Mässmogge
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Mässmogge are thumb-sized,
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 to ...
praline-filled sugar candies. They are a regional and seasonal specialty of
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 ...
,
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 ...
, where they are made and sold at around the time of the autumn fair.


Name

"Mässmogge" and its spelling variants "Mässmögge", "Mässmocke" or "Messmocken" are words in
Basel German Basel German or (Standard German: ) is the dialect of the city of Basel, Switzerland. The dialect of Basel forms a Low Alemannic linguistic exclave in the High Alemannic region. Phonetics and phonology Consonants Aspirated plosives Base ...
, the local dialect. "Mäss-" refers to the ''Messe'', the
fair A fair (archaic: faire or fayre) is a gathering of people for a variety of entertainment or commercial activities. Fairs are typically temporary with scheduled times lasting from an afternoon to several weeks. Fairs showcase a wide range of go ...
at which the candy is sold, while "Mogge" is derived from the
Middle High German Middle High German (MHG; or ; , shortened as ''Mhdt.'' or ''Mhd.'') is the term for the form of High German, High German language, German spoken in the High Middle Ages. It is conventionally dated between 1050 and 1350, developing from Old High ...
word ''Mocken'', meaning "big piece" or "lump".


Description and economic significance

Mässmogge are about long, wide and weigh about . They consist of a striped, colored, rather soft sugar candy shell in various flavors (chocolate, lemon, strawberry, etc., corresponding to the shell's color), and of a soft hazelnut praline mass at the center, which has a more pronounced flavor than the shell. A variant, the Glasmogge ("lump of glass") has no hazelnut filling. It consists only of a piece of sugar candy, which is normally green and peppermint-flavored. As of 2008, about one million Mässmogge are produced annually,Another 2008 source indicates two million: of which 70% are the hazelnut-filled variant. Half of the production is sold to market traders visiting fairs across Switzerland, although most Mässmogge are sold at the Basel autumn fair. The other half is produced for retail and specialty stores mostly in and around Basel and Solothurn.


Production

Mässmogge are produced largely by hand in a complicated process. The candy mass, made of sugar,
glucose Glucose is a sugar with the Chemical formula#Molecular formula, molecular formula , which is often abbreviated as Glc. It is overall the most abundant monosaccharide, a subcategory of carbohydrates. It is mainly made by plants and most algae d ...
and water, is warmed to 134 degrees Celsius, agitated in order to become airy and white, colored and folded into a striped, layered paste. The filling, consisting of roasted and ground hazelnuts with some fat and sugar, is then spread over the candy mass. The paste is wrapped into a roll, which is drawn out by a machine to a length of about , and separated into the individual Mässmogge. The whole process must take no more than 25 minutes, in order to keep the candy mass warm and malleable.


History

Candy cane A candy cane is a Walking stick, cane-shaped stick candy often associated with Christmastide as well as Saint Nicholas Day. The canes are traditionally white with red Stripe (pattern), stripes and flavored with peppermint, but the canes also com ...
s were first introduced by French
confectioner Confectionery is the art of making confections, or sweet foods. Confections are items that are rich in sugar and carbohydrates, although exact definitions are difficult. In general, however, confections are divided into two broad and somewh ...
s at Basel fairs in the 1860s, and sold in the form of thick candy lumps since about 1879. The confectioner Leonz Goldinger invented the current Mässmogge, with a hazelnut filling, at around 1900. At that time, the candies were produced directly at the fair and sold while still warm. Up until the 1960s, several confectioners produced Mässmogge for the Basel fairs. Because of the expense of producing the candy, the number of manufacturers has since dwindled to one, ''Sweet Basel AG''.


See also

*
Culinary Heritage of Switzerland The Culinary Heritage of Switzerland (, , , ) is a multilingual online encyclopedia of traditional Swiss cuisine and produce In American English, produce generally refers to wikt:fresh, fresh List of culinary fruits, fruits and Vegetable, ...


References


External links


Sweet Basel AG
the sole current manufacturer of Mässmogge {{DEFAULTSORT:Massmogge Culinary Heritage of Switzerland Swiss confectionery Cuisine of Basel Hazelnut dishes