Printen
Aachener Printen are a special type of brown gingerbread that has been baked in Aachen since around 1820 . The term “Printe”, on the other hand, existed much earlier and developed from the English “print” and the Dutch “prent”, a term that is also used in Öcher Platt and for “tool for pressing” or “indented image” or "Imprint" stands. The name refers to the use of artistically carved and printed wooden models into which the dough was embedded and pressed during the production of the then- shaped bread introduced in the 15th century .
Original Aachener Printen only include the Printen produced from around 1820 in the city of Aachen itself and in the neighboring towns of Alsdorf , Baesweiler , Eschweiler , Stolberg and Würselen according to a new recipe; they are certified as a product with a protected geographical indication . According to their original use, Aachener Printen actually belong to the group of seasonal baked goods for autumn and winter, but due to their popularity and for tourist reasons, they are now offered as year-round baked goods. They are not only used as baked goods, but also as an ingredient in hearty seasonal cuisine and as an addition to various foods.
prehistory
The production of gingerbread, also known as pepper, spice or honey cake , has been a tradition since ancient times. In some regions, such as Dinant , Belgium , the gingerbread was pressed into molds and sold under the name “Couques de Dinant” as so-called “Gebildbrot”, where it is still a well-known specialty of the Meuse city. Copper bats from this region, who from the 15th century settled with their families in the Aachen area for political and economic reasons, brought with them their tradition of making bread from gingerbread dough. From then on there were two baking variants of gingerbread biscuits in Aachen, on the one hand the historical sliced gingerbread and on the other hand the gingerbread variation now introduced and shaped with splendidly printed models, quasi the first "Printen", which were also hard as caramel when cooled due to the caramelization of the honey and had to be broken.
While the basic recipe of the dough consisted of flour, honey and various spices until around the beginning of the 18th century, honey was gradually being replaced by wild flower honey and cane sugar from overseas, as research on the cultivation of a high-yielding domestic sugar beet was not yet fully developed at that time were. However, the continental blockade by Napoléon from 1806 to 1814 meant that the mainland was cut off from the supply of sugar, which meant that the small amount of honey, as well as the now improved sugar beets, became valuable and expensive ingredients. As a result, some bakers and confectioners used the cheaper farin sugar and sugar beet syrup for their pastries .
development
But it was not until around 1820 that some Aachen bakers succeeded in using these ingredients to create stable baked goods that were coveted for their tart, sweet and delicate taste, completely without any fat such as butter or nut and almond flour. At the same time, the list of ingredients was changed by adding different cake spices, which led to the development of the first herb print. Since there were now two types of gingerbread, the original as a sliced gingerbread and Gebildbrot as well as the new darker herb printe sweetened with sugar beet syrup, a new name had to be found to differentiate it. Thereupon the name “Aachener Printe” established itself for the new creation, with which this could differentiate regionally from the products of the other and partly still experimental gingerbread bakers .
By using sugar beet syrup, the dough of this new variety was correspondingly coarser, tougher and more difficult to shape, which is why initially, as with its predecessors, the Couques de Dinant, only hard prints were made. This sluggish dough, which no longer ran, had the significant advantage that flat and slim cut prints could now easily be formed in the factory for mass production on metal sheets and, due to its firmness, this type was much better suited for shipping and thus opening up new sales markets. With a few product exceptions, this ultimately meant the end of the widespread production of Printen figures formed in models.
In the next decades there was a rapid further development of these Aachener Printen. With the drop in sugar prices from the 1830s onwards, the products became more varied again and they could, for example, be coated with a sugar icing, which led to the introduction of the so-called “Prinzessprinten”. In the 1850s, the dough could be given a loose texture by adding crumbly candies, and from the 1860s the confectioner Henry Lambertz finally succeeded in coating the Printen with liquid chocolate through more advanced chocolate processing. In the meantime, a higher proportion of honey could be used again, which made the dough smoother and, as a result, led to the production of soft pints. There were now three basic types of this biscuit, the herb, princess and chocolate print, which was offered as hard or soft print, mostly in the form of broken pieces, and more rarely as picture print. In addition, the introduction of steam engines ensured that these pastries were mass-produced in the factory.
The fame and popularity of the Aachener Printen led, among other things, to the fact that the Aachen baker and confectioner Henry Lambertz, who was already well-known at the time, was appointed purveyor to the court for the Belgian, Dutch and Prussian royal houses around 1870 . But other traditional companies such as the Aachener Printen- und Honigkuchenfabrik van Rey (founded 1833), the Nobis Printen bakery (1858), the Leo van den Daele confectionery (1890) and the Drouven (1896) and Klein (1912) bakeries expanded now their product range around Aachener Printen, whereby their products differ from each other only by variations in the mixture of spices and ingredients. It was not until much later, in the 1950s, that further additions to the previous product range came with the introduction of the chocolate juice print, the nut chocolate print and the nut juice print.
To this day, the Original Aachener Printen have an undisputed status far beyond the region due to the certification by the EU as a product with a protected geographical indication.
Print forms
Originally, religious motifs were often used as baking models. In the early 19th century, French and then Prussian soldiers' motifs determined the shape of the Printen. Similar to the humor of the Rhenish Carnival , one could, at least symbolically, bite off the head of the unloved occupiers. A museum compilation of numerous domestic and foreign historical Printen models in addition to waffle irons , Spekulatius figures and other antique furnishings can be found in the rooms of the old Aachen café and wine bars by Leo van den Daele in the vicinity of the Aachen town hall , which is also known in Aachen as the "Printenbaron".
