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Aachener Printen are a type of Lebkuchen originating from the city of Aachen in Germany. Similar to gingerbread, they were originally sweetened with honey, but are now generally sweetened with a syrup made from sugar beets.
The term is a protected geographical indication, meaning that all manufacturers must be located in or near Aachen.
Through the use of beet syrup, the dough of this new variety became correspondingly coarser, tougher, and more difficult to shape, which is why, at first, as with its predecessors the Couques de Dinant, there were only hard Printen. This sluggish and non-spreading dough had the significant advantage that flat and slender Schnittprinten could now be easily shaped on trays for mass production in factories, and due to their firmness, this type was far better suited for shipping and thereby opening up new sales markets. This ultimately meant – apart from a few product exceptions – the end of the widespread production of Printen figures shaped in molds.
In the following decades, there was a rapid further development of these Aachen Printen. With sugar prices falling from the 1830s onwards, the products again became more varied and could, for example, be coated with a sugar glaze, leading to the introduction of the so-called “Prinzessprinten.” In the 1850s, the dough could be given a looser texture by adding rock candy crumbs, and from the 1860s onwards, the confectioner Henry Lambertz finally succeeded in coating the Printen with liquid chocolate through more advanced chocolate processing. In the meantime, a higher honey content could also once again be used, which made the dough smoother and consequently led to the production of Weichprinten. Thus, there were now three basic types of this pastry: Kräuter-, Prinzess-, and Schokoladenprinten, which were offered as hard or soft Printen, mostly in broken form and more rarely as picture Printen. In addition, the introduction of steam engines during this period also enabled factory-style mass production of this pastry.
The degree of fame and popularity of Aachen Printen led, among other things, to the already well-known Aachen baker and confectioner Henry Lambertz being appointed around 1870 as Purveyor to the Court for the Belgian, Dutch, and Prussian royal houses. But other traditional companies such as the Aachen Printen and Honey Cake Factory van Rey (founded 1833), the bakery Nobis Printen (1858), the confectionery Leo van den Daele (1890), and the bakeries Drouven (1896) and Klein (1912) also expanded their product ranges to include Aachen Printen, with their products differing only through variations in spice and ingredient mixtures. Much later, in the 1950s, further additions to the existing product range came with the introduction of Schokoladen-Saftprinten, Nuss-Schokoladenprinten, and Nuss-Saftprinten.
To this day, the original Aachen Printen, due to certification by the EU as a product with protected geographical indication, hold an undisputed status far beyond the region.
Printen are made from a variety of ingredients including cinnamon, aniseed, clove, cardamom, coriander, allspice and also ginger. The exact mixture of these ingredients, however, is a close kept secret of the individual Printen bakeries.
Additionally to the original Printen, there are also Printen with nuts (usually almonds), covered in chocolate or glaze and marzipan.
For the topping, depending on the product, various glazes are chosen, ranging from simple sugar glaze to rich chocolate coating, as well as decorations with almond or nut slivers. Simple herb Printen have a physiological calorific value of about 1465 kilojoule/100 g ( 350 kcal/100 g) with about 2 g fat, while Printen with sugar or chocolate coating or with nuts, almonds, or similar have higher values.
The acrylamide content in Printen resulting from the baking process remains, in the majority of products available commercially, below the benchmark guide values, whereby the values have tended to improve or at least stabilize at a harmless level through replacement of hartshorn as a leavening agent and through careful preparation. Acrylamide values from Verbraucherzentrale
Rhenish Sauerbraten, where they, along with raisins and beet syrup, enhance the flavor of the sauce Recipe Aachen Sauerbraten with Printen, retrieved December 26, 2019
Jugged venison with prunes and Printen sauce
Saddle of venison with Printen sauce Saddle of venison with Printen sauce
as well as Printen in numerous variations, for example
In place of original Printen, an artificially produced Printen flavoring is used as a distinctive characteristic in other foods and luxury goods. For example, it is found:
in Aachen Printen ice cream or in Printen candies from 1900 made by a locally renowned candy specialist
as an additive in Printen tea based on black or green tea
as an additive for Printen liver sausage and Printen pâtés
as an additive in Printen tobacco for pipe smokers
as a base for the 35% Printen liqueur, which can also be made with fresh Printen Printen liqueur
the carnival society “Oecher Prente 1988 e. V.”
the “Printen Promenaders Aachen Square Dance Club e. V.,” founded in 1987
the annual pre-Christmas “Printen shooting” of the Aachen marksmen's clubs
the small arts prize “Aachener Prenteschang,” worth 5000 euros, donated by the Lambertz company and awarded by the “Aachen Home Theater Stage Friends 1947 e. V.” to personalities who have successfully managed to present the peculiarities of a European region pointedly and with humor to a broad supraregional public. Previous winners included, among others, Wendelin Haverkamp (1995), Jürgen von der Lippe (1996), Hanns Dieter Hüsch (1997), De Höhner (1999), Konrad Beikircher (2001), and Bernd Stelter (2003)
the bronze sculpture Printen Girl, created in 1989 by Hubert Löneke, donated by Leo van den Daele, located at Büchel corner Körbergasse
In addition, some legends and novels also refer to Aachen Printen, for example:
Werner Setzen: The Aachen Printen Breviary. 3rd, revised edition. Meyer & Meyer, Aachen 2009, ISBN 978-3-89899-334-0. (google online, excerpt)
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