Eiernockerl

Eiernockerl
with bacon
TypeDumpling
Coursemain
Place of originAustria
Main ingredientsFlour, eggs, milk, butter

Eiernockerl (German, egg dumplings) is a simple, yet popular, Austrian dish of the Viennese cuisine.[1][2]

Origin

Dumplings are popular in all regions of Austria. They are also found in sweets such as the Salzburger Nockerl, which, according to legend, was a specialty of Salome Alt, mistress of the Prince-Archbishopric of Salzburg, and the reason he was enamored of her.[3]

Ingredients and variants

The typical ingredients for Eiernockerl are flour, eggs, milk, butter, and then salt, pepper, ground nutmeg, and for decoration chives.[2] Eiernockerl is usually served with a side dish of green salad.[1]

It is also made to use up leftover Nockerl. [4]

Some of the Austrian dumplings' main variants are: Krautspatzen, with sauerkraut roasted in butter; Apfelspatzen, with apples; and Erdäpfelspatzen, with peeled potatoes.[1]

Hitler association

In 1997, Wolfgang Fröhlich, Holocaust denier[5] and former district council member for the Freedom Party, alleged that Adolf Hitler's favorite food was Eiernockerl.[6] Some restaurants in Austria started advertising the dish as a "daily special" for the 20th of April, which is Hitler's date of birth.[6] Accordingly, many neofascists have taken to celebrate Hitler's birthday by eating Eiernockerl while they promote the event on social media as strictly culinary.[7]

Hitler was actually fond of Leberknödel (liver dumplings).[8]: 78  Austrian historian Roman Sandgruber, in his biography of Hitler's father Alois, notes that the traditional foods of Braunau am Inn were mostly meatless, with Kaiserschmarrn, Eiernockerl, and Rohrnudeln all being popular, giving young Adolf a taste for cabbage, dumplings, and pastries.[9]: 110  Johannes J. Eibl's 1965 book Ewige Wahrheit ("Eternal Truth") features an interview with a cook who'd worked at the Bürgerbräukeller beer hall in Munich, in which he describes Eiernockerl as Hitler's "favourite dish."[10]: 146 

An account of Hitler's tour of Vienna after the Anschluss relates that he dined on Eiernockerl and green salad. [11]: 14 

Eiernockerl is normally served in Austrian restaurants every day of the year.[7]

See also

References

  1. ^ a b c Karrers, Andrea. "Nockerl: einfach aber köstlich" [Dumplings: simple but delicious] (in German). ORF. Retrieved 31 August 2018.
  2. ^ a b "Egg Dumplings". WienInfo. Vienna Tourist Board. Archived from the original on 31 August 2018. Retrieved 30 August 2018.
  3. ^ "Salzburger Nockerl". WienInfo. Vienna Tourist Board. Retrieved 30 August 2018.
  4. ^ "Austrian-style Gnocchi – Nockerl". 11 April 2018. Retrieved 2022-11-26.
  5. ^ Vessely, Rebecca (12 November 1996). "Germany restricts internet content". Wired. Retrieved 30 August 2018.
  6. ^ a b "Some Austrians celebrated 4/20 by eating Hitler's favorite dish". The Jerusalem Post. 21 April 2016. Retrieved 30 August 2018.
  7. ^ a b Herbst, Hanna (20 April 2016). "Hitler-Verehrer servieren zur Feier des Tages Eiernockerl mit Salat" [Hitler's admirers serve Eiernockerl with salad to celebrate the day]. Vice (in German). Retrieved 30 August 2018.
  8. ^ Fuchs, Thomas (2000). A Concise Biography of Adolf Hitler. Berkley. ISBN 978-0425173404. Retrieved 26 January 2025.
  9. ^ Sandgruber, Roman (2022). Hitler's Father: Hidden Letters – Why the Son Became a Dictator. Frontline Books. ISBN 9781399019279.
  10. ^ Eibl, Johannes (1965). Ewige Wahrheit [Eternal Truth] (in German). Europäischer Verlag. Retrieved 26 January 2025. Meinen Mann, er war der Prototyp des lustigen Rheinländers, lernte ich in München kennen, wo ich im Bürgerbräukeller als Köchin tätig war und manchmal Hitler sein Leibgericht herstellte." "Was mochte [Hitler] denn gerne?" Och der war gar nicht anspruchsvoll ochte am iebsten Eiernockerl mit grünem Salat. Um mich, einzuhauen, machte ich das Nockerl bissengroß und mit soviel Eimasse bedeckt, daß vom Nockerlteig nichts zu sehen war. [«I met my husband, he was the prototype of the jolly Rhinelander, in Munich, where I worked as a cook in the Bürgerbräukeller and sometimes prepared Hitler's favorite dish.» «What did [Hitler] like?» «Oh, he wasn't at all demanding, his favorite dish was Eiernockerl with green salad. To impress him, I made the dumplings the size of a bite and covered them with so much egg mixture that you couldn't see any of the dumpling dough.»]
  11. ^ Schrapfeneder, Franz (1983). "Wien: Porträt einer Stadt" [Vienna: portrait of a city] (in German). Ueberreuter. ISBN 3800031795.