Strudel
Layered pastry popular in Central European cuisines since the 18th century.
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A baked good that is layered, strudel uses a pastry shell and can be filled with either sweet or savory components.[1]
Key facts and history
The word "strudel" is an English loanword from German, deriving from a Middle High German word meaning 'whirlpool' or 'eddy'.[2] Eszter's account notes that rétes, the Hungarian name, comes from the word "réteges," meaning layered.[3] The strudel roll as it is known today appeared only in the 18th century.[3] A handwritten cookbook kept at the Wienbibliothek im Rathaus, dating to 1696, contains the earliest known strudel recipes: one for Millirahmstrudel and another for a turnip strudel.[4]
In its early form, strudel was assembled by placing extremely thin dough sheets on top of one another with filling in between, a technique akin to that used for baklava.[3] South Tyrol, a region in Italy, officially lists strudel as a prodotto agroalimentare tradizionale (PAT).[1] Strudelteig, the conventional pastry for strudel, is highly elastic and is not the same as puff pastry.[5] The dough's ingredients are high-gluten flour, water, oil, and salt; sugar is not included.[6]
Those who adhere to traditional methods claim the hand-stretched dough must be transparent enough to allow a newspaper to be read through it.[7]
What the cited sources add
Eszter states that many people mistakenly believe strudel has a Hungarian origin, but it was more likely taken from the Turks during Ottoman rule.[3] The same source notes that rétes-béles (layered strudel) was first mentioned in chronicles of the 15th-16th centuries.[3] Eszter explains that hand-stretched strudel is usually baked only for holidays or special occasions because it is very time-consuming to prepare.[3] Rappoport describes strudel as a traditional Austrian pastry filled with apples and raisins that became popular in Eastern European Jewish communities.[8]
The Academy of the Hebrew Language has given the official name "kruchit" to both the strudel pastry and the @ sign in Hebrew.[9] Eveleth reports that the @ symbol is called a strudel in Israel and a "rollmop" in Czech.[10]
References
- Wikipedia, "Strudel" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "Dicissettesima revisione dell'elenco nazionale dei prodotti agroalimentari tradizionali", Italian Ministry of Agricultural, Food and Forestry Policies, 2017, p. 78 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
- Wikipedia, "Strudel" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "Words in English: Loanwords", rice.edu; Oxford English Dictionary, second edition. 1989.; From Old High German stredan "to bubble, boil, whirl, eddy", according to etymonline.; Seebold, Elmar. 1999. Kluge Etymologisches Wörterbuch der deutschen Sprache, 23rd edition. Berlin: Walter de Gruyter, p. 803. (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
- Eszter, "Házi rétes - Homemade strudel Zserbo.com", zserbo.com, 2020-02-06. facts only, no text reused. zserbo.com
- Wikipedia, "Strudel" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: N.N.: Koch Puech. Ein Vortrefflich und Gerechtes Koch Puech, darinen bey 1350 Rahre und Kostbahre Speisen begreiffen Nemblichen vor aller Hand Pastetten und Dor; Friederich Kunz: Die Strudelfamilie – eine Wiener Mehlspeisendynastie mit orientalisch-europäischem Stammbaum, in "backwaren aktuell", 2/11; Eszter, "Házi rétes - Homemade strudel Zserbo.com", zserbo.com, 2020-02-06; Tóbiás, "24 Popular Pastries and Cakes in Hungary", www.offbeatbudapest.com, 2025-10-21 (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
- Wikipedia, "Strudel" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "Ausgezogener Strudelteig", GuteKueche.at (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
- Wikipedia, "Strudel" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "Real Homemade Strudel Dough", gatewayno.com (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
- Wikipedia, "Strudel" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "Strudelteig Grundrezept – Rezept", www.ichkoche.at (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
- Rappoport, "Classic Apple Strudel Recipe", My Jewish Learning, 11 December 2018. facts only, no text reused. myjewishlearning.com
- DLC, "strudel". facts only, no text reused. balashon.com
- Eveleth, "E-Mail's 'at' Sign Often Lost in Translation", CBS News, 16 November 2010}}. facts only, no text reused. cbsnews.com
Each numbered sentence above was checked against the source it cites before publication. Sentences citing Wikipedia adapt text from the English Wikipedia article Strudel (contributors), used under CC BY-SA 4.0; this entry is available under the same licence. Other sources were used for facts only; no text or images are copied from them.
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Sources
Compiled from Wikipedia and the sources listed below. Text from Wikipedia is available under CC BY-SA 4.0; this entry is adapted from it.
- Wikipedia: Strudel (CC BY-SA 4.0).
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