Palatschinke (or palaccinka, plural palatschinken) is a thin crêpe-like variety of

pancake A pancake (or hotcake, griddlecake, or flapjack) is a flat cake, often thin and round, prepared from a Starch, starch-based batter (cooking), batter that may contain eggs, milk and butter and cooked on a hot surface such as a griddle or fryi ...

Greco-Roman The Greco-Roman civilization (; also Greco-Roman culture; spelled Graeco-Roman in the Commonwealth), as understood by modern scholars and writers, includes the geographical regions and countries that culturally—and so historically—were di ...

origin. While the

dessert Dessert is a course (food), course that concludes a meal. The course consists of sweet foods, such as confections, and possibly a beverage such as dessert wine and liqueur. In some parts of the world, such as much of Greece and West Africa, and ...

is most common in South and West Slavic countries, it is also generally known in other parts of

Central Central is an adjective usually referring to being in the center of some place or (mathematical) object. Central may also refer to: Directions and generalised locations * Central Africa, a region in the centre of Africa continent, also known as ...

and Eastern Europe. Names of the dish include ''palaçinka'' (

Albanian Albanian may refer to: *Pertaining to Albania in Southeast Europe; in particular: **Albanians, an ethnic group native to the Balkans **Albanian language **Albanian culture **Demographics of Albania, includes other ethnic groups within the country ...

), ''Palatschinke'' (pl. ''Palatschinken'') ( Austrian German), ''palačinka'' (pl. ''palačinke'') ( Bosnian,

Croatian Croatian may refer to: * Croatia *Croatian language *Croatian people *Croatians (demonym) See also * * * Croatan (disambiguation) * Croatia (disambiguation) * Croatoan (disambiguation) * Hrvatski (disambiguation) * Hrvatsko (disambiguation) * S ...

, Montenegrin, Slovene), ''palacinka'' ( Slovak), ''palačinka'' ( Czech), ''палачинка'' ( Bulgarian,

Macedonian Macedonian most often refers to someone or something from or related to Macedonia. Macedonian(s) may specifically refer to: People Modern * Macedonians (ethnic group), a nation and a South Slavic ethnic group primarily associated with North M ...

Serbian Serbian may refer to: * someone or something related to Serbia, a country in Southeastern Europe * someone or something related to the Serbs, a South Slavic people * Serbian language * Serbian names See also

* * * Old Serbian (disambiguat ...

), ''налисник'' ( Ukrainian), '' naleśnik'' ( Polish), ''clătite'' ( Romanian), ''palacinta'' or ''palacinca'' ( Italian) and ''palacsinta'' ( Hungarian).

History and etymology

The dish is of

origin.. In 350 BCE, the ancient Greek poets Archestratos and Antiphanes first mentioned ''plakous''. Cato the Elder's short work '' De agri cultura'' ("On Farming") from about 160 BC includes an elaborate recipe for ''placenta''. Palatschinke still bears the same name of its Greek and Roman ancestors. The origin of the name comes from the Latin word '' placenta'', which in turn is derived from the Greek word ''plakous'' for thin or layered flat breads. The name of the dish has followed a track of borrowing across several languages of Central and Southeastern Europe; the dish originates from the Roman era of Central Europe and the Austrian- German term ''palatschinke(n)'' is deemed to have been borrowed from Czech ''palačinka'', that in turn from Hungarian ''palacsinta'', and that in turn from Romanian '' plăcintă'' (a cake, a pie), where it ultimately derives from Latin '' placenta''. According to the ''Hungarian Ethnographic Encyclopedia'', the Hungarian word ''palacsinta'' is an Italian loanword. ''Palačinka'' is also the name in most West and South Slavic languages ( Slovak ''palacinka'', Bosnian, Bulgarian, Czech,

, Montenegrin,

* * * Old Serbian (disambiguat ...

, Slovenian ''palačinka'', ''палачинка''). In Polish, the equivalent is called a '' naleśnik'', in Ukrainian ''налисник'' (''nalysnyk'') or ''млинець'' ('' mlynec''), in Russian ''налистник'' (''nalistnik'') or ''блинчик'' ('' blinchik''), in Romanian ''clătită''.

Versions

Central European palatschinken (''palačeke'') are thin pancakes similar to the French '' crêpe''. The main difference between the French and Central European version of the dish is that the mixture for palatschinken can be used straight away unlike that of crepes which is suggested to be left at rest for several hours. Palatschinken are made by creating a batter from eggs, wheat flour, milk, and salt and frying it in a pan with butter or oil. Unlike thicker types of pancakes, palatschinken are usually served with different types of fillings and eaten for lunch or dinner. Palatschinken are traditionally rolled with

apricot An apricot (, ) is a fruit, or the tree that bears the fruit, of several species in the genus ''Prunus''. Usually, an apricot is from the species '' P. armeniaca'', but the fruits of the other species in ''Prunus'' sect. ''Armeniaca'' are also ...

strawberry The garden strawberry (or simply strawberry; ''Fragaria × ananassa'') is a widely grown hybrid species of the genus '' Fragaria'', collectively known as the strawberries, which are cultivated worldwide for their fruit. The fruit is widely ap ...

