Salzburger Nockerl (pl.,

Austro-Bavarian Bavarian (german: Bairisch , Bavarian: ''Boarisch'') or alternately Austro-Bavarian, is a West Germanic language, part of the Upper German family, together with Alemannic and East Franconian. Bavarian is spoken by approximately 12 million peop ...

: ''Soizbuaga Noggal'') are a sweet

soufflé A soufflé is a baked egg-based dish originating in France in the early eighteenth century. Combined with various other ingredients, it can be served as a savory main dish or sweetened as a dessert. The word soufflé is the past participle of t ...

served as a

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 ...

, a culinary specialty in the

Austria Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...

n city of

Salzburg Salzburg (, ; literally "Salt-Castle"; bar, Soizbuag, label=Bavarian language, Austro-Bavarian) is the List of cities and towns in Austria, fourth-largest city in Austria. In 2020, it had a population of 156,872. The town is on the site of the ...

Recipe

The sweet soufflé is made from

egg yolk Among animals which produce eggs, the yolk (; also known as the vitellus) is the nutrient-bearing portion of the egg whose primary function is to supply food for the development of the embryo. Some types of egg contain no yolk, for example bec ...

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 ...

sugar Sugar is the generic name for sweet-tasting, soluble carbohydrates, many of which are used in food. Simple sugars, also called monosaccharides, include glucose, fructose, and galactose. Compound sugars, also called disaccharides or double ...

, and

vanilla Vanilla is a spice derived from orchids of the genus ''Vanilla (genus), Vanilla'', primarily obtained from pods of the Mexican species, flat-leaved vanilla (''Vanilla planifolia, V. planifolia''). Pollination is required to make the p ...

(or vanilla sugar), mixed into a dough. Next,

egg white Egg white is the clear liquid (also called the albumen or the glair/glaire) contained within an egg. In chickens it is formed from the layers of secretions of the anterior section of the hen's oviduct during the passage of the egg. It forms arou ...

and granulated sugar are whisked into a

meringue Meringue (, ; ) is a type of dessert or candy, often associated with Swiss, French, Polish and Italian cuisines, traditionally made from whipped egg whites and sugar, and occasionally an acidic ingredient such as lemon, vinegar, or cream of ...

until soft peaks form and then mixed into the dough with spatula. Finally, dumplings (''Nocken'',

diminutive A diminutive is a root word that has been modified to convey a slighter degree of its root meaning, either to convey the smallness of the object or quality named, or to convey a sense of intimacy or endearment. A (abbreviated ) is a word-formati ...

: ''Nockerl'', cf.

Gnocchi Gnocchi ( , , ; singular ''gnocco'') are a varied family of dumpling in Italian cuisine. They are made of small lumps of dough most traditionally composed of a simple combination of wheat flour, egg, salt, and potato. Variations of the dish supp ...

) of the mixture are baked in an oven until lightly brown on the outside (10-12 minutes). Salzburger Nockerl are always freshly prepared and served warm with powdered sugar, sometimes with a

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 ...

sauce or any other fruit spread layered on the bottom of the soufflé. Though traditionally a dessert, the dish is filling enough to eat as a main course.

Cultural significance

Although presumably derived from French soufflé dishes, Salzburger Nockerl, like

Kaiserschmarrn ''Kaiserschmarrn'' or ''Kaiserschmarren'' (Emperor's Mess) is a lightly sweetened pancake that takes its name from the Austrian emperor (Kaiser) Franz Joseph I of Austria, Franz Joseph I, who was fond of this fluffy shredded pancake. It is serv ...

Apple strudel Apple strudel (german: Apfelstrudel; cz, štrúdl; Yiddish: שטרודל) is a traditional Viennese strudel, a popular pastry in Austria, Bavaria, the Czech Republic, Northern Italy, Slovenia, and other countries in Europe that once belonged to ...

, has become an icon of

Austrian cuisine Austrian cuisine () is a style of cuisine native to Austria and composed of influences from Central Europe and throughout the former Austria-Hungary, Austro-Hungarian Empire. Austrian cuisine is most often associated with Viennese cuisine, but th ...

. Legend has it that the dish was invented by

Salome Alt Salome Alt (21 November 1568 – 27 June 1633), was the mistress to Wolf Dietrich von Raitenau, reigning Prince-Archbishop of Salzburg, from about 1593 until 1617. Life Born in Salzburg, Salome was the daughter of the merchant and city councill ...

(1568–1633), the concubine of Prince-Archbishop

Wolf Dietrich Raitenau Wolf Dietrich von Raitenau (26 March 1559 – 16 January 1617) was Prince-Archbishop of Salzburg from 1587 to 1612. Life Raitenau was born at Hofen Castle in Lochau, near Bregenz in Further Austria, the son of the Habsburg colonel Hans Werne ...

in the early 17th century. In any case, the golden dumplings represent Salzburg's

Baroque The Baroque (, ; ) is a style of architecture, music, dance, painting, sculpture, poetry, and other arts that flourished in Europe from the early 17th century until the 1750s. In the territories of the Spanish and Portuguese empires including t ...

atmosphere left by the territorial prince, whose life of dissipation came to an end when his

archbishopric In church governance, a diocese or bishopric is the ecclesiastical district under the jurisdiction of a bishop. History In the later organization of the Roman Empire, the increasingly subdivided provinces were administratively associate ...

was challenged by the Bavarian neighbours. They are supposed to represent the hillsides surrounding the city centre:

Gaisberg The Gaisberg is, at above sea level, a mountain to the east of Salzburg, Austria. It belongs to Salzkammergut Mountains, a range of the Northern Limestone Alps. The mountain is one of the Salzburg ''Hausberge'', a recreational area offering views ...

Mönchsberg The Mönchsberg, at above sea level, is one of five mountains in the Salzburg, city of Salzburg in Austria. It flanks the western side of Altstadt Salzburg, Salzburg's historic city centre, and forms part of the Historic Centre of the City of Sal ...

and

Kapuzinerberg Kapuzinerberg is a hill on the eastern bank of the Salzach river in the city of Salzburg in Austria, which rises to an elevation of . It is located to the south of Salzburg's historic city centre, and forms part of the city's UNESCO World Heri ...

. The dusting of powdered sugar resembles the snow-covered peaks.germanfood.about.com ''Salzburger Nockerln''
/ref>

Fred Raymond Fred Raymond aka Raimund Friedrich Vesely (20 April 1900 – 10 January 1954) was an Austrian composer. Raymond, born in Vienna, was the third child (after two daughters) of Vinzenz Vesely, an employee of the Austrian state railway system, ...

(1900–1954) composed in 1938 an operetta called ''Saison in Salzburg - Salzburger Nockerln'' (Season in Salzburg - Salzburger Nockerln). In this composition the sweet dumplings are praised as “''Süß wie die Liebe und zart wie ein Kuss''” (meaning ''Sweet as love and tender as a kiss'' in German). The character David Slater reminisces about the dish cooked by his ex-wife in the 1953 film ''

Die Jungfrau auf dem Dach ''Die Jungfrau auf dem Dach'' (English translation: "The Virgin on the Roof") is a 1953 American comedy film produced and directed by Otto Preminger. The screenplay by Carl Zuckmayer is a German language translation of the script for ''The Moon Is ...

''.

References

* Nicole Stich, ''Delicious Days'' (2008) {{Refend

External links

Salzburger Nockerln
entry in the traditional food register of the Austrian Federal Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry, Environment and Water Management
''7 eggs and a lot of air - Salzburger Nockerl''
Bavarian cuisine Austrian desserts Custard desserts Egg dishes Meringue desserts