Staesz Pfefferkuchen Spices!
Ostpreußen ist der Name der ehemaligen, bis 1945 bestehenden östlichsten preußischen Provinz, deren Ausdehnung (ungeachtet historisch leicht wechselnder Grenzverläufe) ungefähr der historischen Landschaft Preußen entspricht. Die Bezeichnung kam erst in der zweiten Hälfte des 18. Jahrhunderts in Gebrauch, als neben dem 1701 zum Königreich erhobenen Herzogtum Preußen mit seiner Hauptstadt Königsberg weitere, zuvor polnische Gebiete im Westen (beispielsweise das sog. Preußen Königlichen Anteils mit dem Ermland und Pommerellen) zu Brandenburg-Preußen kamen und die neue Provinz Westpreußen bildeten.
Heutzutage gehört das Gebiet der ehemaligen preußischen Provinz überwiegend zu Russland (Oblast Kaliningrad) und Polen (Woiwodschaft Ermland-Masuren). Das ehemalige sog. Memelland (auch Memelgebiet, lit. Klaipėdos kraštas) kam erstmals 1920 und erneut ab 1945 zu Litauen.
West Prussia is a historical region in present-day northern Poland. The region fell to Prussia as a result of the first partition of Poland-Lithuania in 1772 and received its name from the province of the same name formed by Frederick II in 1775, which also included parts of the historical landscapes of Greater Poland, Pomerania, Pomesania and Kulmerland. The Prussian province lasted in changing borders until the early 20th century. After World War I, parts fell to the Second Polish Republic, founded in 1918. The largest cities in West Prussia include Gdansk (Polish: Gdańsk, today Pomeranian Voivodeship), Elbląg (Polish: Elbląg, today Warmia-Masuria Voivodeship), and Thorn (Polish: Toruń, today Kujawsko-Pomeranian Voivodeship).
Silesia (Polish: Śląsk, Czech: Slezsko) is a historical landscape, which today is mainly located in the extreme southwest of Poland, but in parts also on the territory of Germany and the Czech Republic. By far the most significant river is the Oder. To the south, Silesia is bordered mainly by the Sudeten and Beskid mountain ranges. Today, almost 8 million people live in Silesia. The largest cities in the region are Wrocław, Opole and Katowice. Before 1945, most of the region was part of Prussia for two hundred years, and before the Silesian Wars (from 1740) it was part of the Habsburg Empire for almost as many years. Silesia is classified into Upper and Lower Silesia.
The city of Elbląg (historically Elbing; population in 2023: 112,923) is located in the northern Polish Warmian-Masurian Voivodeship, just a few kilometers south of the Vistula Lagoon and around 50 kilometers southeast of Gdansk. In the Middle Ages, Elbląg was one of the leading Hanseatic cities and one of the headquarters of the Teutonic Order. Its importance as one of the leading ports on Baltic Sea was lost in the 15th century, partly due to silting.
In the early modern period, Elbing was predominantly under Polish sovereignty as part of the so-called "Royal Prussia" oder "Polish Prussia". As a result of the First Partition of Poland in 1772 the city came to the newly founded Prussian province of West Prussia, in 1945 to the then People's Republic of Poland.
“Crowds of children came from the manors and the outlying farms to help distribute presents at Christmas. Many large bowls of dough had to be prepared. Already in October they would be placed in warm rooms to rise, and the contents of the dough that rose and expanded, full of life, came almost entirely [from the manor].”
“The winners then had to disclose their recipes. These were reviewed, compared, and expertly standardized. It became apparent that eight spices had been used the most. […] On the basis of this information, Robert May then produced a recipe booklet with baking instructions…This little recipe booklet was subsequently included with every packet of spices.”2
What was new about Staesz’s gingerbread spices?
Kaliningrad is a large city in present-day Russia with almost 500,000 inhabitants. It is located in the Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave between Lithuania and Poland, which roughly corresponds to the northern part of the Prussian province of East Prussia before 1945 (today excluding Lithuanian areas). Before 1945, Königsberg was not only the capital of the province and the northeasternmost major city in Prussia, but also royal capital and residence in Prussia from 1724.
- 5g bitter orange peel
- 3g lemon peel
- 3g cinnamon
- 2g cloves
- 2g star anise
- 2g ginger
- 2g nutmeg
- 1g cardamom
“In the first year, we sold just 1,000 packets of pfefferkuchen spices [...] In the third year it was 10,000 and in the fifth year more than 70,000 packets, the contents of which found their way into the pfefferkuchen of families in the local area and beyond. A few years later, May’s pfefferkuchen spices were known throughout East and West Prussia, throughout Pomerania all the way to Berlin, and when, in late summer, the aroma of Staesz’s pfefferkuchen spices wafted along Wasser- and Schifferstraße as far as Elbląg Old Market, then the inhabitants of Elbląg would know that Christmas was just around the corner: the season had started.”3
Instructions for baking with Staesz spices
- Natural honey will produce a particularly delicious flavour. Artificial honey is a poor substitute.
- You only need to warm the honey gently with sugar, and, if using, butter (fat). Spices should be added to the dissolved honey, and when it has cooled, this should be added to the flour and other dry ingredients.
- Baking powder, or ammonium bicarbonate (or cream of tartar) and potassium carbonate (or baking soda) may be used as raising agents.
- Raising agents should be diluted in rosewater, rum, lukewarm milk, or lukewarm water and then added according to recipe instructions.
- Baking paper is recommended for lining baking trays and tins.
- Always cut the gingerbread while it is still warm; once it has cooled, store in tightly sealed containers in a cool place.
- Bake in a preheated oven on the middle shelf at 180–220 °C.
Altniederunger Pfefferkuchen
Staesz pfefferkuchen spice & Hayma Neunerlei
