Every single year I make an annual pilgrimage to a German grocery store, named Aldi's and buy a German Christmas stollen. I'll confess, that I'm not a huge fan of them. But for more years than I can remember, my Mom always bought them and sent me a couple for the holidays. She really loved stollen and even kept a few in her freezer to have through the year, enjoying a piece with a cup of tea. So I do the same. I buy a loaf from Aldi's of the marzipan stollen, and have a piece with a cup of tea and remember her. It's a Christmas tradition. Do you have any Christmas traditions like this?
I hope your week is off to a good start!
**For those who don't know what stollen is, here's a bit of it's story.
Stollen is a cake like yeast bread that usually has dried or candied fruit, orange and lemon zest, spice and cardamom spices for flavoring. It is coated with powdered sugar or icing sugar and often containing marzipan. It was also called Striezel or Christstollen. Striezel is a word for loaf, and the shape of the bread along with being dusted with powdered sugar was a symbolic shape of the baby Jesus in swaddling clothes so it was also called Christstollen.
Dresden Stollen is said by some historians to have originated in 1329 as a result of a contest offered by the Bishop of Nauruburg. Bakers in the region produced a wonderful bread baked with the finest butter, sugar, raisins, citron and other specialty ingredients. The Bishop enjoyed the stollen so much that he ordered a quantity of grain saved for stollen only.
Stollen is mentioned for the first time in 1474 in the accounts of the Christian Hospital of St. Bartholomew in Dresden where it is referred to as a cake for the fasting period, consisting of only flour, oats and water as required by Church dogma.
Stollen became such a part of Dresdeners' lives that it was cut and served with special, stollen only utensils. It was also tradition that the first piece of stollen was set aside and kept to ensure the family would be able to afford a stollen the following year and the last piece saved to ensure the family had enough food for the year.
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| ~Jake, hoping for a bite of stollen ❤~ |
We have Aldi over here in the U.K.
ReplyDeleteI shop at a similar supermarket called
Lidl..also German..! They are two of the
cheapest supermarkets over here, as a
Sicilian l shop at Lidl, as like Aldi they
sell all the continental foods l need..! :).
And, l buy a small stollen every week, l
also buy a small Panettone...though Christmas
l shall buy a couple of the larger Panettone..
Nice with a glass of sherry or liquor for
visiting family and friends..! :).
Lovely story..and very true of course....Hope
Jake gets his little piece of Stollen..he looks
rather eager for a piece..! Bless! :O)
⛄ 🔥 🎄 🎁 🧦 🔔 ⛄ 🔥 🎄 🎁 🧦 🔔 ⛄ 🔥 🎄
Thank you for the history of Stollen, I had never heard it before.
ReplyDeleteAldi is a huge Europe-wide supermarket chain, and there's one in any town of size. Although I'm not of German origin, I usually buy a Stollen from Aldi, (as opposed to their arch rival Lidl), they seem to be the best. For me it's a nice, lighter alternative to traditional English Christmas cake, and mince pies.
The Christmas cake is usually cut to have with just a cup of tea, mid afternoon on 25th, after a huge turkey lunch, and before a supper of cold meats and salads! Mince pies can be eaten at any time over the Christmas season and normally appear in the stores at the beginning of December, if not earlier. Many people still make their own mincemeat to put in pies, as some still make Christmas cakes.
I hope Jake was allowed to have a crumb or two of stollen!
I love traditions and will write of some of the Swedish Christmas traditions from now until Christmas. I must confess that I'm not fond of bread and cakes with fruit in them, but would eat a piece if it were part of a tradition.
ReplyDeleteConsider Jake and I *both* in line for a bite! :-D PS~ I sent you an email, Kim, so check your spam box for it. I just wanted to make sure you had my email address. ~Andrea XOXOXO
ReplyDeleteA wonderful bit of history. Thank you, Kim.
ReplyDeleteYou all be safe. God bless, and Merry Christmas.
My mother, who was born in Germany, makes stollen every year at Christmas time. Since she moved away from where I live I have my fingers crossed that she still ships me one like she did last year.
ReplyDeleteThat is a very sweet tradition; it is always nice to remember those who came before us and gave us so much. Mom has never had stollen, but she thinks she might enjoy a piece with a hot cup of tea too.
ReplyDeleteWoos - Lightning, Misty, and Timber
I have never had stollen and can't imagine what it would taste like. There is an Aldi's in Raleigh. Maybe I'll try it. Hope you and your family, including all those sweet dogs have a wonderful Christmas.
ReplyDeleteWe are of Dutch heritage, but we LOVE stollen too! Its so rich its a good thing it is not available all the year long...though I have a couple recipes to make it. Um...no way...way too complicated!! LOL! I have a couple 'mini' stollen in the house right now. Mmmm!
ReplyDeleteSheesh, now you have me craving some of it ...
Jake, your smile would melt anyone's heart, and a small tasty slice of Stollen should surely be yours, unless any ingredient is on the forbidden list. Love the story, I am going to look online and see if it is sold anywhere near us.
ReplyDeleteI always have the marzipan stollen, and also we get Dominosteine and the authentic Lebkuchen.
ReplyDeleteI'm glad that you say you bought it and don't have stolen stollen.
ReplyDeleteHey Kim, thanks for this post, I've always wondered what it was. And we have an Aldi's close by so I'll think I'll give it a try...TY...jp
ReplyDeleteHello,
ReplyDeleteI have never tried Stollen. We do have an Aldi's close by. Cute shot of Jake. Merry Christmas to you and your family.
Take care, enjoy your day!
I truly like Stollen. I have to order to have it. No one close by it from.
ReplyDeleteWhat a wonderful tradition.
ReplyDeleteWe always eat a box of after eights after Christmas dinner.
Sounds like a perfect way to celebrate a good memory! Merry Christmas!
ReplyDeleteI'm so glad to read these last two cheerful posts, Kim and to see the bright and happy faces on the last post. Ms. Yellow is darling. Merry Christmas to all at Golden Pines!
ReplyDeleteI wondered about the history of Stollen and now I know. My Christmas sweet thing is that Whole Foods sells fabulous fruit cake so I buy one each year. Freshly made. Yum. So much easier than making it, which I have done years ago. Merry Christmas.
ReplyDeleteThunderbolt 3 and USB-C ports
ReplyDelete