reproducing text and images using a master form or template. The earliest non-paper products involving printing include cylinder seals and objects such as the Cyrus Cylinder and the Cylinders of Nabonidus. The ...
portrait to almost four thousand children. Historically, and due to differences in the ingredients, ''Lebkuchen'' is also known as "honey cake" (
Honigkuchen (), or , are a honey-sweetened German cake molded cookie or bar cookie that has become part of Germany's Christmas traditions. It is similar to gingerbread. Etymology The etymology of ''Leb-'' in the term ''Lebkuchen'' is uncertain. Prop ...
) or "pepper cake" ( Pfefferkuchen). Traditionally, the cookies are usually quite large and may be in diameter if round, and larger if rectangular. Unlike other cities where women could bake and sell the holiday cookies at will, in Nuremberg only members of the baker's guild were allowed to bake the cookies. Since 1808, a variety of Nürnberg Lebkuchen made without flour has been called ''Elisenlebkuchen''. It is uncertain whether Elise was the daughter of a gingerbread baker or the wife of a
margrave Margrave was originally the medieval title for the military commander assigned to maintain the defence of one of the border provinces of the Holy Roman Empire or of a kingdom. That position became hereditary in certain feudal families in the E ...
. Her name is associated with some of the Lebkuchen produced by members of the guild. Since 1996, '' Nürnberger Lebkuchen'' is a
protected designation of origin The protected designation of origin (PDO) is a type of geographical indication of the European Union and the United Kingdom aimed at preserving the designations of origin of food-related products. The designation was created in 1992 and its main ...
, meaning that it must be produced within the boundaries of the city.


