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Jam Tascherl made of curd dough

History

Pinzgau, a region in the country of Salzburg, is popular for various reasons. Food is undoubtedly one of the most famous and most important reasons. Nowadays cuisines of other countries and continents influence the Austrian cuisine, however, people in former times had only little choice about what to cook. This was particularly the case for the rather vast part of the population, which lived under humble circumstances. Although a variety of common professions existed in the Pinzgau region, agriculture and farming built the most important fundament for the people.

Eating was and still remains essential, but contrary to today, the preparing, the availability, the sharing and the consumption of food constituted social structures and hierarchies in large parts of the country. Scientific researches on food traditions give great insights in how people lived and how social life functioned in former times. More precisely, we find out how the structures of power were built and how relationships of exchange influenced and constructed those structures. Not only eating itself, but also the culinary skills played a major role regarding one's social standing, respectively for women. Time and schedule concerning food and its consumption were important. There is hardly any folktale in which food does not occur. The tales tell us when people ate, what they ate, where they ate and what delicacies they prepared for special occasions. Food structured the year, the month even the day. Furthermore, eating could convey personal appreciation as well as disrespect.

The basis for food in the Pinzgau region were milk, potatoes and corn, which were cooked and prepared in various ways. Meat, for instance, was a seldom culinary pleasure, even for comparatively prosperous families. Meat was commonly preserved as bacon and occasionally eaten during days of hard fieldwork or on Sundays in dumplings. Rich families ate vegetables almost every day, fruits were eaten by those who owned fruit orchards. During winter, dried fruits were used to stuff confection of pastry. The famous fruit bread, particularly prepared for Christmas, still reminds of that tradition. The chance for a healthy and balanced diet was a clear privilege to farmers with landholdings. In the past, poverty was the major reason for under nourishment and consequently for diseases and infections. A huge difference to modern life is the fact that almost everything was used and eaten with very little leftovers thrown away.

Old men and women remember the eating habits of their childhood very well. A farmer woman, who grew up at the beginning of the previous century, told researchers about her experiences in terms of food. Her family did not own a fridge. Instead, they used a big box opened to the outside in order to keep their food cold and fresh. On Sundays, she and her family ate dumplings with some salad. Every two weeks her mother baked 32 loafs of bread, therefore she had to get up at 3 o'clock in the morning to knead the dough. Coffee was reserved for special occasions. When she and her brother were sent to collect berries, their mother provided them with bread and coffee. Moreover her mother brewed beer herself, which was consumed on long and hot summer days spent on the field cutting grass. In the morning they usually ate "Brennsuppe", a soup with potatoes. For lunch they had confections of pastry and in the evening various dishes, all made with potatoes. Until today eating those confections of pastry is a loved memory for this woman. The Marmeladetascherl have their origins in those times; so just try them and get a taste of how former times were like in the Pinzgau region.

Source: Sprache und Essen, Pinzgauer Kochbuch: Kost und Brauch aus der Region Nationalpark Hohe Tauern. Ein Schulprojekt der Fachschule für wirtschaftliche Berufe in Bramberg am Wildkogel. Publisher: Tauriska.

Ingredients

actual size

• 250g flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 250g butter
• 1 package curd
• a pinch of salt
• 1 egg white
• jam (you can also use nut cream for the stuffing)

Procedure

1. Mix the flour with the baking powder and add the butter. Then add the curd and the salt and knead it into dough.
2. The dough should rest in the fridge for one hour. When ready, roll the dough to about 2mm thickness and cut it into 10cm big squares.
3. Put a blob of jam in the middle of each square and fold them diagonally, doing so you will create your Tascherl. Put a bit of the egg white onto each Tascherl and place them into a baking pan.
4. Preheat the oven to 180° C, put the Tascherl into the oven and bake them for approximately 20 min.
5. Before serving, dust some sugar onto the Tascherl to add some extra flavour.

Now - enjoy them!