Schupfnudel
Encyclopedia
Baden-Württemberg
Baden-Württemberg is one of the 16 states of Germany. Baden-Württemberg is in the southwestern part of the country to the east of the Upper Rhine, and is the third largest in both area and population of Germany's sixteen states, with an area of and 10.7 million inhabitants...
), is the name of a type of dumpling or thick noodle in southern German
Germans
The Germans are a Germanic ethnic group native to Central Europe. The English term Germans has referred to the German-speaking population of the Holy Roman Empire since the Late Middle Ages....
and Austrian
Austrians
Austrians are a nation and ethnic group, consisting of the population of the Republic of Austria and its historical predecessor states who share a common Austrian culture and Austrian descent....
cuisine, similar to the more internationally familiar Italian gnocchi
Gnocchi
Gnocchi are various thick, soft dumplings. They may be made from semolina, ordinary wheat flour, flour and egg, flour, egg, and cheese, potato, bread crumbs, or similar ingredients. The smaller forms are called gnocchetti....
. It is often referred to with different names in different regions in various forms. It is usually made from rye
Rye
Rye is a grass grown extensively as a grain and as a forage crop. It is a member of the wheat tribe and is closely related to barley and wheat. Rye grain is used for flour, rye bread, rye beer, some whiskeys, some vodkas, and animal fodder...
or wheat flour and egg. Since the introduction of the potato to Germany in the seventeenth century, it has also been made with that tuber. Schupfnudels are traditionally given their distinctive shape — similar to an elongated American football
American football
American football is a sport played between two teams of eleven with the objective of scoring points by advancing the ball into the opposing team's end zone. Known in the United States simply as football, it may also be referred to informally as gridiron football. The ball can be advanced by...
— through hand-shaping. They are often served as a savory dish with sauerkraut
Sauerkraut
Sauerkraut , directly translated from German: "sour cabbage", is finely shredded cabbage that has been fermented by various lactic acid bacteria, including Leuconostoc, Lactobacillus, and Pediococcus. It has a long shelf-life and a distinctive sour flavor, both of which result from the lactic acid...
but are also served in sweet dishes.
Development
Schupfnudeln have been known as a trooper dish since the Thirty Years War: Out of their daily flour portion and water the soldiers formed elongate noodles which they cooked afterwards. As the potato was imported to and cultivated in Germany in the 17th century the recipe was modified and different variations emerged according to different regions.Regional terms
Though they can be found throughout Germany they are especially popular in the Cuisine of BadenBaden
Baden is a historical state on the east bank of the Rhine in the southwest of Germany, now the western part of the Baden-Württemberg of Germany....
and Swabia
Swabia
Swabia is a cultural, historic and linguistic region in southwestern Germany.-Geography:Like many cultural regions of Europe, Swabia's borders are not clearly defined...
. There they are called Schupfnudeln, which means "rolled noodles", Baunzen or even Bubenspitzle.
In the Bavarian cuisine
Bavarian cuisine
Bavarian cuisine is a style of cooking derived from Bavaria.The origins of Bavarian cuisine are rural. The cuisine typically includes many meat and Knödel dishes, and the prominent use of flour....
they are known as Fingernudeln (finger noodles), Dradewixpfeiferl, Kartoffel- or Erdepfebaunkerl (potato Baunkerl) or Schupfnudeln and in Upper Palatinate
Upper Palatinate
The Upper Palatinate is one of the seven administrative regions of Bavaria, Germany, located in the east of Bavaria.- History :The region took its name first in the early 16th century, because it was by the Treaty of Pavia one of the main portions of the territory of the Wittelsbach Elector...
you call them Schopperla or Schoppala.
In the Odenwald
Odenwald
The Odenwald is a low mountain range in Hesse, Bavaria and Baden-Württemberg in Germany.- Location :The Odenwald lies between the Upper Rhine Rift Valley with the Bergstraße and the Hessisches Ried in the west, the Main and the Bauland in the east, the Hanau-Seligenstadt Basin – a subbasin of...
their name is Krautnudeln (cabbage
Cabbage
Cabbage is a popular cultivar of the species Brassica oleracea Linne of the Family Brassicaceae and is a leafy green vegetable...
noodles) and in the Palatinate they are called Buwespitzle. The Bauchstecherla in Franconia
Franconia
Franconia is a region of Germany comprising the northern parts of the modern state of Bavaria, a small part of southern Thuringia, and a region in northeastern Baden-Württemberg called Tauberfranken...
are a bit thinner and more pointed.
