BrenntarBarbara Ehlert: ''Getreide – die Grundlage unserer Zivilisation.'' I: ''Die Allgäuerin,'' 2010/3, S. 32/33
(PDF) or Habermus or Schwarzer Brei is a

Swabia Swabia ; german: Schwaben , colloquially ''Schwabenland'' or ''Ländle''; archaic English also Suabia or Svebia is a cultural, historic and linguistic region in southwestern Germany. The name is ultimately derived from the medieval Duchy of ...

staple food A staple food, food staple, or simply a staple, is a food that is eaten often and in such quantities that it constitutes a dominant portion of a standard diet for a given person or group of people, supplying a large fraction of energy needs and ...

stuff, particularly prominent in the

Swabian Jura The Swabian Jura (german: Schwäbische Alb , more rarely ), sometimes also named Swabian Alps in English, is a mountain range in Baden-Württemberg, Germany, extending from southwest to northeast and in width. It is named after the region of ...

and in the

Allgäu The Allgäu (Standard German: , also Allgovia) is a region in Swabia in southern Germany. It covers the south of Bavarian Swabia, southeastern Baden-Württemberg, and parts of Austria. The region stretches from the pre-alpine lands up to the A ...

. It is made of roasted

flour Flour is a powder made by grinding raw grains, roots, beans, nuts, or seeds. Flours are used to make many different foods. Cereal flour, particularly wheat flour, is the main ingredient of bread, which is a staple food for many culture ...

, usually

spelt Spelt (''Triticum spelta''), also known as dinkel wheat or hulled wheat, is a species of wheat that has been cultivated since approximately 5000 BC. Spelt was an important staple food in parts of Europe from the Bronze Age to medieval times. No ...

flour or

oat The oat (''Avena sativa''), sometimes called the common oat, is a species of cereal grain grown for its seed, which is known by the same name (usually in the plural, unlike other cereals and pseudocereals). While oats are suitable for human con ...

flour. This kiln-dried flour is called ''Musmehl''. It is usually cooked like a

porridge Porridge is a food made by heating or boiling ground, crushed or chopped starchy plants, typically grain, in milk or water. It is often cooked or served with added flavourings such as sugar, honey, (dried) fruit or syrup to make a sweet cereal, ...

with water and milk. The name ''Brenntar'' means "burned porridge", and ''Schwarzer Brei'' means "black porridge". If roasted correctly, however, Brenntar is brown, but if roasted for too long in the drying

kiln A kiln is a thermally insulated chamber, a type of oven, that produces temperatures sufficient to complete some process, such as hardening, drying, or chemical changes. Kilns have been used for millennia to turn objects made from clay int ...

it can turn black.

History

It is written in the ''Schwäbisches Wörterbuch'' that in 1540 the population on the Swabian Jura was saved from starvation by Brenntar and

Hildegard of Bingen Hildegard of Bingen (german: Hildegard von Bingen; la, Hildegardis Bingensis; 17 September 1179), also known as Saint Hildegard and the Sibyl of the Rhine, was a German Benedictine abbess and polymath active as a writer, composer, philosopher ...

recommended Habermus for a healthy living. In the last decades, Brenntar had almost fallen into oblivion, but was rediscovered in the trend of conscious nutrition. Nowadays, Brenntar and the Musmehl have been included in the

Ark of Taste The Ark of Taste is an international catalogue of endangered heritage foods which is maintained by the global Slow Food movement. The Ark is designed to preserve at-risk foods that are sustainably produced, unique in taste, and part of a distin ...

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

, as "almost forgotten regional-type food" by the ''Slow Food Deutschland'' Organization.

Preparation

As a former

convenience food Convenience food, also called tertiary processed food, is food that is commercially prepared (often through processing) to optimise ease of consumption. Such food is usually ready to eat without further preparation. It may also be easily por ...

used on a daily basis, Brenntar is quite simple to prepare. Originally the Musmehl was cooked in water only, spiced with salt. Today, there are different recipes for Habermus, for example, mixed with vegetables or sweetened with fruit.

References

External links

* Source: ''Brenntar'' on Alemannic Wikipedia
Petra Schöbel: ''Kochen nach alten Rezepten: Schmeckt wie früher bei der Oma''
(Reutlinger Generalanzeiger)
Monika Löffler: ''Habermus gibt einen starken Fuß – die Geschichte vom Schwarzen Brei
German cuisine Swabian cuisine Staple foods Porridges Cereal dishes

History

Preparation

See also

References

Further reading

External links