Printen tales

History

"Printen", the nationally renowned confectionery of Aachen, are a type of gingerbread. According to "Aachen ABC’s", the "All Knowing" reference source on the spa city of Aachen, Printen probably originated in Dinant, Belgium- home of the first bakery for moulded gingerbread. Thus, Germany’s neighbors are the inventors of these delicious sweets. They are equally enjoyed by the Germans, Belgians and Dutch who not only share a common border near Aachen but also a sweet tooth! The Aachener variety of this tasty baked art, so to speak, is a delicious contribution towards European Unification!

Today’s chronicler has a difficult time finding documentation in the annals and archives on the history of Printen, and it’s artistic form. He or she must be satisfied with "historical morsels" of bakery history from the traditionally rich Aachener "Ocher" Printen bakers. The Printen baker, this is to some extent an Aachener title of nobility in that the baker, is the noble treasurer of a carefully guarded family secret about the ingredients of the brown baked delicacy. These who are in the know, not only fantasize about the composition of the spice mixture, but also they widely speculate about the origins of these goods exported worldwide. The daring of you allege: "Napoleon is to be blamed for everything - even for the Printen!"

Let us call Napoleon, the great Corsican, into the witness stand of history. He, who in the year 1806, imposed the continental blockade against the United Kingdom, agrees that although his large scale attempt to decisively weaken the British through this blockade failed, it ultimately revived Europe’s inventive spirit in the food sector.

The best example of this is the Aachener Printen Bakers. They had to do without many spices, especially the American wildflower honey, which before the blockade, was traded from the United Kingdom. True to the adage "Necessity is the Mother of Invention" the bakers grabbed their molasses jar! Moreover, because Napoleon understandingly promoted the cultivation of sugar beets for reasons of continental self sufficiency, there was now domestic sugar made from sugar beets to replace foreign sugar cane. However with molasses and beet sugar, the Printen dough became sticky and could no longer be pressed into the fine baking moulds. The taste was also different. Thus, the "rougher" molasses and beet sugar containing "Napoleon"-Printe was born...

So how did the moulded gingerbread come to Aachen? Once upon a time there was not a master baker, but a rather strapping representative of the Dinant bronze casting guild. He was present in Dinant, Belgium in 1620 during the casting of the statue of Charlemagne, which should decorate the well in front of the Aachener City Hall. The bronze basin was being made simultaneously in the "Emperor’s City" of Aachen. A caster from Dinant came to Aachen for the well construction—and during a breakfast break, offered the Aachener masters and apprentices some of his delicious homemade moulded gingerbread! And because they enjoyed it so much from the first bite, the recipe was tried out in the Aachener bakeries and improved upon. Because the moulded gingerbread specialty of Dinant can be traced back to the year 1000, Printen are indeed a part of a honorable tradition!