Aachener Printen

Aachener Printe is a special type of brown gingerbread, which is baked in Aachen since about the year 1820. The term "Printe ", however, existed much earlier and evolved from the English word " print" and the Dutch " prent ", a name which is also used in Öcher Platt, and for " tool for pushing " or " depressed figure" or " on - footprint " is. The name refers to the use of intricately carved and printed wooden molds, in the in the production of the imported in the 15th century former Gebildbrotes the dough was inserted and pressed.

As original Aachen Printe governed exclusively by the printe produced in the city of Aachen itself and in the neighboring villages of Alsdorf, Baesweiler, Eschweiler, Stolberg and Wuerselen from circa 1820 according to a new recipe and have been certified as a product with a protected geographical indication. Aachener Printe count according to their original use is actually to the group of seasonal baked goods for the fall and winter time, but are now offered on the basis of their popularity and for reasons of tourism as a year- pastries. They find not only as a pastry use, but also as an ingredient in hearty, seasonal dishes and as an additive to various foods.

Prehistory

The manufacture of gingerbread, also known as pepper spice or honey cake is handed down since ancient times. In some regions, including in Dinant, the gingerbread was pressed into molds and sold under the name " Couques de Dinant " as so-called Gebildbrot, is recognized to this day as a well-known specialty of the Maas city. Kupferschläger from this region, which for political and economic reasons, settled in the 15th century with their families, among others, in the Aachen area, brought their tradition of producing the Gebildbrotes from gingerbread dough. From then existed in Aachen two baking flavors of gingerbread biscuits, on the one hand, the historical average Gingerbread and secondly the now established and shaped with gorgeous printed Models gingerbread variation, almost the first " gingerbread " that were hard like caramel Moreover, due to the caramelization of honey on cooling and had to be broken.

While until about the beginning of the 18th century was the basic formulation of the dough made ​​of flour, honey and various spices, now the honey has been gradually replaced with wildflower honey and cane sugar from overseas, as the research on the breeding of high-yielding domestic sugar beet at this time not yet mature were. But then caused the continental blockade from 1806 to 1814 by Napoleon that the mainland by the existing small extent honey as well as the now improved sugar beet into precious and expensive ingredients were cut off from the sugar and delivery. Then used some bakers and pastry chefs for their baked goods the cheaper brown sugar and sugar syrup.

Development of the Aachener Printe

But it was not until around 1820, when it became some Aachen bakers to create from these ingredients a stable and sought-after for its tangy sweet and delicate flavor pastries, which was abandoned completely any fat such as butter or nut and almond flour. At the same time the ingredient list has been modified by adding various spices cake, which led to the development of the first herbs printe. Since there were now two types of gingerbread, the original and cut gingerbread and Gebildbrot and the new darker sweetened with sugar syrup herbal Printe, you had to differentiate find a new name. Then established itself for the new creation, the name " Aachener Printe ", which one would also regional differ from the products of others, and partly still experimenting Lebküchnern.

Through the use of sugar beet syrup, the dough of this new variety was accordingly rougher, tougher and heavier malleable, so it was hard at first even gingerbread as their predecessors, the Couques de Dinant. But this slow and no longer running dough had the major advantage that now also easily thin and slim cut gingerbread were factory- molds for mass production on plates and this type due to their strength much better so suitable for shipping and to tap new markets. This meant then also down to the individual product exceptions the end of the widespread production of shaped model in print figures.

Then in the next few decades there has been a rapid development of this Aachener Printe. With the drop in sugar prices from the 1830s, the products were again varied and they could for example be coated with a sugar glaze, with which it came to the introduction of the so -called " princess gingerbread ". In the 1850s then could the dough by adding Krümelkandis be given a loose structure, and finally from the 1860s succeeded the confectioner Henry Lambertz, to move through a more advanced processing, the chocolate gingerbread with melted chocolate. In the meantime, we could use a higher proportion of honey and again, making the dough more pliable and consequently led to the production of soft gingerbread. Thus there were now three basic grades of this pastry, the herbal Princess and chocolate gingerbread, which was usually offered as a hard or soft gingerbread in the form of break - rare as image printe. In addition, during this period caused the introduction of steam engines for a factory-style mass production of this pastry.

