Christmas greetings, everybody! Wouldn't you like to have a piece of Stollen? Well you can't have any because they only make it here. OK, Wikipedia tells me that's a lie. You can get it all over the world. But I never heard of it before and I'm betting you haven't either. So let's pretend like I'm right, OK?
Stollen, as we've briefly discussed before, is a traditional German Christmastime fruitcake. It's a bready cake that contains raisins, almonds, and little bits of dried and candied citrus peel (pronounced "pill" by my Utah readership). Wikipedia also tells me the dough is spiced with cardamom and cinnamon and is surprisingly low in sugar. Which I'm not sure I believe because my pupils dilate when I eat it. Oh yeah, that's probably due to the fact that it is coated with an inch of powdered sugar after baking. That part is not surprisingly high in sugar. Stollens are also very dense. One Stollen weighs about as much as a cinderblock. At least that's what it felt like in my backpack on a recent Stollen-purchasing outing.
OBLIGATORY HISTORY LESSON: Stollen has been dilating pupils since about 1450 when it was invented by industrious Dresdners trying to find a Christmastime use for all of their most expensive and highly prized ingredients, especially the citrus peel. While it's now made all over Germany (and allegedly the world) they say the most authentic stuff comes from Dresden. You know it's "authentic" because they put a gold sticker on it that says "Originale Dresdner Christstollen".
But here's an insider tip. (Don't tell anyone that I told you this or "they" will likely have me killed.) The best Stollen I've had all month — and believe me, I've had a lot, just ask my blossoming lovehandles — did not come from Dresden. It came from Annaberg-Buchholz, a tiny Christmas-loving town a couple of hours from here that we visited recently. The Stollen pictured here is an Annaberger. I can't remember the reasons for the slight difference. Something about Dresdners using lard and Annabergers using butter or something. I can't remember exactly. But the Annaberg version is softer, cakier, a little bit sweeter and, honest-to-goodness, better. So, do with that information what you will.
Also important to note, diehards apparently consider it a sin to eat Stollen before Christmas. So I'd better go eat a lot today to make up for my countless sins. (That's how it works, right?)
Anyway, I hope you're all having a wonderful Christmas! Alles gute from us both. (Cue obligatory holiday photo ...)
JEM
P.S. Stay tuned for a full account of our Christmas in Leipzig. WARNING: At least one story will contain nudity.
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ReplyDeleteI was one of the lucky American's to eat Stollen and other tasty sweet breads such as Apple Stollen. I made it for a school project once. This is due to having a mother who served a mission in what was then West Berlin(I think). We also had a tradition of eating fruit soupen every Christmas with rolls, meat and cheese. I can eat it now and enjoy it, but as children, we all nearly gagged on that one. If it hadn't been for the whipped topping....
ReplyDeleteI am anxiously awaiting the nudity story.
I'll pass on the Stollen, but thanks. It sounds like a fun holiday for you. And your apartment is looking nice...kind of exotic, in a German sort of way.
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