Strudel facts for kids
Apple strudel made in the Czech Republic
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| Type | Pastry |
|---|---|
| Place of origin | Austrian Empire |
| Region or state | Italy, Austria, Hungary, Germany |
| Main ingredients | Filo pastry |
A strudel is a super yummy type of pastry! It has many thin layers of dough wrapped around a filling, which is usually sweet. Think of it like a delicious roll. Strudel became very popular in the 1700s across the Austrian Empire. It's a famous part of Austrian cuisine, but you can also find it in many other countries in Central Europe. In Italy, it's even recognized as a special traditional food!
The oldest recipes for strudel were written down in 1696. One was for a milk-cream strudel and another for a turnip strudel. These old recipes are kept in a special cookbook in Vienna, Austria. This tasty pastry likely came from similar layered pastries found in the Near East, like baklava.
Contents
What Does "Strudel" Mean?
The word "strudel" comes from German. In German, Strudel actually means "whirlpool" or "swirl". This makes sense because of how the pastry is rolled up, looking like a swirl!
The Amazing Strudel Pastry
The most famous strudels are apple strudel (called Apfelstrudel in German) and Topfenstrudel (which has a sweet, soft cheese filling). There's also Millirahmstrudel, a delicious milk-cream strudel.
But there are many other kinds too! You can find strudels with:
- Sour cherries
- Sweet cherries
- Nuts
- Apricot
- Plum
- Poppy seed
- Raisin
Some strudels are even savory, meaning they're not sweet! These can have fillings like:
- Spinach
- Cabbage
- Potato
- Pumpkin
- Sauerkraut
- Even meat fillings!
The dough for traditional strudel is very special. It's different from puff pastry because it's super stretchy. It's made from flour, water, oil, and salt, but no sugar. The dough is mixed well, then left to rest. After resting, it's rolled out and stretched by hand until it's incredibly thin.
Some people say the dough should be so thin that you can read a newspaper through it! There's even a fun story that an Austrian Emperor's cook wanted the dough so thin you could read a love letter through it. Once the dough is thin, the filling is spread on it. Then, with the help of a clean towel, the dough is carefully rolled up and baked in the oven until it's golden and delicious.
Best Apples for Strudel
When making apple strudel, people often choose specific types of apples. These apples stay firm or semi-firm when baked and have a nice, slightly tart flavor. Some popular apple types used include:
- Belle de Boskoop
- Gravenstein
- Granny Smith
- Jonagold
These apples help give apple strudel its classic taste and texture.
A Funny Savory Strudel Story
In the 1800s, an American writer named Alice Lee Moqué had a funny experience with savory strudel. She was traveling in Croatia and mistakenly ordered a "Kraut sprudel" for dessert, thinking it was a sweet cake. But when it arrived, she found the sweet pastry crust was filled with hot, boiled cabbage! It was definitely not the sweet treat she expected.
Strudel and the @ Symbol
This is a cool fact! In Hebrew, the "@" symbol (like the one in email addresses) is often called "shtrudel" (שטרודל). People call it this because the symbol looks like a swirl, just like a strudel pastry! The official Hebrew word for the "@" symbol, "keruchith" (כרוכית), also means strudel pastry. So, the yummy dessert even inspired a computer symbol!
Images for kids
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A baker carefully shapes the filling on thin dough before rolling it up.
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Two freshly baked strudels ready to be enjoyed.
See also
In Spanish: Strudel para niños
