Introducing different cuisines from the Alps region
Kaiserschmarrn, which literally translates into “Emperors mess”, a shredded pancake, freshly prepared. The name of the dish originated from the Austrian Emperor (Kaiser) Franz Joseph I, who was very fond of this kind of fluffy shredded pancake.
They were first attributed to the Austrian Kaiser Franz Joseph I, who loved them. One apocryphal story involves the Emperor and his wife, Elisabeth of Bavaria, of the House of Wittelsbach. Obsessed with maintaining a minimal waistline, the Empress Elisabeth directed the royal chef to prepare only light desserts for her, much to the consternation and annoyance of her notoriously austere husband. Upon being presented with the chef’s confection, she found it too rich and refused to eat it. The exasperated Francis Joseph quipped, “Now let me see what ‘Schmarren’ our chef has cooked up.” It apparently met his approval as he finished his and even his wife’s serving.
Another story is that Francis Joseph and his wife were traveling the Alps and stopped by a farmer’s home for lunch. The farmer was so nervous that he threw all the fanciest ingredients he had into a pan to make a delicious pancake; worse yet, due to his nervousness and shaky hands he scrambled the pancake. Hoping to cover up the mess he then covered it with plum jam. Luckily, the kaiser thought it was scrumptious.
Another popular tale is that his wife was a poor cook and couldn’t flip a pancake efficiently. She decided to play to her strengths and shred the pancakes altogether and would serve them up to the Kaiser on a regular basis with jam. He liked them with jam. It was his favorite dessert.
Kaiserschmarrn can be served with any kind of compote such as plums or strawberry, but it goes also well with vanilla sauce or ice creams.
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