An ancient treasure for those who thought they tried everything
What do you miss most when travelling abroad?
With me it often had something to do with food. I lived in the US for nearly six years and I remember thousands of precious moments. However, one of the most exciting was the day we found a bakery that sold Jewish Rye Bread. What a joy to have found something that tasted like the bread at home!!!
The subject ot this web site is about something which might be new to you yet miraculously make you feel at home. Try it, you might like it.
(Re)discover something special!
Some 800 years ago Hildegard von Bingen, the abbess of an ancient monastry wrote about spelt, the substance from which gruenkern is made: „The spelt is the best of grains. It is rich and nourishing and milder than other grain. It produces a strong body and healthy blood to those who eat it and it makes the spirit of man light and cheerful. If someone is ill boil some spelt, mix it with egg and this will heal him like a fine ointment.“
The ears of spelt (triticum spelta) consist of only two rows of grain and it grows best on poor soil. Where no other grain will prosper spelt will do fine.
But spelt isn’t gruenkern!
If you wish to make gruenkern from spelt you have to harvest it while the grain (Korn/Kern) ist still green(gruen). So a literal translation of gruenkern would be something like greengrain. Sounds good, doesn’t it?
But how did people get the idea to harvest spelt in a green condition and roast it? That’s an interesting (hi)story!
Enjoy your first gruenkern dish!
Today I have only three basic recipes for you – soon there may be more:
Gruenkernburger
Ingredients: 250g ground gruenkern, 500ml bouillon, a cup of breadcrumbs, 1-2 eggs, chopped onion and parsley cooked in 1 tbsp. of oil, salt, pepper, nutmeg.
Simmer gruenkern and bouillon together until it becomes a thick paste. Add all other ingredients. The whole mixture has to turn cold(!) before you form hamburgerlike patties, dip them in breadcrumbs und fry in sizzling fat until brown
Sandwich spread
Soak 2 cups of ground gruenkern in 1 1/2 cups of water for at least 2 hours. Mix it with the following ingredients: 1 diced onion, 200g margarine, 4 tblsp. salad oil, 2 gloves of minced garlic, 1 cup Hefeflocken (lit. flakes of yeast – what’s the correct term in English?), a few drops of lemonjuice, and according to taste a bit of mustard, black pepper, nutmeg, salt and marjoram. Add fresh herbs according to taste and season!
Soup of gruenkern
Ingredients: 40g of ground gruenkern, 40g fat, 1 1/4 liters bouillon, 1 egg yolk and sour cream according to taste. You can add dumplings, roasted cubes of bread or mushrooms.
Take the ground gruenkern and roast it in sizzling fat until it turns to a light brown. Pour in the bouillon and simmer for 5-10min. Thicken with egg yolk and add other ingredients.
(from: Küchendüfte aus Wölchingen und Boxberg, Herausgeber: Evang. Kirchengemeinde Boxberg-Wölchingen)
Enjoy your first gruenkern dish!
Today I have only three basic recipes for you – soon there may be more:
Gruenkernburger
Ingredients: 250g ground gruenkern, 500ml bouillon, a cup of breadcrumbs, 1-2 eggs, chopped onion and parsley cooked in 1 tbsp. of oil, salt, pepper, nutmeg.
Simmer gruenkern and bouillon together until it becomes a thick paste. Add all other ingredients. The whole mixture has to turn cold(!) before you form hamburgerlike patties, dip them in breadcrumbs und fry in sizzling fat until brown
Sandwich spread
Soak 2 cups of ground gruenkern in 1 1/2 cups of water for at least 2 hours. Mix it with the following ingredients: 1 diced onion, 200g margarine, 4 tblsp. salad oil, 2 gloves of minced garlic, 1 cup Hefeflocken (lit. flakes of yeast – what’s the correct term in English?), a few drops of lemonjuice, and according to taste a bit of mustard, black pepper, nutmeg, salt and marjoram. Add fresh herbs according to taste and season!
Soup of gruenkern
Ingredients: 40g of ground gruenkern, 40g fat, 1 1/4 liters bouillon, 1 egg yolk and sour cream according to taste. You can add dumplings, roasted cubes of bread or mushrooms.
Take the ground gruenkern and roast it in sizzling fat until it turns to a light brown. Pour in the bouillon and simmer for 5-10min. Thicken with egg yolk and add other ingredients.
(from: Küchendüfte aus Wölchingen und Boxberg, Herausgeber: Evang. Kirchengemeinde Boxberg-Wölchingen)