LL-L "Delectables" 2002.10.02 (13) [E]

[Lowlands-L]

======================================================================
 L O W L A N D S - L * 02.OCT.2002 (13) * ISSN 189-5582 * LCSN 96-4226
 Web Site: <http://www.lowlands-l.net>  Email: admin at lowlands-l.net
 Rules & Guidelines: <http://www.lowlands-l.net/rules.htm>
 Posting Address: <lowlands-l at listserv.linguistlist.org>
 Server Manual: <http://www.lsoft.com/manuals/1.8c/userindex.html>
 Archive: <http://listserv.linguistlist.org/archives/lowlands-l.html>
=======================================================================
 You have received this because have been subscribed upon request. To
 unsubscribe, please send the command "signoff lowlands-l" as message
 text from the same account to <listserv at listserv.linguistlist.org> or
 sign off at <http://linguistlist.org/subscribing/sub-lowlands-l.html>.
=======================================================================
 A=Afrikaans Ap=Appalachian B=Brabantish D=Dutch E=English F=Frisian
 L=Limburgish LS=Lowlands Saxon (Low German) S=Scots Sh=Shetlandic
               V=(West)Flemish Z=Zeelandic (Ze?s)
=======================================================================

From: R. F. Hahn <sassisch at yahoo.com>
Subject: Delectables

Dag ook, Eldo un annere Leeglanners!

Eldo, under "Festivals" you wrote today:

> Holger Weigelt (in answering Thomas Byro) wrote about a festival in
Eastern
> Friesland called "St. Martin," in which children go from house to house
> singing, and receive gifts, among them traditional "gingernuts."  In
> Mennonite Plautdietsch tradition, a common reward, especially at
> Christmastime, for such activity would be what were called "Päpanät" (Ger:
> Pfeffernüsse, Eng: pepper- nuts).  Does anyone know whether there might
> possibly be any kind of historical connection between "gingernuts" and
> "Päpanät?"  The Mennonite Community Cookbook (c.1950) recipe makes no
> mention of pepper, but does call for peppermint extract.  Päpanät (after
> baking) are small, hard, candy-like, confections beloved of Mennonites
> everywhere (whether Plautdietsch-speaking or not!), primarily around
> Christmastime.  Any thoughts on the subject would be welcomed.

In German it is _Pfeffernuss_ (plural _Pfeffernüsse_), as you already know.
In Dutch it is _pepernoot_ (sounding somewhat similar to "paper note" out of
a Scottish mouth, pl. _pepernoten_) and in Northern Lowlands Saxon (Low
German) _Pepernööt_ ~ _Päpernööt_ (['pe:p3nø:t] ~ ['pE:p3n9:t], same form
for plural)*, all literally "pepper nut(s)".  The usual English name is
"gingerbread nut(s)."

(* North Saxon _Pepernööt_ ~ _Päpernööt_ and Plautdietsch _Päpanät_
correspond perfectly phonologically, where Plautdietsch, like most eastern
dialects unrounds /ö/ to /e/ and /ü/ to /i/.)

There are also the German name _Pfefferkuchen_ and its Dutch equivalent
_peperkoek_, literally "pepper cake," meaning 'gingerbread'.  I have never
heard or read the Northern Lowlands Saxon (Low German) version *_Peperkoken_
(['pe:p3kOUkN=] ~ ['pE:p3kOUkN=]) used, though I expect it is used by some.
Most people that I know call it _Honnigkoken_ (['hO.nICkOUkN=], literally
"honey cake"), though this may overlap with "real" honey cake/bread (German
_Honigkuchen_, made with honey) that tends to be considered Dutch by origin
(at least in Northern Germany).

I have a hunch that _Pfeffer_, _Peper_ and _peper_ used to mean not only
literally "pepper" but also "exotic spice(s)" as a general term (thus,
including ginger, cloves and cinnamon), probably in the early days of Dutch
imports from the "Spice Islands," or _(Oost-)Indië_, namely mostly from what
is now the Moluccas and Indonesia.

In German you can tell someone to "get lost" by suggesting they "go where
pepper grows" (_hingehen, wo der Pfeffer wächst_), which means to a really
distant place (preferably of no return), and I believe that this, too,
originally referred to "exotic spices" in general (from Indonesia or the
Americas).

There must be thousands of recipes for _Pfeffernüsse_, _Pepernööt_ and
_pepernoten_.  Usually, pepper is not one of its ingredients, though I have
heard that someone adds black pepper to her _Pfeffernüsse_, perhaps only
because of the name.  The ingredients tend to be similar to those of
gingerbread, but the dough is rolled into small balls before baking, and the
baked balls tend to get some, usually white, sugar frosting or glazing on
top.  Like gingerbread, they are hard and chewy (at least originally) and
are (were) meant for long-time storage without refrigeration.  Like
gingerbread, they count among traditional staple Christmas treats.

I might be able to scare up a couple of traditional recipes should anyone be
interested in trying them in preparation for the end-of-year holidays.  Why,
if they don't turn out properly edible, you could always use the end results
as paper weights, or as projectiles to keep the crows away from the kale and
brusselsprouts in your wintry backyards.

(I remember one of our Scottish friends--perhaps Sandy?--a long time ago
telling us a number of ways of making and variously using Scottish
_parritch_ 'porridge' other than eating it, and I vaguely remember it
involved drawers (of the cupboard type, fortunately not of the underwear
type) and other unexpected things.  I have to try and dig that one up from
the depths of our pre-LINGUIST archive.)

Enjoy!
Reinhard/Ron

==================================END===================================
* Please submit postings to <lowlands-l at listserv.linguistlist.org>.
* Postings will be displayed unedited in digest form.
* Please display only the relevant parts of quotes in your replies.
* Commands for automated functions (including "signoff lowlands-l") are
  to be sent to <listserv at listserv.linguistlist.org> or at
  <http://linguistlist.org/subscribing/sub-lowlands-l.html>.
=======================================================================