 Kaiserschmarrn withapple sauce | |
| Type | Pancake |
|---|---|
| Place of origin | Austria-Hungary |
| Main ingredients | Flour,eggs,sugar,milk,butter |
| |
Kaiserschmarrn (German pronunciation:[ˈkaɪzɐˌʃmaʁn]ⓘ) orKaiserschmarren (German:[ˈkaɪzɐˌʃmaʁən]ⓘ;[1]'Emperor's Mess')[2] is a lightly sweetened pancake that takes its name from the Austrian emperorFranz Joseph I, who was fond of this fluffy shredded pancake. It is served as a dessert or as a light lunch.
Kaiserschmarrn is a popular meal or dessert in Austria,Bavaria, and many parts of the formerAustro-Hungarian empire, e.g. northern Italy, Hungary, Slovenia, Czech Republic, northern Croatia and western Romania, which usually use the name as a loan word or translations of it.
The nameKaiserschmarrn is a compound of the wordsKaiser ('emperor') andSchmarren (a scrambled or shredded dish).Schmarren is also a colloquialism used inAustrian andBavarian to mean'trifle, mishmash, mess, rubbish, nonsense'. The wordSchmarren may be related toscharren ('to scrape') andschmieren ('to smear' [seeschmear]).[citation needed]
Kaiserschmarrn is a light, caramelizedpancake made from a sweet batter usingflour,eggs, sugar, salt, andmilk, fried inbutter.Kaiserschmarrn can be prepared in different ways. When makingKaiserschmarrn theegg whites are usually separated from theyolk and beaten until stiff; then the flour and the yolks are mixed with sugar, and the other ingredients are added, including:nuts,cherries,plums, apple jam, or small pieces of apple, orcaramelizedraisins and sliveredalmonds. The latter ingredients (nuts, cherries, plums, apple jam, or small pieces of apple, orcaramelized raisins and chopped almonds) are not part of the original recipe, but additions made by cooks based on their personal preferences. The original recipe only includes rum-soaked raisins.
The pancake is shredded using two forks during frying and usually sprinkled with powdered sugar, then served hot with apple or plum sauce or various fruitcompotes, including plum,lingonberry, strawberry, or apple.Kaiserschmarrn is eaten like a dessert, or it can also be eaten for lunch at tourist places like mountainside restaurants and taverns in theAustrian Alps, as a filling meal.
Traditionally,Kaiserschmarrn is accompanied withZwetschgenröster, a fruit compote made of plums.
It is generally agreed[citation needed] that the dish was first prepared for the AustrianEmperor Francis Joseph I (1830–1916). There are several stories. Oneapocryphal story involves the Emperor and his wife,Elisabeth of Bavaria, of theHouse of Wittelsbach. Obsessed with maintaining a minimal waistline, Empress Elisabeth directed the royal chef to prepare only light desserts for her, much to the dismay and annoyance of her notoriously austere husband. Upon being presented with the chef's confection, she found it too rich and refused to eat it. The exasperated Francis Joseph quipped, "Now let me see what 'Schmarren' our chef has cooked up." It met his approval as he finished his and even his wife's serving.[2]
