Salzburger Nockerl (pl.,

Austro-Bavarian Bavarian (; ), alternately Austro-Bavarian, is a group of Upper German varieties spoken in the south-east of the German language area, including the German state of Bavaria, most of Austria, and South Tyrol in Italy. Prior to 1945, Bavaria ...

: ''Soizbuaga Noggal'') are a sweet

soufflé A soufflé () is a baked egg dish originating in France in the early 18th century. Combined with various other ingredients, it can be served as a savoury main dish or sweetened as a dessert. The word ''soufflé'' is the past participle of the Fr ...

served as a

dessert Dessert is a course (food), course that concludes a meal; the course consists of sweet foods, such as cake, biscuit, ice cream, and possibly a beverage, such as dessert wine or liqueur. Some cultures sweeten foods that are more commonly umami, ...

, a culinary specialty in the

Austria Austria, formally the Republic of Austria, is a landlocked country in Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine Federal states of Austria, states, of which the capital Vienna is the List of largest cities in Aust ...

n city of

Salzburg Salzburg is the List of cities and towns in Austria, fourth-largest city in Austria. In 2020 its population was 156,852. The city lies on the Salzach, Salzach River, near the border with Germany and at the foot of the Austrian Alps, Alps moun ...

Recipe

The sweet soufflé is made from

egg yolk Among animals which produce eggs, the yolk (; also known as the vitellus) is the nutrient-bearing portion of the egg whose primary function is to supply food for the development of the embryo. Some types of egg contain no yolk, for example bec ...

flour Flour is a powder made by Mill (grinding), grinding raw grains, List of root vegetables, roots, beans, Nut (fruit), nuts, or seeds. Flours are used to make many different foods. Cereal flour, particularly wheat flour, is the main ingredie ...

sugar Sugar is the generic name for sweet-tasting, soluble carbohydrates, many of which are used in food. Simple sugars, also called monosaccharides, include glucose Glucose is a sugar with the Chemical formula#Molecular formula, molecul ...

, and

vanilla Vanilla is a spice derived from orchids of the genus ''Vanilla (genus), Vanilla'', primarily obtained from pods of the flat-leaved vanilla (''Vanilla planifolia, V. planifolia''). ''Vanilla'' is not Autogamy, autogamous, so pollination ...

(or vanilla sugar), mixed into a dough. Next,

egg white Egg white is the clear liquid (also called the albumen or the glair/glaire) contained within an egg. In chickens, it is formed from the layers of secretions of the anterior section of the hen's oviduct during the passage of the egg. It forms a ...

and granulated sugar are whisked into a

meringue Meringue ( , ) is a type of dessert or candy, of French cuisine, French origin, traditionally made from Whisk, whipped egg whites and sugar, and occasionally an acid, acidic ingredient such as lemon, vinegar, or potassium bitartrate, cream of t ...

until soft peaks form and then mixed into the dough with spatula. Finally, dumplings (''Nocken'',

diminutive A diminutive is a word obtained by modifying a root word to convey a slighter degree of its root meaning, either to convey the smallness of the object or quality named, or to convey a sense of intimacy or endearment, and sometimes to belittle s ...

: ''Nockerl'', cf.

Gnocchi Gnocchi are a varied family of pasta-like dumplings in Italian cuisine. They are made of small rolls of dough, such as those composed of a simple combination of wheat flour,Buonassisi, recipe #831-833 potato,Buonassisi, recipe #854-857 egg,Buonas ...

) of the mixture are baked in an oven until lightly brown on the outside (10-12 minutes). Salzburger Nockerl are always freshly prepared and served warm with powdered sugar, sometimes with a

raspberry The raspberry is the edible fruit of several plant species in the genus ''Rubus'' of the Rosaceae, rose family, most of which are in the subgenus ''Rubus#Modern classification, Idaeobatus''. The name also applies to these plants themselves. Ras ...

sauce or any other fruit spread layered on the bottom of the soufflé. Though traditionally a dessert, the dish is filling enough to eat as a main course.

Cultural significance

Although presumably derived from French soufflé dishes, Salzburger Nockerl, like

Kaiserschmarrn () or (; ) is a lightly sweetened pancake that takes its name from the Austrian emperor (Kaiser) Franz Joseph I, who was fond of this fluffy shredded pancake. It is served as a dessert or as a light lunch alongside apple sauce and contains ra ...

Apple strudel Apple strudel (; ; Yiddish: שטרודל) is a traditional Viennese strudel, a popular pastry in Austria, Switzerland, Bavaria, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Northern Italy, Slovenia, Croatia, Bosnia-Herzegovina and other countries in Europe that ...

, has become an icon of

Austrian cuisine Austrian cuisine consists of many different local or regional cuisines. In addition to Viennese cuisine, which is predominantly based on the cooking traditions of the Habsburg monarchy, Habsburg Empire, there are independent regional traditions ...

. Legend has it that the dish was invented by Salome Alt (1568–1633), the mistress of Prince-Archbishop Wolf Dietrich Raitenau in the early 17th century. In any case, the golden dumplings represent Salzburg's

Baroque The Baroque ( , , ) is a Western Style (visual arts), style of Baroque architecture, architecture, Baroque music, music, Baroque dance, dance, Baroque painting, painting, Baroque sculpture, sculpture, poetry, and other arts that flourished from ...

atmosphere left by the territorial prince, whose life of dissipation came to an end when his

archbishopric In church governance, a diocese or bishopric is the ecclesiastical district under the jurisdiction of a bishop. History In the later organization of the Roman Empire, the increasingly subdivided provinces were administratively associated ...

was challenged by the Bavarian neighbours. They are supposed to represent the hillsides surrounding the city centre:

Gaisberg The Gaisberg is, at above sea level, a mountain to the east of Salzburg, Austria. It belongs to Salzkammergut Mountains, a range of the Northern Limestone Alps. The mountain is one of the Salzburg ''Hausberge'', a recreational area offering views ...

, Mönchsberg and

Kapuzinerberg Kapuzinerberg is a hill on the eastern bank of the Salzach river in the Salzburg, city of Salzburg in Austria, which rises to an elevation of . It is located to the north of Altstadt Salzburg, Salzburg's historic city centre, and forms part of th ...

. The dusting of powdered sugar resembles the snow-covered peaks.germanfood.about.com ''Salzburger Nockerln''
/ref> Fred Raymond (1900–1954) composed in 1938 an operetta called ''Saison in Salzburg - Salzburger Nockerln'' (Season in Salzburg - Salzburger Nockerln). In this composition the sweet dumplings are praised as “''Süß wie die Liebe und zart wie ein Kuss''” (meaning ''Sweet as love and tender as a kiss'' in German). The character David Slater reminisces about the dish cooked by his ex-wife in the 1953 film '' Die Jungfrau auf dem Dach''.

References

* Nicole Stich, ''Delicious Days'' (2008) {{Refend

External links

Salzburger Nockerln
entry in the traditional food register of the Austrian Federal Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry, Environment and Water Management
''7 eggs and a lot of air - Salzburger Nockerl''
Bavarian cuisine Austrian desserts Custard desserts Meringue desserts