Grandma's German Baking Dictionary
The words on old Austrian and German recipe cards, and what to buy instead in an American store. For old weights and measures, see old units.
| On the card | Means | Buy in the US |
|---|---|---|
| Topfen | Fresh curd cheese (Austrian word; German: Quark) | Farmer's cheese or quark; drained ricotta in a pinch |
| Germ | Yeast (Austrian word; German: Hefe) | 1 cube fresh yeast (42 g) ≈ 2 packets (14 g) instant yeast |
| Staubzucker | Powdered sugar (German: Puderzucker) | Powdered / confectioners' sugar |
| Kristallzucker | Regular granulated sugar | — |
| Vanillezucker | Vanilla-flavoured sugar sold in small packets (about 8 g) | 1 packet ≈ 2 tsp sugar + ½ tsp vanilla extract |
| Obers / Schlagobers | Cream / whipping cream (Austrian; German: Sahne) | Heavy cream |
| Dotter | Egg yolk (Austrian; German: Eigelb) | — |
| Eiklar | Egg white (Austrian; German: Eiweiß) | — |
| Powidl | Thick, unsweetened plum butter cooked for hours | Lekvar (plum butter), found where Eastern European foods are sold |
| Marillen | Apricots (Austrian; German: Aprikosen) | — |
| Ribisel | Red currants (Austrian; German: Johannisbeeren) | Red currant jelly; seedless raspberry jam as fallback |
| Oblaten | Thin wafer discs baked under gingerbread (Lebkuchen) | Edible wafer paper, cut to size |
| Hirschhornsalz | Baker's ammonia, a traditional leavening for flat cookies Smells strongly while baking; the smell disappears. | Baker's ammonia (sold in the US under that name) |
| Mehl glatt / griffig | Smooth (fine) vs coarse flour — Austrian flour grades | Glatt → all-purpose flour; griffig → add 1 tbsp semolina per cup |
| Semmelbrösel | Fine breadcrumbs from rolls | Plain dry breadcrumbs |
| Rum (Inländer) | Austrian spiced rum used in baking | Dark or spiced rum |