Labskaus
Labskaus ( ) is a potato dish with beef and beetroot , which in North Germany , Norway , Denmark , Sweden and (in highly modified form) in the region around Liverpool (there as Scouse [ skaʊs ] called) is consumed.
history
The dish for seafarers and sailors , first mentioned in 1706 by the English author Ned Ward , was created during the time of sailing over long distances and originally consisted primarily of salted meat . Since cured meat was part of the prescribed ration for every sailor on sailing ships, but the seamen were often unable to eat solid food due to scurvy- damaged teeth, the portion was chopped into small pieces and / or pureed. Since beetroot and cucumber contain a lot of vitamin C and therefore prevent scurvy, they were considered a suitable ingredient at an early stage - although this connection could not be explained at the beginning. Since the quality of the food also deteriorated with increasing length of the journey, it was also possible to conceal inferior material by adding it . An English-German dictionary from 1802 describes the dish:
"Lobscouse, labskaus, s. a sailor's dish of pork meat, biscuit and onions "
It was first mentioned in German literature in 1878 in a nautical dictionary. This already contained potatoes as an additive to the salted meat. Later, this type of preparation was adopted by the seafarers when they went ashore: there you could and can use fresh minced beef instead of salted meat . In many places pickled cucumbers are also one of the ingredients.
An original recipe is not known. Above all, it is therefore controversial whether fish is an (original) component of Labskaus, or just a side dish. Even the original geographical origin is unclear. Some sources indicate that it was a dish of English origin, but many suspect a North German or at least North European origin. Especially in Schleswig-Holstein and the Hanseatic cities there are still locally different variants; in Lübeck , for example, fish belongs in the court, in Flensburg and North Friesland it does not.
etymology
The origin of the word "Labskaus" is unknown. There are several interpretations, but all of them are only attested for the 19th century. Probably borrowed from lobscouse with English origins , it was possibly developed from the dialectal lob's course with the meaning "food for flail" via lout's course . Another variant comes from the piece of meat Lappen , ie piece of beef belly flap , and the addition of Kaus for Low German “bowl, shell”. According to another source, the term comes from Norwegian for "easy to chew". An origin from the Baltic States also appears possible : the expressions labs kauss in Latvian and labas kaušas in Lithuanian each mean “good bowl”.
variants
For the most widespread preparation, cured beef is boiled in a little water and then turned through the meat grinder with pickled beetroot , pickled cucumbers and possibly herring (according to some recipes also streaky bacon) . Nowadays, onions often don't belong in the porridge anymore, but are served as a side dish. If fish is used, salted herring or stockfish are sometimes added instead of herring . Then the mass is steamed in lard and cooked through with the cucumber water or the cooking broth. Finally, cooked and mashed potatoes or mashed potatoes are stirred in. Labskaus is usually served garnished with roll mops or Bismarck herring , fried egg and pickles.
German Labskaus essentially consists of boiled potatoes , cucumbers, corned beef or cured meat, all mashed and mixed, and served with matjes or rollmops , onions , beetroot and fried eggs. Instead of corned beef or salted meat, fresh minced beef can also be used. There are different recipes in many regions and in other countries.
In addition to numerous recipe variations in detail, there are also bigger differences such as the Mecklenburg Labskaus , which contains neither fish, cucumber and beetroot, or the Danish Labskaus (also Skipperlabskovs or Gammel Danske Kaus ), in which not only the cured meat is made up of fresh beef or pork replaced, but this is only diced, but not crushed further. It is served on thin slices of mixed bread . Norwegian Labskaus, on the other hand, contains potatoes and salted meat, root vegetables and turnips and is thus reminiscent of a thick potato soup.
The refined variant with beetroot, fresh meat and other ingredients can be found on many menus of traditional and home-style restaurants in Schleswig-Holstein (especially in the Danish border area), Bremen , Hamburg and northern Lower Saxony .
The Scouse from Liverpool is more like a stew , similar to the Irish Irish stew . It usually contains beef or lamb on the bone, slowly cooked with potatoes, onions, root vegetables, and often pearl barley . The dish is refined with pickled red cabbage or beetroot.
literature
- Tom Dieck: Pottkieker. 50 classic north German dishes with a history . Koehler, Hamburg 2013, ISBN 978-3-7822-1079-9 , pp. 12-13 .
Web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b Eric Partridge: A Dictionary of Slang and unconventional English. Colloquialisms and Catch Phrases, fossilized Jokes and Puns, general Nicknames, Vulgarisms and such Americanisms as have been naturalized. 8th edition. Routledge & Kegan Paul, London a. a. 1984, ISBN 0-7100-9820-0 , Lobscouse .
- ^ Johann Christian Fick: Complete English-German and German-English lexicon . First volume. Johann Jacob Palm, Erlangen 1802, p. 362 ( online ).
- ^ Richard Wossidlo : Journey, Quartier, in Gottesnaam. Low German seaman's life in the time of sailing (= Hinstorff-Bökerie . Vol. 10, ZDB -ID 1166820-9 ). 9th edition. Hinstorff-Verlag, Rostock 1980, p. 108.
- ^ Alan Davidson : The Oxford Companion to Food . 2nd edition, edited by Tom Jaine. Oxford University Press, Oxford u. a. 2006, ISBN 0-19-280681-5 , Lobscouse.
- ↑ Konrad Reich , Martin Pagel: sky broom over white dogs. Words and idioms, stories and anecdotes. A reading book for half-men and grown-ups who want to get clearer terms from the ship's people and sea creatures, brought into conversation and explained . Transpress, Berlin 1981, p. 355, ISBN 3-86167-030-5 .
- ↑ Helmut Hanke , Seemann, Tod und Teufel , p. 161
- ↑ Petra Foede: Hot porridge with egg . Spiegel Online , August 27, 2010
- ↑ a b Eckhard Supp : Duden. Dictionary culinary arts. From amuse-bouche to decorative snow . Dudenverlag, Mannheim a. a. 2011, ISBN 978-3-411-70392-0 , Chapter: Regional dishes in German-speaking countries , p. 91 .