Print model of the company Lambertz with a sun emblem, about 17th century
Printen model, 18th century
Printen model, 18th century
Printenformen, ca.1850
Printen model from the Nobis Printen bakery, late 19th century
Ingredients and nutritional values
The dough is made from flour, water and sweeteners without added fats of all kinds. As a sweetener for the dough are either mainly brown sugar, Krümelkandis sugar and syrup and honey and used as leavening agent mainly potash , originally Hirschhornsalz . The spice mixture consists of cinnamon , anise , cloves , cardamom , real coriander , allspice , but also orange peel , lemon peel and ginger , whereby the percentage of the seasoning mixture is a secret of the respective manufacturer.
Depending on the product, different glazes are selected for the topping , from simple sugar icing to a lush chocolate coating, as well as decorations with almond or nut chips. Simple herb prints have a physiological calorific value of around 1,465 kJ / 100 g (= 350 kcal / 100 g) with around 2 g fat, printen with sugar or chocolate coating or with nuts, almonds or the like have higher values.
The acrylamide content of the Printen resulting from the baking process is mostly below the signal values set as a benchmark in the products available on the market, whereby the values even tend to improve or at least to a harmless value by replacing the leavening agent staghorn salt and by gentle preparation have stabilized.
Uses in recipes and foods (selection)
The property of the herb print in its simple form, to dissolve in the brew when cooking and to spread the pleasant sweet-tart spicy taste, leads to the use in various mostly hearty dishes, which are mainly served in autumn and winter. For example, the Printen are part of the preparation of:
- Rhenish sauerbraten , where, in addition to raisins and turnip tops, they enhance the taste of the sauce
- Venison pepper with prunes and print sauce
- Leg of venison with print sauce
- as well as Printen parfaits in numerous variations, for example
- with spicy oranges or with black currant pulp with mousse au chocolat as a cold dessert specialty or
- with warm oranges as a hot and cold dessert or
- with mulled wine sabayon
Instead of the original Printen, an artificially produced Printen aroma is used as a distinctive characteristic in other foods and luxury foods. This is how it is, for example
- in the Aachener Printeneis or in the Printenbonbons from 1900 of a city-known candy specialist
- as an admixture in print tea on the basis of black or green tea
- as an admixture for Printen liver sausage and Printen pâté
- as an admixture in print tobacco for pipe smokers
- as the basis for the 35% Printen liqueur, which can also be made with fresh Printen
Aachen Printen as an identifier (selection)
The attachment of the Aacheners to their Printen is expressed in the naming of clubs, events and honors. So there are among others
- the carnival society “Oecher Prente 1988 e. V. "
- the “Printen Promenaders Aachen Square Dance Club e. V. “, founded in 1987
- the annual pre-Christmas "print shooting" of the Aachen rifle clubs
- the “Aachener Prenteschang” cabaret prize endowed with 5000 euros, donated by the Lambertz company and awarded by the “Aachener Heimattheater Bühnenfreunde 1947 e. V “for personalities who have successfully succeeded in bringing the peculiarities of a European region closer to a broad national public in a pointed and humorous way. Previous winners have included Wendelin Haverkamp (1995), Jürgen von der Lippe (1996), Hanns Dieter Hüsch (1997), De Höhner (1999), Konrad Beikircher (2001) and Bernd Stelter (2003)
- the bronze sculpture of the Printen girl , made in 1989 by Hubert Löneke , donated by Leo van den Daele, location Büchel-corner Körbergasse
- In addition, isolated sagas and novels refer to the Aachen Printen such as:
- The Printen Connection, a mystery thriller by Carsten Berg with a local color
literature
- Karl F. Kittelberger: Lebkuchen and Aachener Printen - History of a very strange pastry. Meyer & Meyer, Aachen 1988, ISBN 3-89124-069-4 .
- Werner Setting: The Aachen Printenbrevier. 3rd, revised edition. Meyer & Meyer, Aachen 2009, ISBN 978-3-89899-334-0 . (google online, extracts)
Individual evidence
- ↑ Definition of terms, printing on wiktionary
- ↑ Aachener Printen in the Database of Origin and Registration (DOOR) of the European Union
- ↑ Couques de Dinant
- ↑ Printen model in the wood museum online
- ↑ Old Aachen café-parlors Van den Daele
- ↑ Acrylamide values from the consumer advice center
- ↑ Recipe Aachener Sauerbraten with Printen , accessed on December 26, 2019
- ↑ Deer pepper with prunes and print sauce ( Memento from January 9, 2012 in the Internet Archive )
- ↑ Leg of venison with print sauce
- ↑ Printen parfait with mousse au chocolat
- ↑ Printen Parfait with warm oranges
- ^ Parfait from Aachener Printen with mulled wine sabayon
- ↑ Printen liqueur
- ↑ The award "Prenteschang" ( Memento from February 10, 2013 in the web archive archive.today )
- ↑ The previous winners ( Memento from February 10, 2013 in the web archive archive.today )
- ^ Carsten Berg: The Printen Connection. Emons-Verlag, Cologne 1998, ISBN 3-89705-119-2 .
