LL-L "In the news" 2002.10.03 (02) [E]

[Lowlands-L]

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From: Theo Homan theohoman at yahoo.com
Subject: papanat, pfeffernusse, pepernoten

The possible solution of the "pepper-problem" might be
this:

In the beginning (if my memory is wright) of importing
spice to Europe, the word
"pepper" was used to indicate "spice" in general;
including cinnamon, nutmeg, etc.

vr. gr. Theo Homan
--------------------------
answering:


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

----------

From: Mathieu. van Woerkom <Mathieu.vanWoerkom at student.kun.nl>
Subject: Delectables

Ron wrote:

> 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 Dutch, pepernoten are also called kruidnoten ('spice nuts'). They are not
completely the same, but I don't know about ingredients, though.

This Honingkuchen is known in the Netherlands under the names "kruidkoek"
and "ontbijtkoek". The general assumption is that this 'bread' of 'cake'
originated in Friesland or Groningen, but these kinds of cakes (often
with 'kandijsuiker-brokken' on top) are very general in the entire country.
Also, one of the most famous ontbijkoek-bakeries is from Brabant...(picture:
http://www.peijnenburg.nl/main/images/500-ok-01-01.gif)

Regards,
Mathieu

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