Kringle (, ) is a

Northern European The northern region of Europe has several definitions. A restrictive definition may describe Northern Europe as being roughly north of the southern coast of the Baltic Sea, which is about 54°N, or may be based on other geographical factors ...

pastry Pastry is baked food made with a dough of flour, water and shortening (solid fats, including butter or lard) that may be savoury or sweetened. Sweetened pastries are often described as '' bakers' confectionery''. The word "pastries" suggests ...

, a variety of

pretzel A pretzel (), from German pronunciation, standard german: Breze(l) ( and French / Alsatian: ''Bretzel'') is a type of baked bread made from dough that is commonly shaped into a knot. The traditional pretzel shape is a distinctive symmetrical f ...

. Pretzels were introduced by Roman Catholic monks in the 13th century in

Denmark ) , song = ( en, "King Christian stood by the lofty mast") , song_type = National and royal anthem , image_map = EU-Denmark.svg , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of Denmark , establish ...

, and from there they spread throughout Scandinavia and evolved into several kinds of sweet, salty or filled pastries, all in the shape of kringle. In Danish and

Norwegian Norwegian, Norwayan, or Norsk may refer to: *Something of, from, or related to Norway, a country in northwestern Europe * Norwegians, both a nation and an ethnic group native to Norway * Demographics of Norway *The Norwegian language, including ...

, the word is ''kringle'', plural ''kringler''; et, kringel, plural ''kringlid''; lv, kliņģeris, plural ''kliņģeri''; sv, kringla, plural ''kringlor''; fi, rinkeli; german: Kringel and Icelandic: ''kringla''. The word originates from the

Old Norse Old Norse, Old Nordic, or Old Scandinavian, is a stage of development of North Germanic dialects before their final divergence into separate Nordic languages. Old Norse was spoken by inhabitants of Scandinavia and their overseas settlement ...

''kringla'', meaning ring or circle. Viipurinrinkeli22

In the

Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

, a particular type of sweet kringle is well known under the

Dutch Dutch commonly refers to: * Something of, from, or related to the Netherlands * Dutch people () * Dutch language () Dutch may also refer to: Places * Dutch, West Virginia, a community in the United States * Pennsylvania Dutch Country People E ...

name ''krakeling''. The shape of the kringle has given name to a similarly entangled feature found in some

protein Proteins are large biomolecules and macromolecules that comprise one or more long chains of amino acid residues. Proteins perform a vast array of functions within organisms, including catalysing metabolic reactions, DNA replication, res ...

s, the so-called Kringle domain.

Scandinavia

In Denmark, ''kringle'' denotes the

-like knotted shape rather than the pretzel pastry type. Kringler may be made from

puff pastry Puff pastry, also known as ', is a flaky light pastry made from a laminated dough composed of dough (') and butter or other solid fat ('). The butter is put inside the dough (or vice versa), making a ' that is repeatedly folded and rolled out befo ...

(like

Danish pastry A Danish pastry ( da, wienerbrød ) sometimes shortened to just Danish, especially in American English) is a multilayered, laminated sweet pastry in the '' viennoiserie'' tradition. The concept was brought to Denmark by Austrian bakers, where th ...

) or

yeast Yeasts are eukaryotic, single-celled microorganisms classified as members of the fungus kingdom. The first yeast originated hundreds of millions of years ago, and at least 1,500 species are currently recognized. They are estimated to constit ...

dough, filled with

remonce Remonce is a cake-filling paste used in various traditional Danish pastries. It is made by creaming softened butter with sugar, and is sometimes flavoured with cinnamon (e.g. in cinnamon snails), cardamom, custard, marzipan, or almond paste ...

marzipan Marzipan is a confection consisting primarily of sugar, honey, and almond meal (ground almonds), sometimes augmented with almond oil or extract. It is often made into sweets; common uses are chocolate-covered marzipan and small marzipan imit ...

and

raisin A raisin is a dried grape. Raisins are produced in many regions of the world and may be eaten raw or used in cooking, baking, and brewing. In the United Kingdom, Ireland, New Zealand, and Australia, the word ''raisin'' is reserved for the ...

s, sprinkled with coarse sugar, nut flakes or icing. Other types of kringle in Scandinavia includes ''saltkringler'', which are small salty kringler - the Scandinavian equivalent of pretzels -, and ''kommenskringler'' which are half-hand-sized breads in the kringle shape, made from unsweetened yeast dough spiced with

caraway Caraway, also known as meridian fennel and Persian cumin (''Carum carvi''), is a biennial plant in the family Apiaceae, native to western Asia, Europe, and North Africa. Etymology The etymology of "caraway" is unclear. Caraway has been ...

seeds. ''Sukkerkringler'' are similar, but sweet pretzels, sprinkled with sugar instead of caraway. ''Fødselsdagskringler'' are a large sweet bread pretzel for birthday celebrations. ''Smørkringler'' are large crusty and sweet pretzels with a spread of butter on the backside. Smørkringler are not as popular nowadays. Kringler are pastries with a long history in Denmark, and are still popular items in modern Danish bakeries. Nowadays, kringle is usually made with only one crossing and not two, as in the original kringle and pretzel shape. Official homepage of the Baker's Guild of Copenhagen.

