{"id":798,"date":"2016-12-15T09:29:07","date_gmt":"2016-12-15T08:29:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/?p=798"},"modified":"2025-05-20T11:53:17","modified_gmt":"2025-05-20T10:53:17","slug":"lebkuchen-gingerbread","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/eatingdrinking\/food\/lebkuchen-gingerbread\/","title":{"rendered":"Lebkuchen (sort of Gingerbread)"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"alignright\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"150\" height=\"150\" src=\"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/12\/lebkuchenthumb.jpg\" alt=\"Chocolate Lebkuchen\" class=\"wp-image-4404\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/12\/lebkuchenthumb.jpg 150w, https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/12\/lebkuchenthumb-100x100.jpg 100w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 150px) 100vw, 150px\" \/><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<p>Lebkuchen is another food&nbsp;closely associated with Christmas in Austria. Its main function is to mark&nbsp;the opening of the festive season through a dramatic takeover of the supermarket biscuit section.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Almost-but-not-quite gingerbread<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Comes in all sorts of shapes and sizes<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Not just for Christmas (but unavoidable at that time)<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Book a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.tiqets.com\/en\/concerts-opera-vienna-tickets-l206741\/?partner=visitingvienna&amp;tq_campaign=LG_FandD\" rel=\"sponsored\">concert &amp; dinner<\/a>* for Vienna\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Look for &#8220;+ dinner&#8221; among the listings<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>See also:\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/entertainment\/christmas-in-vienna\/\">Christmas in Vienna<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/traditional-food-drink\/\">Local food<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">What is Lebkuchen?<\/h2>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"500\" height=\"375\" src=\"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/lebkuchen.jpg\" alt=\"Inside chocolate Lebkuchen\" class=\"wp-image-47320\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/lebkuchen.jpg 500w, https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/lebkuchen-300x225.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 500px) 100vw, 500px\" \/><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center has-small-font-size\">(The inner Lebkuchen revealed)<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Most dictionaries translate Lebkuchen as &#8220;gingerbread&#8221;, but that&#8217;s not quite right. &#8220;Gingerbread-like&#8221;, perhaps. Consider it a rich, dry, soft biscuit pastry that traditionally uses plenty of honey and spices.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The &#8220;Lebkuchen spice mix&#8221; in our kitchen cupboard, for example, consists of cinnamon, nutmeg, coriander, ginger, fennel, cloves, allspice, aniseed, and cardamom.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>(And, of course, a generous pinch of love as the special ingredient.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Although available all year, Lebkuchen has a strong association with Christmas.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Nothing announces the arrival of Advent quite like great aisles of the stuff suddenly appearing in grocery stores, usually while the Halloween chocolate is still being put away.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Lebkuchen also occupies a place of honour on&nbsp;the plate of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/eatingdrinking\/food\/christmas-biscuits\/\">Christmas biscuits<\/a> you bring out when guests come round in December.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The origins of this seasonal association remain unclear, but a strong theory is the pastry&#8217;s suitability for the traditional Advent fasting period of times gone by.<\/p>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"500\" height=\"375\" src=\"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/pirker2024.jpg\" alt=\"Pirker Lebkuchen store\" class=\"wp-image-72098\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/pirker2024.jpg 500w, https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/pirker2024-300x225.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 500px) 100vw, 500px\" \/><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center has-small-font-size\">(The Pirker Lebkuchen store on Vienna&#8217;s <a href=\"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/sights\/stephansplatz\/\" data-type=\"post\" data-id=\"83491\">Stephansplatz square<\/a>)<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>For a quick (and cheap) idea of the taste, pop into any supermarket for the mass-produced biscuit-shaped variety. Alternatively, look out for the handmade and specialty Lebkuchen in&nbsp;family bakeries or on market stands.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The biscuits come in all sorts of shapes and sizes, but the&nbsp;commonest is the raised, round&nbsp;form (as in the photo earlier). Common varieties are plain, garnished with nuts or dried fruits, or smothered in a chocolate couverture.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>As you might imagine, central Europe has a long, long, long tradition of Lebkuchen baking with various regional varieties.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>We used to order boxes from a <a href=\"http:\/\/lebkuchen.at\/\">bakery<\/a> in the Styrian mountains, for example, where production dates back to 1587.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>When browsing through 18th-century newspapers for research, I often discover adverts for Lebkuchen, particularly the Nuremberg variety (that German city remains possibly the most famous source of this culinary delight).<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Lebkuchen hearts<\/h3>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"500\" height=\"333\" src=\"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/lebkuchenhearts.jpg\" alt=\"Lebkuchen hearts\" class=\"wp-image-47321\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/lebkuchenhearts.jpg 500w, https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/lebkuchenhearts-300x200.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 500px) 100vw, 500px\" \/><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center has-small-font-size\">(A common sight at seasonal markets)<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>If you&#8217;re visiting one of Vienna&#8217;s&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/sightseeing\/christmas-markets\/\">Christmas markets<\/a>, look out for the large Lebkuchen hearts, often decorated with icing and bearing messages like &#8220;World&#8217;s Best Granny&#8221;.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The pastry is harder, so these hearts have a better-than-average chance of surviving the lottery of baggage handling if you want to take some home with you as a gift.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The Austrian equivalent of the gingerbread house also uses this robust Lebkuchen variety. With luck, you might see a house on display at a market: one of the stands at the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/sights\/christmasmarkets\/rathausplatz\/\">Christkindlmarkt<\/a>, for example,&nbsp;often has one.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Bonus tip for shoppers<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>One of the more famous Lebkuchen producers began life in 1846 in the town of Mariazell in the Styrian alps (about a 2 hour drive southwest of Vienna). <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The Pirker family business now has a flagship store in the very centre of Vienna. Find it at Stephansplatz 7, opposite the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/sights\/stefansdom\/\" data-type=\"post\" data-id=\"294\">big cathedral<\/a> on the same side as <a href=\"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/sights\/museums\/dom-museum\/\" data-type=\"post\" data-id=\"5640\">the Dom museum<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Lebkuchen is another food&nbsp;closely associated with Christmas in Austria. Its main function is to mark&nbsp;the opening of the festive season through a dramatic takeover of the supermarket biscuit section. What is Lebkuchen? (The inner Lebkuchen revealed) Most dictionaries translate Lebkuchen as &#8220;gingerbread&#8221;, but that&#8217;s not quite right. &#8220;Gingerbread-like&#8221;, perhaps. Consider it a rich, dry, soft [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":4404,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-798","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-food","8":"entry"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/798","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=798"}],"version-history":[{"count":8,"href":"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/798\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":83584,"href":"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/798\/revisions\/83584"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/4404"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=798"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=798"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=798"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}