, or

plum A plum is a fruit of some species in ''Prunus'' subg. ''Prunus'.'' Dried plums are called prunes. History Plums may have been one of the first fruits domesticated by humans. Three of the most abundantly cultivated species are not found i ...

jam, and sprinkled with

confectioner's sugar Powdered sugar, also called confectioners' sugar, or icing sugar, is a finely ground sugar produced by milling granulated sugar into a powdered state. It usually contains between 2% and 5% of an anti-caking agent – such as corn starch, po ...

. A variety of fruit sauces (like apple sauce), or thick fruit butters called '' lekvar'' (

, prune,

raspberry The raspberry is the edible fruit of a multitude of plant species in the genus ''Rubus'' of the rose family, most of which are in the subgenus '' Idaeobatus''. The name also applies to these plants themselves. Raspberries are perennial with w ...

cherry A cherry is the fruit of many plants of the genus ''Prunus'', and is a fleshy drupe (stone fruit). Commercial cherries are obtained from cultivars of several species, such as the sweet ''Prunus avium'' and the sour ''Prunus cerasus''. The nam ...

or sour cherry jam), lemon juice and sugar, chocolate sauce, hazelnut-chocolate cream ( Nutella), almonds, dried or fresh fruits, sweet cottage or

quark A quark () is a type of elementary particle and a fundamental constituent of matter. Quarks combine to form composite particles called hadrons, the most stable of which are protons and neutrons, the components of atomic nuclei. All commonly o ...

cheese and raisins,

cocoa powder Cocoa may refer to: Chocolate * Chocolate * ''Theobroma cacao'', the cocoa tree * Cocoa bean, seed of ''Theobroma cacao'' * Chocolate liquor, or cocoa liquor, pure, liquid chocolate extracted from the cocoa bean, including both cocoa butter and ...

poppy seed Poppy seed is an oilseed obtained from the opium poppy (''Papaver somniferum''). The tiny, kidney-shaped seeds have been harvested from dried seed pods by various civilizations for thousands of years. It is still widely used in many countries, ...

, are common modern ingredients. ''Rakott palacsinta'' are layered pancakes with sweet cottage cheese and raisins, jam and walnut layers between the pancakes, baked in the oven, comparable to the French ''

mille crêpes Mille can refer to: People * Constantin Mille, Romanian journalist and politician * Mathieu Mille, French ice hockey player Places * Mille Lacs County, Minnesota * Mille Lacs Lake in Minnesota. * Mille River, a tributary of the Awash River in ...

''.. A well-known Hungarian version of palatschinke is the

Gundel pancake A Gundel crêpe (original Gundel palacsinta) is a crêpe-like variety of pancake from Hungary. Overview The first Gundel crêpe was created and invented by Károly Gundel, who made the pancake with ground walnuts, raisins, and rum filling, serv ...

(''Gundel palacsinta''), made with ground walnuts, raisin, candied orange peel, cinnamon, and rum filling, served flambéed in dark chocolate sauce made with egg yolks, heavy cream, and cocoa. Palatschinken may also be eaten unsweetened as a main course, such as a meat-filled

Hortobágyi palacsinta ''Hortobágyi palacsinta'' is a savoury Hungarian crepe, filled with meat (usually veal). The meat is prepared as a stew; the meat is fried with onions and spices like the ''pörkölt'' or the ''chicken paprikash'' dish, using veal, veal with ...

. They may also be eaten plain, filled with cheeses, or vegetables such as mushroom,

spinach Spinach (''Spinacia oleracea'') is a leafy green flowering plant native to central and western Asia. It is of the order Caryophyllales, family Amaranthaceae, subfamily Chenopodioideae. Its leaves are a common edible vegetable consumed either f ...

or sauerkraut, topped with sour cream, or cut into thin strips, called ''

Flädle Flädle is a southern Germany, German garnish and soup ingredient from the region of Swabia consisting of savory pancakes, cut into ribbons.

'' in Germany′s and

Switzerland ). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...

's Alemannic dialects and ''Frittaten'' in Austria. ''Flädle''/''Frittaten'' are used in ''Frittaten'' soup – pancake strips served in clear broth.

References

Citations

Sources

* * * * * * *

External links

Kuvar online Gözleme ili turske palačinke
{{Pancakes Austrian cuisine Bosnia and Herzegovina cuisine Bulgarian cuisine Czech cuisine Hungarian cuisine Pancakes Romanian cuisine Serbian cuisine Slovak cuisine Articles containing video clips de:Eierkuchen#Mittel- und Osteuropa