United States

In the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country Continental United States, primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., ...

, kringles are hand-rolled from Danish pastry dough (''wienerbrød'' dough) that has been rested overnight before shaping, filling, and baking. Many sheets of the flaky dough are layered, then shaped into an oval. After filling with fruit, nut, or other flavor combinations, the pastry is baked and iced.Marialisa Calta
"Fare of the country: Wisconsin, Danish Pastry With a Classic Twist"
''The New York Times'', July 9, 1989.

Racine, Wisconsin Racine ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Racine County, Wisconsin, United States. It is located on the shore of Lake Michigan at the mouth of the Root River. Racine is situated 22 miles (35 km) south of Milwaukee and approximately 60 ...

, has historically been a center of Danish-American culture and kringle-making. A typical Racine–made kringle is a large flat oval measuring approximately 14 inches by 10 inches and weighing about 1.5 pounds. The kringle became the official state pastry of

Wisconsin Wisconsin () is a state in the upper Midwestern United States. Wisconsin is the 25th-largest state by total area and the 20th-most populous. It is bordered by Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake M ...

on June 30, 2013. A Wisconsin distillery in

Middleton, Wisconsin Middleton is a city in Dane County, Wisconsin, United States, and a suburb of the state capital, Madison. Middleton's motto is "The Good Neighbor City." The population was 21,827 at the 2020 census. In 2007, Middleton was chosen as the best pl ...

, makes a kringle cream liqueur from Wisconsin cream, rum, sugar, and natural kringle flavor. In other parts of the United States, kringle may refer to a slightly sweet buttermilk cookie shaped like a pretzel or figure eight. Other places where kringles may be found in the United States include the Ballard area of

Seattle Seattle ( ) is a seaport city on the West Coast of the United States. It is the seat of King County, Washington. With a 2020 population of 737,015, it is the largest city in both the state of Washington and the Pacific Northwest region o ...

, Washington;

Redmond, Washington Redmond is a city in King County, Washington, United States, located east of Seattle. The population was 73,256 at the 2020 census, up from 54,144 in 2010. Redmond is best known as the home of Microsoft and Nintendo of America. With an ann ...

;

Solvang, California Solvang (; ) is a city in Santa Barbara County, California. It is located in the Santa Ynez Valley. The population was 6,126 at the 2020 census, up from 5,245 at the 2010 census. Solvang was founded in 1911 and incorporated as a city on May ...

; central Iowa, specifically Story City, IA; Burr Ridge, Illinois; Springfield, Missouri, and

Watertown, Massachusetts Watertown is a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, and is part of Greater Boston. The population was 35,329 in the 2020 census. Its neighborhoods include Bemis, Coolidge Square, East Watertown, Watertown Square, and the West End. Waterto ...

. In 2005, Dana College in

Blair, Nebraska Blair is a city in and the county seat of Washington County, Nebraska, United States. The population was 7,990 at the 2010 census. History Blair was platted in 1869 when the Sioux City and Pacific Railroad was extended to that point. It was ...

, held a Kringle Kontest, which was won by Kirsten's Danish Bakery in Burr Ridge, Illinois.

Symbolism

Baker's

guild A guild ( ) is an association of artisans and merchants who oversee the practice of their craft/trade in a particular area. The earliest types of guild formed as organizations of tradesmen belonging to a professional association. They sometim ...

s in

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...

have used the kringle or pretzel as a symbol for centuries. It is told (but currently unconfirmed by historic documents), that when Vienna was besieged by the Turkish Ottoman armies in 1529, local bakers working in the night gave the city defence an early warning of the attacking enemy. For this, they were later rewarded by the

Pope The pope ( la, papa, from el, πάππας, translit=pappas, 'father'), also known as supreme pontiff ( or ), Roman pontiff () or sovereign pontiff, is the bishop of Rome (or historically the patriarch of Rome), head of the worldwide Cathol ...

, with permission to use a crown as part of their kringle guild symbol. For unknown reasons, the guild in Denmark is now the only baker's guild in the world with official authority to display a royal crown as part of their baker's guild trade symbol that is often hung outside of bakery shops. Official homepage of the association of Bakers and Confectioners in Denmark.

References

External links

{{pastries Danish pastries Estonian cuisine Norwegian cuisine Cuisine of Wisconsin Cuisine of the Midwestern United States Pretzels

Scandinavia

United States

Symbolism

See also

References

External links