A special variety of these noodles is called Mohnnudel
Mohnnudel
Mohnnudeln , is the name of thick noodles of a potato dough in Bohemian and Austrian cuisine, similar to the Schupfnudel...
n (poppy seed noodles) and can be found throughout Old Bavaria
Bavaria
Bavaria, formally the Free State of Bavaria is a state of Germany, located in the southeast of Germany. With an area of , it is the largest state by area, forming almost 20% of the total land area of Germany...
and Austria
Austria
Austria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the...
.
Preparation
The name Schupf- or Fingernudel refers to the form and shape of the noodle and not to the composition of ingredients. There isn't a universally authentic recipe but many ways of preparation according to region that differ widely. Many of these variations claim to be the original and authentic Schupfnudel.This controversial discussion also had its effects in subject literature. Duden
Duden
The Duden is a German dictionary, first published by Konrad Duden in 1880.Currently the Duden is in its 25th edition and published in 12 volumes, each covering different aspects like loan words, etymology, pronunciation, synonyms, etc...
(reference book of German language) says, the Schupfnudel is a fried dish while Ludwig Zehetner writes in the Bavarian Dictionary one had to cook it in saltwater.
Simple recipes only use rye flour and water for the dough
Dough
Dough is a paste made out of any cereals or leguminous crops by mixing flour with a small amount of water and/or other liquid. This process is a precursor to making a wide variety of foodstuffs, particularly breads and bread-based items , flatbreads, noodles, pastry, and similar items)...
, but many recipes include mashed potatoes, wheat
Wheat
Wheat is a cereal grain, originally from the Levant region of the Near East, but now cultivated worldwide. In 2007 world production of wheat was 607 million tons, making it the third most-produced cereal after maize and rice...
flour and egg
Egg (food)
Eggs are laid by females of many different species, including birds, reptiles, amphibians, and fish, and have probably been eaten by mankind for millennia. Bird and reptile eggs consist of a protective eggshell, albumen , and vitellus , contained within various thin membranes...
.
The dough is kneaded and then rolled into a long and thin cylindrical shape. This roll is cut into pieces of about half an inch width. These are rolled the typical shape of Schupfnudeln. Afterwards they are either cooked in salty water for about ten minutes or deep-fried. Many recipes include frying them in a pan afterwards as well.
Subsequently they are served in different ways: savoury with sage
Salvia
Salvia is the largest genus of plants in the mint family, Lamiaceae, with approximately 700-900 species of shrubs, herbaceous perennials, and annuals. It is one of several genera commonly referred to as sage. When used without modifiers, sage generally refers to Salvia officinalis ; however, it is...
-butter or Sauerkraut
Sauerkraut
Sauerkraut , directly translated from German: "sour cabbage", is finely shredded cabbage that has been fermented by various lactic acid bacteria, including Leuconostoc, Lactobacillus, and Pediococcus. It has a long shelf-life and a distinctive sour flavor, both of which result from the lactic acid...
or sweet with poppy seeds, sugar
Sugar
Sugar is a class of edible crystalline carbohydrates, mainly sucrose, lactose, and fructose, characterized by a sweet flavor.Sucrose in its refined form primarily comes from sugar cane and sugar beet...
and cinnamon
Cinnamon
Cinnamon is a spice obtained from the inner bark of several trees from the genus Cinnamomum that is used in both sweet and savoury foods...
. In all cases it is necessary that the comparatively flavourless noodles incorporate the flavour of the other ingredients. Schupfnudeln can be served either as a side serving or as a main dish.
Trivia
Schupfnudeln, pan-fried with baconBacon
Bacon is a cured meat prepared from a pig. It is first cured using large quantities of salt, either in a brine or in a dry packing; the result is fresh bacon . Fresh bacon may then be further dried for weeks or months in cold air, boiled, or smoked. Fresh and dried bacon must be cooked before eating...
bits and Sauerkraut are commonly served on public wine festivals throughout Baden and Swabia.