Butterbrot. Rita E. / Pixabay.com / 2017 / CC0 1.0
The last Friday in September is German Butterbrot Day.
The day celebrates a German version of a simple sandwich, which they call a Butterbrot. A Butterbrot is a favourite German snack of a slice of single, buttered bread, with typically just one simple topping on it, making it an open-faced sandwich.
The simple topping could be just a thick slathering of high-quality creamery butter, on its own, or perhaps with a sprinkle of good crunchy salt, or some chopped fresh herbs. Or, a more substantial simple topping could be a slice of cheese, a slice of meat, cream cheese, a spoonful of jam, honey, or Nutella.
The bread is typically high-quality German bread. The Germans love their bread. More than 300 types of bread are typically sold in German bakeries.
Butter might not be the healthiest food substance around, but the bread, especially German breads which tend to be whole-grain breads, deliver a quick boost of minerals and fibre which can help fill a hollow leg between meals and certainly in a far healthier way than a chocolate bar or bag of chips / crisps can. [1]”…Meint Antje Gahl von der Deutschen Gesellschaft für Ernährung: “Das Butterbrot an sich ist nicht verkehrt.” Auch wenn Butter nicht gerade gesund sei, sättige das Brot schnell, liefere Mineralien und Ballaststoffe.” — Wagner, Dorothea. Ode an die Stulle: Das Glück ist eine Scheibe – aus Brot mit Butter. Heute ist Tag des Butterbrots. Höchste Zeit für eine Verneigung. Munich, Germany: Suddeutschezeitung. 25 September 2015. Accessed August 2021 at https://www.sueddeutsche.de/stil/tag-des-butterbrots-ode-an-die-stulle-1.2663535
Bakeries use the day to promote their bread products.
The bread for a Butterbrot is typically untoasted. Choose a good, hearty, whole-grain sourdough bread — Wonderbread has its own wonders, but it won’t cut the mustard here. So if you want to celebrate Butterbrot Day, start by going out and treating yourself to a very good artisanal loaf of bread.
In German, today is called “Tag des Deutschen Butterbrotes“.
#GermanButterbrotDay #TagDesDeutschenButterbrotes
See also: Sandwiches, German Food,
Recipes
History
Butterbrot Day was started in 1999 by the Central Marketing Society of the German Agricultural Industry (“Centrale Marketing-Gesellschaft der deutschen Agrarwirtschaft – CMA”).
The day was initiated to promote the agricultural products of bread and butter. By 1999, many other trendy things had started to displace the traditional German habit of a single slice of buttered bread as a snack.
The campaign lost its official sponsor when the CMA was disbanded in 2009, but the day has carried on under its own momentum.
Sources
Berends, Monique. Schmier mir mal ‘ne Stulle. Hamburg, German: Stern. 29 September 2006. Accessed August 2021 at https://www.stern.de/panorama/wissen/tag-des-deutschen-butterbrots-schmier-mir-mal–ne-stulle-3329756.html
Christman, Jennifer. Need some ideas for what to cook? Today is also German Butterbrot Day. Butterbrot? Whatterbrot is that? Little Rock, Arkansas: The Arkansas Democrat. 25 September 2018. Accessed August 2021 at https://www.arkansasonline.com/news/2018/sep/25/national-cooking-day-means-more-kitchen/
Wagner, Dorothea. Ode an die Stulle: Das Glück ist eine Scheibe – aus Brot mit Butter. Heute ist Tag des Butterbrots. Höchste Zeit für eine Verneigung. Munich, Germany: Suddeutschezeitung. 25 September 2015. Accessed August 2021 at https://www.sueddeutsche.de/stil/tag-des-butterbrots-ode-an-die-stulle-1.2663535
References
| ↑1 | ”…Meint Antje Gahl von der Deutschen Gesellschaft für Ernährung: “Das Butterbrot an sich ist nicht verkehrt.” Auch wenn Butter nicht gerade gesund sei, sättige das Brot schnell, liefere Mineralien und Ballaststoffe.” — Wagner, Dorothea. Ode an die Stulle: Das Glück ist eine Scheibe – aus Brot mit Butter. Heute ist Tag des Butterbrots. Höchste Zeit für eine Verneigung. Munich, Germany: Suddeutschezeitung. 25 September 2015. Accessed August 2021 at https://www.sueddeutsche.de/stil/tag-des-butterbrots-ode-an-die-stulle-1.2663535 |
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