Berner Honiglebkuchen are ''

Lebkuchen (), or , are a honey-sweetened German cake molded cookie or bar cookie that has become part of Germany's Christmas traditions. It is similar to gingerbread. Etymology The etymology of ''Leb-'' in the term ''Lebkuchen'' is uncertain. Pro ...

'' traditionally made in

Berne german: Berner(in)french: Bernois(e) it, bernese , neighboring_municipalities = Bremgarten bei Bern, Frauenkappelen, Ittigen, Kirchlindach, Köniz, Mühleberg, Muri bei Bern, Neuenegg, Ostermundigen, Wohlen bei Bern, Zollikofen , website ...

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 ...

. Distinguished from other

by their sometimes elaborate sugar decorations, they are not to be confused with the ''

Berner Haselnusslebkuchen Berner Haselnusslebkuchen are ''Lebkuchen'' – traditional Christmas cakes – from Berne, Switzerland. Made from ground hazelnuts, they are not to be confused with the '' Berner Honiglebkuchen'', another Bernese specialty. Composition and pr ...

'', another Bernese specialty which is made from ground

hazelnut The hazelnut is the fruit of the hazel tree and therefore includes any of the nuts deriving from species of the genus ''Corylus'', especially the nuts of the species ''Corylus avellana''. They are also known as cobnuts or filberts according t ...

Composition and production

''Honiglebkuchen'' dough is made of

honey Honey is a sweet and viscous substance made by several bees, the best-known of which are honey bees. Honey is made and stored to nourish bee colonies. Bees produce honey by gathering and then refining the sugary secretions of plants (primar ...

, milk,

margarine Margarine (, also , ) is a spread used for flavoring, baking, and cooking. It is most often used as a substitute for butter. Although originally made from animal fats, most margarine consumed today is made from vegetable oil. The spread was orig ...

, flour and

potassium carbonate Potassium carbonate is the inorganic compound with the formula K2 CO3. It is a white salt, which is soluble in water. It is deliquescent, often appearing as a damp or wet solid. Potassium carbonate is mainly used in the production of soap and gl ...

(as

leavening agent In cooking, a leavening agent () or raising agent, also called a leaven () or leavener, is any one of a number of substances used in doughs and batters that cause a foaming action (gas bubbles) that lightens and softens the mixture. An alterna ...

), as well as a mixture of

spice A spice is a seed, fruit, root, bark, or other plant substance primarily used for flavoring or coloring food. Spices are distinguished from herbs, which are the leaves, flowers, or stems of plants used for flavoring or as a garnish. Spices a ...

s. The spice mixture is specific to each bakery – which is why it is said that no two ''Honiglebkuchen'' taste the same – but

coriander Coriander (;

anise Anise (; '), also called aniseed or rarely anix is a flowering plant in the family Apiaceae native to Eurasia. The flavor and aroma of its seeds have similarities with some other spices and herbs, such as star anise, fennel, licorice, and ta ...

star anise ''Illicium verum'' is a medium-sized evergreen tree native to northeast Vietnam and southwest China. A spice commonly called star anise, staranise, star anise seed, star aniseed, star of anise, Chinese star anise, or badian that closely resembl ...

cloves Cloves are the aromatic flower buds of a tree in the family Myrtaceae, ''Syzygium aromaticum'' (). They are native to the Maluku Islands (or Moluccas) in Indonesia, and are commonly used as a spice, flavoring or fragrance in consumer products, s ...

ginger Ginger (''Zingiber officinale'') is a flowering plant whose rhizome, ginger root or ginger, is widely used as a spice A spice is a seed, fruit, root, bark, or other plant substance primarily used for flavoring or coloring food. Spices ...

and

nutmeg Nutmeg is the seed or ground spice of several species of the genus ''Myristica''. ''Myristica fragrans'' (fragrant nutmeg or true nutmeg) is a dark-leaved evergreen tree cultivated for two spices derived from its fruit: nutmeg, from its seed, an ...