Types

''Lebkuchen'' range in taste from spicy to sweet and come in a variety of shapes with round being the most common. The ingredients usually include
honey Honey is a sweet and viscous substance made by several bees, the best-known of which are honey bees. Honey is made and stored to nourish bee colonies. Bees produce honey by gathering and then refining the sugary secretions of plants (primar ...
,
spice A spice is a seed, fruit, root, bark, or other plant substance primarily used for flavoring or coloring food. Spices are distinguished from herbs, which are the leaves, flowers, or stems of plants used for flavoring or as a garnish. Spices a ...
s such as
aniseed Anise (; '), also called aniseed or rarely anix is a flowering plant in the family Apiaceae native to Eurasia. The flavor and aroma of its seeds have similarities with some other spices and herbs, such as star anise, fennel, licorice, and ta ...
,
coriander Coriander (;
,
clove Cloves are the aromatic flower buds of a tree in the family Myrtaceae, ''Syzygium aromaticum'' (). They are native to the Maluku Islands (or Moluccas) in Indonesia, and are commonly used as a spice, flavoring or fragrance in consumer products ...
s,
ginger Ginger (''Zingiber officinale'') is a flowering plant whose rhizome, ginger root or ginger, is widely used as a spice and a folk medicine. It is a herbaceous perennial which grows annual pseudostems (false stems made of the rolled bases of ...
,
cardamom Cardamom (), sometimes cardamon or cardamum, is a spice made from the seeds of several plants in the genera ''Elettaria'' and ''Amomum'' in the family Zingiberaceae. Both genera are native to the Indian subcontinent and Indonesia. They are r ...
, and
allspice Allspice, also known as Jamaica pepper, myrtle pepper, pimenta, or pimento, is the dried unripe berry of ''Pimenta dioica'', a midcanopy tree native to the Greater Antilles, southern Mexico, and Central America, now cultivated in many warm par ...
, nuts including almonds,
hazelnut The hazelnut is the fruit of the hazel tree and therefore includes any of the nuts deriving from species of the genus '' Corylus'', especially the nuts of the species '' Corylus avellana''. They are also known as cobnuts or filberts accordi ...
s, and
walnut A walnut is the edible seed of a drupe of any tree of the genus '' Juglans'' (family Juglandaceae), particularly the Persian or English walnut, '' Juglans regia''. Although culinarily considered a "nut" and used as such, it is not a tru ...
s, or
candied fruit Candied fruit, also known as glacé fruit, is whole fruit, smaller pieces of fruit, or pieces of peel, placed in heated sugar syrup, which absorbs the moisture from within the fruit and eventually preserves it. Depending on the size and type o ...
. In Germany, types of ''Lebkuchen'' are distinguished by the kind of nuts used and their proportions.
Salt of Hartshorn Ammonium carbonate is a salt with the chemical formula (NH4)2CO3. Since it readily degrades to gaseous ammonia and carbon dioxide upon heating, it is used as a leavening agent and also as smelling salt. It is also known as baker's ammonia and is ...
and
potash Potash () includes various mined and manufactured salts that contain potassium in water- soluble form.
are often used for raising the dough. ''Lebkuchen'' dough is usually placed on a thin
wafer A wafer is a crisp, often sweet, very thin, flat, light and dry biscuit, often used to decorate ice cream, and also used as a garnish on some sweet dishes. Wafers can also be made into cookies with cream flavoring sandwiched between them. They ...
base called an ''Oblate''. This was an idea of the monks, who used unleavened
communion wafer Sacramental bread, also called Communion bread, Eucharistic bread, the Lamb or simply the host ( la, hostia, lit=sacrificial victim), is the bread used in the Christian ritual of the Eucharist. Along with sacramental wine, it is one of two elemen ...
ingredients to prevent the dough from sticking. Typically, they are glazed or covered with very dark
chocolate Chocolate is a food made from roasted and ground cacao seed kernels that is available as a liquid, solid, or paste, either on its own or as a flavoring agent in other foods. Cacao has been consumed in some form since at least the Olmec civil ...
or a thin sugar coating, but some are left uncoated. ''Lebkuchen'' is usually soft, but a harder type of ''Lebkuchen'' is used to produce ''Lebkuchenherzen'' ("''Lebkuchen'' hearts"), usually inscribed with icing, which are available at many German regional fairs and
Christmas fair A Christmas market, also known as ''Christkindlmarkt'' (literally: ''Christ Child Market'', but the term "Christkind" usually refers to an angel-like "spirit of Christmas" rather than literally the Christ Child), ''Christkindlesmarkt'', ''Chris ...
s. They are also sold as souvenirs at the
Oktoberfest The Oktoberfest (; bar, Wiesn, Oktobafest) is the world's largest Volksfest, featuring a beer festival and a travelling carnival. It is held annually in Munich, Bavaria, Germany. It is a 16- to 18-day folk festival running from mid- or la ...
and are inscribed with affectionate, sarcastic or obscene messages. Another form is the "witch's house" (''Hexenhäusl'' or ''Hexenhäuschen''), made popular because of the fairy tales about
Hansel and Gretel "Hansel and Gretel" (; german: Hänsel und Gretel ) is a German fairy tale collected by the German Brothers Grimm and published in 1812 in ''Grimm's Fairy Tales'' (KHM 15). It is also known as Little Step Brother and Little Step Sister. Hanse ...
. The closest German equivalent of the
gingerbread man A gingerbread man or a Gingerbread man cookie is a biscuit or cookie made from gingerbread, usually in the shape of a stylized form / caricature of a human being, although other shapes, especially seasonal themes (Christmas, Halloween, Easter, et ...
is the '' Honigkuchenpferd'' ("honey cake horse"). The Nuremberg type of "Lebkuchen" is also known as "Elisenlebkuchen" and must contain no less than 25 percent nuts and less than 10 percent wheat flour. The finest artisan lebkuchen bakeries in Nuremberg boast close to 40% nut content. ''Lebkuchen'' is sometimes packaged in richly decorated tins, chests, and boxes, which have become nostalgic collector items.Lebkuchen 101
, Leckerlee, Retrieved 19 October 2016


Gallery

File:Lebkuchen-pile.jpg, An assortment of glazed and dark chocolate Lebkuchen File:Nuernberger Lebkuchen 3183857869 0f3f7bcbe3.jpg, Different shapes of Lebkuchen on sale at the Christkindlesmarkt, Nuremberg File:Lebkuchen von Schmidt.jpg, Lebkuchen in retail packaging


See also

* Aachener Printen *
Basler Läckerli The Basler Läckerli (also Leckerli or Läggerli, ''lecker'' meaning "delicious" in German and ''-li'' being a diminutive suffix) is a traditional hard spice biscuit originating from Basel, Switzerland. It is made of honey, hazelnuts, almonds, cand ...
* Berner Haselnusslebkuchen * Springerle * Speculaas * List of chocolate-covered foods * List of German desserts *
Licitar Licitars (; hr, licitarska srca; sl, lectova srca) are colorfully decorated biscuits made of sweet honey dough that are part of Croatia and Slovenia's cultural heritage. They are a traditional symbol of the Croatian capital Zagreb. They are used ...
* Pfeffernüsse


References


External links


Lebkuchen
on the ''German Food Guide''
Germans fall out of love with Lebkuchen
at ''
The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper A newspaper is a periodical publication containing written information about current events and is often typed in black ink with a white or gray background. Newspapers can cover a wide ...
''
593 Lebkuchen recipes on Chefkoch.de as of 4 March 2013
{{Authority control Christmas food Christmas in Germany Biscuits Anise Chocolate-covered foods Nut dishes Fermented foods German breads Cookies German cakes Ginger dishes Honey dishes