Nürnberger Lebkuchen

Nürnberger Lebkuchen are a spiced gingerbread from Nuremberg, protected in the EU as a PGI since 2 July 1996. Only Lebkuchen baked within the city of Nuremberg may carry the name; the ingredients themselves may come from elsewhere. The best-known kind is the Elisenlebkuchen.

According to the City of Nuremberg, Elisenlebkuchen contain at least 25 % almonds, hazelnuts or walnuts and no more than 10 % flour, and many bakers use none. The dough is spread on thin wafers (Oblaten) by hand or by machine and spiced with cinnamon, anise, ginger, cardamom, coriander, mace, cloves and allspice.

Honey from the Reichswald, the forest around the city, helped make Nuremberg an early centre of Lebkuchen baking. Lebkuchen bakers have worked here since the Middle Ages, and in 1643 the city recognised the first sworn Lebküchner guild with 14 members. A quality guideline has applied since 1978.

The name was registered by Commission Regulation (EC) No 1263/96, file number PGI-DE-0670. Two bodies check the place of baking and the traditional recipes: a working group of the German confectionery industry association and the Schutzverband Nürnberger Lebkuchen, founded in 2012 by the Nuremberg bakers' guild.

Why this matters to you: the protected name guarantees where the Lebkuchen were baked, not where the almonds or spices come from. For the richest kind, choose Elisenlebkuchen and check the nut share in the ingredient list.