are commonly used. After a leavening period of four days, the dough is softened by rolling it, rolled out to a thickness of , and cut into the desired shape. Most ''Honiglebkuchen'' are rectangular, but round or heart-shaped forms are also used. The ''Lebkuchen'' are baked as dryly as possible at around for about 14 to 20 minutes. Immediately afterwards, they are given a shiny coat with a solution of

potato starch Potato starch is starch extracted from potatoes. The cells of the root tubers of the potato plant contain leucoplasts (starch grains). To extract the starch, the potatoes are crushed, and the starch grains are released from the destroyed cells. Th ...

in water, called ''Feculé''. The sugar decorations are traditionally applied manually by specialised confectioners using a triangular bag. The most popular motif is the

bear Bears are carnivoran mammals of the family Ursidae. They are classified as caniforms, or doglike carnivorans. Although only eight species of bears are extant, they are widespread, appearing in a wide variety of habitats throughout the Nor ...

, Berne's heraldic animal, which is shown in various scenes and poses, such as in the ''

Bärengraben The Bärengraben, or Bear Pit, is a tourist attraction in the Swiss capital city of Bern. It is a bear pit, or enclosure housing bears, situated at the eastern edge of the old city of Bern, next to the Nydeggbrücke and the River Aar. Although ...

''. Cheaper ''Lebkuchen'', such as the one pictured above, feature standardised decorations applied by template.

History

''Lebkuchen'' with honey and exotic spices were already made in medieval Swiss monasteries. A 16th-century recipe from

Lucerne Lucerne ( , ; High Alemannic German, High Alemannic: ''Lozärn'') or Luzern ()Other languages: gsw, Lozärn, label=Lucerne German; it, Lucerna ; rm, Lucerna . is a city in central Switzerland, in the Languages of Switzerland, German-speaking po ...

is already very similar to the contemporary recipe, except that fewer spices were used. In Berne, the ''Lebkuchen'' is first recorded in early 19th century cookbooks. The sugar decorations are believed to have come into general use some time after sugar manufactured from

mangelwurzel Mangelwurzel or mangold wurzel (from :de:Futterrübe, German ''Mangel/Mangold'', "chard" and ''Wurzel'', "root"), also called mangold,Wright, Clifford A. (2001) ''Mediterranean Vegetables: a cook's ABC of vegetables and their preparation in Spain ...

became widely affordable in the early 19th century, but around the turn of the 20th century at the latest. A baker's manual of 1946 records that "the embellishments ... are made according to a decades-old tradition" and that "the application of bears,

edelweiss EDELWEISS (Expérience pour DEtecter Les WIMPs En Site Souterrain) is a dark matter search experiment located at the Modane Underground Laboratory in France. The experiment uses cryogenic detectors, measuring both the phonon and ionization signals ...

, doves and so forth ... is and has always been a specialty and a point of pride of the Bernese confectioner." Together with their hazelnut counterpart, ''Honiglebkuchen'' are the signature product of Bernese bakers and are particularly popular in the December holiday season, as well as with tourists throughout the year. Recently, ''Honiglebkuchen'' whose decoration can be customised through Internet services have also become popular.

Consumption

Bakers recommend taking the ''Lebkuchen'' together with

café au lait ''Café au lait'' (; ; French for "coffee with milk") is coffee with hot milk added. It differs from white coffee, which is coffee with cold milk or other whiteners added. Variations Europe In Europe, ''café au lait'' stems from the same ...

, in which the cake can also be dunked to improve its flavour. If eaten in this manner, even ''Lebkuchen'' hardened by months of exposure to air remain appetizing.

References

Bibliography

* Spycher, Albert, Ostschweizer Lebkuchenbuch. St. Galler und Appenzeller Biber, Biberfladen und Verwandte, Appenzeller Verlag, Herisau, 2000. * Krauss, Irene, Chronik bildschöner Backwerke, Hugo Matthaes Druckerei und Verlag GmbH & Co. KG, Stuttgart, 1999. * Hansen, Hans Jürgen, Kunstgeschichte des Backwerks, Gerhard Stalling Verlag, Oldenburg, 1968. * Währen, Max, Hans Luginbühl, Bruno Heilinger et al., Lebkuchen einst und jetzt, Luzern, 1964.

Composition and production

History

Consumption

References

Bibliography

See also