by neufer » Sat Sep 14, 2019 7:32 pm
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Speculaas wrote:
<<Speculaas or speculoos (Dutch: Speculaas, Flemish: speculoos, French: spéculoos: [spekylos], German: Spekulatius) is a type of spiced shortcrust biscuit, traditionally baked for consumption on or just before St Nicholas' day in the Netherlands (5 December), Belgium (6 December), Luxembourg (6 December), and around Christmas in Germany and Austria. Speculaas are thin, very crunchy, caramelized, slightly browned and, most significantly, have some image or figure (often from the traditional stories about St. Nicholas) stamped on the front side before baking; the back is flat. Speculaas dough does not rise much. Dutch and Belgian versions are baked with light brown (sometimes beet) sugar and baking powder. German Spekulatius uses baker's ammonia as leavening agent. Indian, Indonesian, and Mediterranean spices used in speculaas are cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, ginger, cardamom, and white pepper; these were common in the 1600–1700s due to the Dutch East Indies spice trade. The name speculoos was coined for Belgian wheat flour cookies with hardly any spices.
There are several interpretations for the origins of the name speculaas.
It may derive from Latin speculum, which means mirror and refers to the fact that the images are cut as a mirrored bas-relief into a wooden stamp, which is then used to decorate speculaas. Another, less likely, word origin refers to
the Latin word speculator which, among other meanings, could refer to a bishop or St Nicholas' epithet, "he who sees everything". Still another possible source is Specerij, the Dutch word for
spice.>>
[quote=https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Speculaas]
[float=left][img3=Speculaas: ship, farmhouse, elephant, horse]https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/fc/Spekulatius_four_pieces_of.jpg[/img3][/float]
<<Speculaas or speculoos (Dutch: Speculaas, Flemish: speculoos, French: spéculoos: [spekylos], German: Spekulatius) is a type of spiced shortcrust biscuit, traditionally baked for consumption on or just before St Nicholas' day in the Netherlands (5 December), Belgium (6 December), Luxembourg (6 December), and around Christmas in Germany and Austria. Speculaas are thin, very crunchy, caramelized, slightly browned and, most significantly, have some image or figure (often from the traditional stories about St. Nicholas) stamped on the front side before baking; the back is flat. Speculaas dough does not rise much. Dutch and Belgian versions are baked with light brown (sometimes beet) sugar and baking powder. German Spekulatius uses baker's ammonia as leavening agent. Indian, Indonesian, and Mediterranean spices used in speculaas are cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, ginger, cardamom, and white pepper; these were common in the 1600–1700s due to the Dutch East Indies spice trade. The name speculoos was coined for Belgian wheat flour cookies with hardly any spices.
There are several interpretations for the origins of the name speculaas. [b][color=#0000FF]It may derive from Latin speculum, which means mirror[/color][/b] and refers to the fact that the images are cut as a mirrored bas-relief into a wooden stamp, which is then used to decorate speculaas. Another, less likely, word origin refers to [b]the Latin word speculator which, among other meanings, could refer to a bishop or St Nicholas' epithet, "[i][color=#0000FF]he who sees everything[/color][/i]"[/b]. Still another possible source is Specerij, the Dutch word for [url=https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spice_Girls]spice[/url].>>[/quote]