By Isla Quinn
Turn one over. Traditionally, a thin wafer sits under the dough.
The spice blend and the varieties
The recipe blog describes a Lebkuchen spice blend, called Lebkuchengewürz, that it says differs from North American gingerbread mixes. Its homemade version uses cinnamon, coriander, cloves, anise, nutmeg, star anise or fennel, ginger and cardamom. It adds candied citron and orange peel, honey, eggs and nuts, and says these give the biscuit a soft, chewy, nutty and fruity texture. Stars and Stripes says the range runs from dark-chocolate glazed biscuits to an almost juicy, roasted-apple version. These are one blog’s recipe and one lifestyle writer’s description, not a standard.
Where it began
Sources start with monks. Wikipedia says Lebkuchen was invented by monks in Franconia in the 13th century. The Nuremberg tourism board, a city promotional body, and a bakery’s own brochure say the 14th century, and a Stars and Stripes lifestyle article agrees with them. We show both. All of them tie the spread of the biscuit to Nuremberg’s place on the old trade routes, which brought spices and almonds into the city.
The tourism board lists cinnamon, cloves, cardamom, nutmeg and foreign almonds. The bakery brochure names allspice, cloves, cardamom, nutmeg and cinnamon, and says local honey came from the Lorenzer Reichswald. The brochure is a bakery’s promotion, so we treat that line as the company’s own account. Wikipedia lists aniseed, coriander, cloves, ginger, cardamom and allspice, with nuts such as almonds, hazelnuts and walnuts and candied fruit.
Dates in the records
Wikipedia gives two early records. Bakers appear in Ulm as early as 1296, and in Nuremberg by 1395. The bakery brochure also dates the first mention of a baker to 1395. Wikipedia adds that Emperor Friedrich III held a Reichstag in Nuremberg in 1487 and reportedly gave Lebkuchen to almost 4,000 children. The brochure puts it a little differently: the emperor distributed portrait-decorated “Kaiserlein” to the city’s children. It adds that 14 businesses formed a guild in the late 17th century.
The wafer
The base is called the Oblate. Wikipedia says the dough is traditionally set on this thin wafer, and that monks used unleavened communion-wafer ingredients to stop it sticking. A recipe blog describes Oblaten as thin, flavourless wheat wafers, and says monks originally used communion wafers for the purpose. Wikipedia also says the honey-sweetened dough is stored in a cool place for several weeks, when it ferments naturally.
The rules
The protected status is where sources split on wording. The tourism board says that since 1 July 1996 Nuremberg Lebkuchen has held the European protected geographical indication, with the right to use the EU seal. The brochure calls it a protected geographic designation from the same date. Wikipedia and the recipe blog call it a protected designation of origin. We use “protected status” and note both. Wikipedia adds that the rule requires production within the city boundaries.
For the premium type, Elisenlebkuchen, Wikipedia says the Nuremberg version must hold no less than 25 per cent nuts and less than 10 per cent wheat flour. The tourism board says at least 25 per cent nuts and no more than 10 per cent flour. Wikipedia adds that fine artisan bakeries reach close to 40 per cent nuts. The Stars and Stripes article says premium versions have no flour and nearly 50 per cent almonds and nuts. Two numbers, 40 and “nearly 50,” come from different writers, and we cannot reconcile them.
The brochure sets out a table of types. Finest Elisenlebkuchen carry at least 25 per cent nuts and seeds and at most 10 per cent flour. Nut Lebkuchen carry at least 20 per cent nuts with the same flour cap. Fine Oblaten Lebkuchen carry at least 12.5 per cent and Oblaten Lebkuchen at least 7 per cent, with no flour limit. White Lebkuchen are capped at 40 per cent flour. The brochure says independent audits and the makers’ own checks enforce this each year. We cannot confirm that claim from another source.
Reading the type on a pack
Our reading of the brochure’s table is that the type name carries the information. A pack of Finest Elisenlebkuchen and a pack of Oblaten Lebkuchen sit at very different nut minimums, 25 per cent against 7 per cent, so the type matters more than the picture on the lid. We have not checked whether every pack states its type, or how the German labelling words are used.
The name Elise
Where does Elisen come from? Wikipedia says Elisenlebkuchen has been designated since 1808. The recipe blog says it is named for the daughter of a Nuremberg baker, dating to 1808, and tells a legend of a sick daughter who recovered. The Stars and Stripes article dates a legend of a baker named Elisabeth to 1720. We give all three and make no claim.
Tins
The tourism board says bakers traditionally present the biscuits in decorative tins and trunks, which it calls collector’s items. Stars and Stripes says the tins show Nuremberg’s towers and steeples, so they can be reused for storage. The tourism board also says Lebkuchen is available all year, not only at Christmas. Stars and Stripes notes that the Nuremberg Lebkuchen shares the EU seal with Lübeck’s marzipan and Black Forest ham, among others.
What this means for a visit
Our reading is that the rules are the useful part. If you see the words Nürnberger Lebkuchen, the sources above say the product is meant to come from the city and to meet the nut and flour numbers for its type. We have not checked how the rules are checked, who is allowed to use the seal, or what any bakery makes today. We have not named any maker. For a trip, check the city’s own pages for markets and shops.
Roam first. Shop later.