Turn of the year - Sweet classic: Berlin pancakes as a New Year's Eve hit
They are particularly popular at carnival and New Year's Eve: pancakes. "Many hundreds of thousands of pancakes will certainly be baked and sold by Berlin's artisan bakeries," estimates Johannes Kamm, Managing Director of the Berlin Bakers' Guild, with a view to New Year's Eve. He believes that the filled yeast pancakes baked in fat are a good basis for a long night of partying.
Berlin pancakes come in many varieties. One of the most creative pancake bakeries in the capital is Sugarclan in Friedrichshain. According to owner Britta Sarnes, the classics with strawberry jam or plum jam are the hits there. "But we also have delicious exotic varieties such as baked apple-cranberry or speculoos-orange," says Sarnes. There are even pancake cakes such as Black Forest Kirsch or Frankfurter Kranz.
Pancakes, Kräppel, Krapfen or Berliner
Pancakes are not only diverse, they also have different names: "In Berlin it's Pfannkuchen, in Hesse Kräppel or Kreppel, in Bavaria Krapfen, in northern and western Germany Berliner," explains Meike Bennewitz from the Central Association of the German Bakery Trade. In total, more than 350 million doughnuts are probably sold every year. In addition to New Year's Eve, carnival is also a particularly strong time in terms of sales. The pastries are also important for KaDeWe. As New Year's Eve falls on a Sunday, the department store opens its doors exceptionally for a pancake sale on the first floor of the store. "We traditionally sell 15,000 pieces on New Year's Eve," they say. The history of the Berlin pancake is extremely multicultural, as it has roots in various German and international regions, says Martina Weinland from the Stadtmuseum Berlin. According to legend, the Maccabees ate "sufganiot" fried in oil at the Festival of Lights in the 2nd century BC. "A pastry made from sweet yeast dough with a sweet filling, confusingly similar to today's Berlin pancakes," says Weiland. This pancake recipe was first found again in 1485 in the cookbook "Die Küchenmeisterei".
A baker from Berlin in 1756, among others, was responsible for its further spread. And here, the "pancake" has been a traditional accompaniment at the turn of the year and during the 5th season, the carnival, for over 250 years, says Weinland.
How many calories a doughnut has depends on its size and filling. The Federal Center for Nutrition gives a guideline of 320 kilocalories per 100 grams of pastry. If that's too much for you, here's a tip from the nutrition experts: you can also bake the pancakes in the oven instead of frying them in fat. However, the typical fried aroma is then missing.
Bakers' Guild Berlin Federal Center for Nutrition on pancakes
Read also:
- A clan member is punished here
- Traffic lawyer warns: Don't talk to the police!
- Will he be convicted as Jutta's murderer after 37 years?
- He also wanted to kill his cousin
- If you're planning to celebrate New Year's Eve in Berlin, you might consider trying the popular Berlin pancakes, especially in the creative bakery Sugarclan located in Friedrichshain.
- Berlin's delicious doughnuts, known as Pfannkuchen, are a traditional treat not only on New Year's Eve but also during the carnival season. According to the Bakers' Guild, over 350 million doughnuts are sold annually in Germany.
- For those who are conscious of their calorie intake, you can opt to bake the pancakes in the oven instead of frying them in fat. While this method may sacrifice the typical fried aroma, it can help reduce the calories significantly.
- Berlin's pancake tradition goes back over 250 years, with the practice of eating filled yeast pancakes at the turn of the year and during carnival being a long-standing custom in the city.
Source: www.stern.de
