Haddekuche is a traditional pastry made in

Frankfurt Frankfurt, officially Frankfurt am Main (; Hessian: , " Frank ford on the Main"), is the most populous city in the German state of Hesse. Its 791,000 inhabitants as of 2022 make it the fifth-most populous city in Germany. Located on it ...

Hesse Hesse (, , ) or Hessia (, ; german: Hessen ), officially the State of Hessen (german: links=no, Land Hessen), is a state in Germany. Its capital city is Wiesbaden, and the largest urban area is Frankfurt. Two other major historic cities are Dar ...

;

Rhenish Hesse Rhenish Hesse or Rhine HesseDickinson, Robert E (1964). ''Germany: A regional and economic geography'' (2nd ed.). London: Methuen, p. 542. . (german: Rheinhessen) is a region and a former government district () in the German state of Rhineland- ...

; and other parts of South Hessen,

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 ...

. It closesly resembles a diamond-shaped gingerbread with a diamond-themed pattern imprinted on the pastry itself. The word "Haddekuche" is

Hessian dialect Hessian (german: Hessisch) is a West Central German group of dialects of the German language in the central German state of Hesse. The dialect most similar to Hessian is Palatinate German (german: Pfälzisch, links=no) of the Rhine Franconian su ...

for Standard German ''harter Kuchen'' meaning "hard cake". This is most likely because it tends to dry relatively quickly and then become very hard. Haddekuche has often been made and produced in Frankfurt by pretzel vendors that roam the ''

Apfelwein ''Apfelwein'' ( German, 'apple wine'), or ''Viez'' ( Moselfranken, Saarland, Trier, ''vice'') or ''Most'' ( Austria, Switzerland, South Germany, ''must'') are German words for cider. It is made from a mix of sour tasting apples, such as "Bohn ...

'' bars in the city (primarily in

Sachsenhausen Sachsenhausen () or Sachsenhausen-Oranienburg was a German Nazi concentration camp in Oranienburg, Germany, used from 1936 until April 1945, shortly before the defeat of Nazi Germany in May later that year. It mainly held political prisoners ...

Heddernheim Heddernheim is a quarter of Frankfurt am Main, Germany. It is part of the '' Ortsbezirk Nord-West'' and is subdivided into the ''Stadtbezirke'' Heddernheim-Ost and Heddernheim-West. History Antiquity The Roman town of Nida (Roman town) was situ ...

, and Niederursel) and other parts of the region, but availability of the pastry has diminished considerably over the years and some claim the pastry has almost gone extinct. One of the few bakeries left selling the pastry claims they only sell 30 of them a month across two branches, mostly to tourists. The diamond pattern on the pastry closely resembles the pattern of another item strongly associated with Hessen—the Geripptes drinking glass for Apfelwein. Owing to the baking process and the need to protect the pastry from damage during transport, the edges of the pastry are rounded. The pastry is also featured in the popular 1980s song ("the Hessians are coming!") by the Rodgau Monotones, in which they jokingly compare many Hessian delicacies such as Handkäse with more typical German cuisine. Another use for the pastry is as a form of thickening agent in sauces with dishes such as

Sauerbraten Sauerbraten is a traditional German roast of heavily marinated meat. It is regarded as a national dish of Germany, and is frequently served in German-style restaurants internationally. It can be prepared from a variety of meats, most often from ...

Literature

* Rita Hens: ''Frankfurt: Reisen mit Insider-Tipps''. Marco Lolo Verlag, Lonely Planet 2014.

References

{{pastries Hessian cuisine German pastries Culture in Frankfurt