The Bündner Nusstorte (Graubünden nut pastry), also known as Engadiner Nusstorte, is a traditional sweet, caramelised nut-filled pastry (generally

walnut A walnut is the edible seed of any tree of the genus '' Juglans'' (family Juglandaceae), particularly the Persian or English walnut, '' Juglans regia''. They are accessory fruit because the outer covering of the fruit is technically an i ...

) from canton Graubünden in

Switzerland Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a landlocked country located in west-central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the south, France to the west, Germany to the north, and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east. Switzerland ...

. The modern filled Nusstorte was first widely available in the 1960s though it was invented in the 1920s.

History

While there are recipes for ''Nusstorte'' from the 19th century, they are different from the modern ''Nusstorte''. These pastries contained nuts mixed into a dough, but were not filled. The modern, filled ''Nusstorte'' was developed by an

Engadin The Engadin or Engadine (;This is the name in the two Romansh idioms that are spoken in the Engadin, Vallader and Puter, as well as in Sursilvan and Rumantsch Grischun. In Surmiran, the name is ''Nagiadegna'', and in Sutsilvan, it is ''Gidegna'' ...

(a region in Graubünden) baker named Fausto Pult in 1926. In 1934 he sold the pastries at the '' Mustermesse'' in

Basel Basel ( ; ), also known as Basle ( ), ; ; ; . is a city in northwestern Switzerland on the river Rhine (at the transition from the High Rhine, High to the Upper Rhine). Basel is Switzerland's List of cities in Switzerland, third-most-populo ...

, which introduced them to the wider world. Because the climate in Graubünden is too cold for nut trees to thrive, the origin of nuts in their pastries is subject to some debate. One theory is that a baker, who had lived in France, brought nut trees back with him which he was able to plant in Val Bregaglia. Another theory, that comes up often in the literature, is that the traditional

shortcrust pastry Shortcrust is a type of pastry often used for the base of a tart, quiche, pie, or (in the British English sense) flan. Shortcrust pastry can be used to make both sweet and savory pies such as apple pie, quiche, lemon meringue or chicken pie. ...

''Fuatscha Grassa'' was crossed with a French nut pastry by confectioners from Graubünden living in France. When they returned to Graubünden, the idea was brought along. A third theory is that during the Middle Ages many confectioners from Graubünden moved to

Venice Venice ( ; ; , formerly ) is a city in northeastern Italy and the capital of the Veneto Regions of Italy, region. It is built on a group of 118 islands that are separated by expanses of open water and by canals; portions of the city are li ...

and for 300 years specialized in sweets. When they were expelled in 1766, the Graubünden confectioners traveled around Europe before many of them settled back in Graubünden. The idea of nut pastries could have easily come from one of these wandering cooks. Engadiner Nusstorte

Production

The Bündner Nusstorte is commonly made by small independent bakers scattered throughout Graubünden. For this reason, there are a variety of recipes, some of which are closely guarded secrets. The basic pastry is made of a classic

, which contains

flour Flour is a powder made by Mill (grinding), grinding raw grains, List of root vegetables, roots, beans, Nut (fruit), nuts, or seeds. Flours are used to make many different foods. Cereal flour, particularly wheat flour, is the main ingredie ...

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 Glucose is a sugar with the Chemical formula#Molecular formula, molecul ...

egg An egg is an organic vessel grown by an animal to carry a possibly fertilized egg cell (a zygote) and to incubate from it an embryo within the egg until the embryo has become an animal fetus that can survive on its own, at which point the ...

butter Butter is a dairy product made from the fat and protein components of Churning (butter), churned cream. It is a semi-solid emulsion at room temperature, consisting of approximately 81% butterfat. It is used at room temperature as a spread (food ...

and a bit of salt. The filling is made of

caramelized Caramelization (or caramelisation) is a process of browning of sugar used extensively in cooking for the resulting butter-like flavor and brown color. The brown colors are produced by three groups of polymers: (C24H36O18), (C36H50O25), and ...

sugar, to which heavy

cream Cream is a dairy product composed of the higher-fat layer skimmed from the top of milk before homogenization. In un-homogenized milk, the fat, which is less dense, eventually rises to the top. In the industrial production of cream, this proces ...

milk Milk is a white liquid food produced by the mammary glands of lactating mammals. It is the primary source of nutrition for young mammals (including breastfeeding, breastfed human infants) before they are able to digestion, digest solid food. ...

and coarsely chopped nuts (commonly

s but rarely other nuts) are added. Some recipes include a little milk or honey. The Bündner Nusstorte is produced throughout the entire canton and is one of the largest export items for independent bakers. It is estimated that Nusstorten sales represent 20 to 40% of the total sales for many bakers and are a major source of income. Nowadays Bündner Nusstorte is also available at the supermarket chains like

Coop Coop or Co-op most often refer to: * Chicken coop or other animal enclosure * Cooperative or co-operative ("co-op"), an association co-operating for mutual social, economic or cultural benefit ** Consumer cooperative ** Food cooperative ** Housin ...

Consumption

The Nusstorte, with a buttery crust and

and nut filling, is loaded with

calorie The calorie is a unit of energy that originated from the caloric theory of heat. The large calorie, food calorie, dietary calorie, kilocalorie, or kilogram calorie is defined as the amount of heat needed to raise the temperature of one liter o ...

s. They are generally cut into pieces and eaten for dessert together with coffee or tea. They can be purchased throughout the year and are widely available over the internet. The Nusstorte will remain fresh for several months, which makes them popular as gifts and allows them to be shipped around the world.

References

External sources

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Bundner Nusstorte Culinary Heritage of Switzerland Swiss pastries Walnut desserts Culture of Graubünden

History

Production

Consumption

See also

References

External sources