06 June 2025
A sweet greeting from the pan
Strauben
Some recipes tell more than just about ingredients – they speak of old times, festive moments, and small gestures with great significance. The Straube is one of these special dishes. In Tyrol, it was once part of the courtship ritual – a sweet "engagement greeting" made from dough and hot fat. Today, it is primarily one thing: a crispy delight that awakens childhood memories.
Using a special funnel and a lot of skill, artistic wreaths were created from the thick batter – golden yellow on the outside, fluffy soft on the inside. A real holiday dish that you can immediately smell again when you think of it.
Ingredients:
- 500g flour
- about 1/2 l milk
- 3 eggs
- 1 pinch of salt
- Some cinnamon & sugar
- Clarified butter or vegetable fat for frying
- Powdered sugar for dusting
How to do it:
- Preparing the dough: First, mix flour, milk, eggs, salt, along with a bit of cinnamon and sugar to create a thick batter. The batter should flow slowly but must be lump-free.
- Using the "Lorel": Once the fat in the pan is hot, the special moment arrives: Using a so-called "Lorel" or "Leier" funnel, pour the batter into the hot fat in a spiral shape – a round pattern reminiscent of a wreath. Traditionally, the pouring was accompanied by a quiet "Bitt für uns" (Pray for us).
- Frying to a golden yellow: The Straube is fried on both sides in the hot lard until golden yellow. Turn it with two spatulas and carefully lift it out of the fat. Let it drain on a plate with a napkin.
- Serving sweet: Finally, sprinkle with powdered sugar – that's all it takes for a genuine piece of Tyrolean pastry tradition.
A culinary heirloom
The Straube used to be rare – a sweet highlight for holidays or during the time of bean soup. Those who liked it would eat it with milk or coffee, some even cold. In the family, it was closely associated with grandma – with the old tune that was only taken out of the drawer for this occasion.
A sweet greeting from another time that still brings joy today.
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