Aachener Printen

The story

Aachener Printen, by the account usually told in Aachen, owe their origins partly to a crisis. When Napoleon's blockade cut off imports of cane sugar and honey to western Europe in 1806, the bakers of Aachen began using local sugar-beet syrup, darker and more bitter than honey, which produced the distinctive, intense flavor of today's Printen. Over the 19th century the recipe branched out: around 1820 a darker, fat-free version with herbs appeared, in the 1830s one with sugar icing, in the 1850s one studded with bits of rock sugar, and in the 1860s a chocolate-covered version. Today the name "Aachener Printen" holds a protected geographical indication in the European Union. Only products made in Aachen or the surrounding area may carry it, much like Champagne or Parmesan. Printen are above all an Advent and Christmas treat, though in Aachen they are baked and sold all year. For families with roots in western Germany, a box of real Printen, mailed or carried over from Aachen, has a weight of authenticity that a homemade version can hardly match.