The awareness and popularity of the Aachener Printe led, among other things, that the most known already at that time Aachener baker and confectioner, Henry Lambertz, had been appointed in 1870 to the purveyor to the Belgian, Dutch and Prussian royal family. But also expanded other traditional businesses such as the Aachener Printe and honey cake factory van Rey (founded in 1833), the bakery Nobis gingerbread (1858 ), confectionery Leo van den Daele (1890 ) and the bakeries Drouven (1896) and Klein ( 1912) now also its product range to Aachener Printe, with their products distinguished only by variations in the spice mixture and ingredients from each other. Only much later, in the 1950s, it came with the introduction of the Chocolate gingerbread juice, the hazelnut chocolate gingerbread and gingerbread nut juice to further additions to the existing product range.

To this day, the Original Aachener Printe have an undisputed importance far beyond the region and due to the certification by the EU as a product with a protected geographical indication.

Print forms

Originally frequently religious motifs were used as back model. In the early 19th century certain French and Prussian soldiers after the motifs printed form. Similar to the humor of the Rhineland carnival could thus, at least symbolically, the unloved occupiers bite off his head. A museum compilation of numerous domestic and foreign historical print models next waffle iron, speculoos figures and other antique furnishings found the Daele in the vicinity of the Aachen City Hall, which is in Aachen also known in the premises of the Old Aachen café & wine bars by Leo van as the "Print Baron".

Print Model, 18th Century

Print Model, 18th Century

Print forms, ca 1850

Print Model Bakery Nobis gingerbread, late 19th century

Ingredients / nutrition facts

The dough is made from flour, water and sweeteners without the addition of fats of all kinds as a sweetener for the dough are either mainly brown sugar, Krümelkandis sugar and syrup and honey and as a leavening mainly potash, originally Hirschhornsalz. The spice mixture consists among other things of cinnamon, anise, cloves, cardamom, coriander skipjack, allspice, but also orange peel, lemon peel and ginger, with the percentage of seasoning is a secret of the respective manufacturer.

For the topping various glazes, from simple icing to the lush chocolate coating, and decorations are selected with almond or nut splitters depending on the product. Simple Kräuterprinten have 100 g of a calorific value of about 350 kcal at about 2 g fat, gingerbread with icing or chocolate coating or with nuts, almonds or the like have higher values.

The resulting through the baking process acrylamide content of the gingerbread keeps the products in commerce majority among the signal values ​​set as a benchmark, with the values ​​by replacing the raising agent ammonium bicarbonate and by careful preparation even tended to improve, or at least to a safe have stabilized value

Uses in cooking recipes and food (selection)

The property of herbs Printe in its simple form to dissolve while cooking in Sud and to disseminate their pleasant sweet - tart tangy flavor, leads to the use in a variety of mostly savory dishes that are served mainly in the autumn and winter time. To include the gingerbread for the preparation, for example by:

• Rhenish Sauerbraten, where they intensify next raisins and sugar beet molasses sauces taste,
• Venison with prunes and Print sauce
• Haunch of venison with sauce Print
• And gingerbread Parfaits in numerous variations, such as with spiced oranges or with black currant paste with chocolate mousse as a cold dessert specialty or
• With warm orange as hot-cold dessert or
• With mulled wine sabayon

In place of the original gingerbread is a striking characteristic of a manufactured gingerbread flavor use in other food and stimulants. So print aroma found for example

• In Aachen Printeneis or in the print candy in 1900, a city known candy specialists
• For inclusion in the print tea on the basis of black or green tea
• As an admixture for gingerbread and gingerbread liver sausage patties
• For inclusion in the print tobacco for pipe smokers
• Strength as the basis for the 35 % Print liqueur, which can be produced but also with fresh gingerbread

Aachener Printe as identification feature (selection)

The connectedness of the Aachen to their gingerbread finds expression in the naming of clubs, events and honors. So there are, among other

• Carnival society " Oecher Prente 1988 eV"
• The " gingerbread Promenaders Aachen Square Dance Club eV", founded in 1987
• The annual pre-Christmas "Print Shooting " Aachener Rifle
• The 5000 - doped € Kleinkunstpreis " Aachener Prenteschang ", donated by the company Lambertz and awarded by the " Aachener home theater stage Friends 1947 eV " for personalities, which has successfully managed, peculiarities of a European region with trenchant insights and humor of a broad cross-regional public closer to .. Previous winners have included Wendelin Haverkamp (1995 ), Jürgen von der Lippe (1996 ), Hanns Dieter Hüsch (1997), De Hoehner (1999), Beikircher (2001) and Bernd Stelter (2003)
• The bronze sculpture gingerbread girl, made ​​in 1989 by Hubert Löneke, donated by Leo van den Daele, location Büchel corner Körbergasse
• In addition, also scattered legends and novels relate to the Aachener Printe such as: Print the legend
• The gingerbread - Connection, a mystery thriller by Carsten Berg with locally specific coloring