Battle of the croissants.

The origins of the croissant lie closer to Zürich than to Paris. As the french term, Viennoiserie, used to refer to croissants, pains au chocolat, chaussons aux pommes, and the like, suggests, it was the Austrian capital that exported 'kipferln' to France after the Napoleonic Wars.

During my final week in Switzerland, I decided to consumer test 'gipfeli', as Swiss-German calls them, from two of the most popular bakeries in Zürich: Jung (est. 1976), on Bleicherweg, and Sprüngli (est. 1836), on Paradeplatz. I will be comparing these with the french version in the next few days.

The Jung gipfeli (1.40CHF / 1.13€), straight shaped with quite a dark colouring, was soft and dense, with an obvious flavour of butter and a hint of salt. 

The Sprüngli gipfeli (1.70CHF / 1.37€), a perfect crescent shape, in fact almost a circle, with a golden colour, was crispy but rather dry, with a light consistency, again a good buttery flavour, and more salt.

For flavour, I preferred the Sprüngli, but I must say I preferred the consistency of the Jung. However, both were a little disappointing, especially the dryness of the Sprüngli.




Butter ratings:
Sprüngli, Bahnhofstrasse 21, 8001 Zürich, Switzerland 

Jung, Bleicherweg 10, 8002 Zürich, Switzerland

Bonjour tout le monde!

After two years living in the Swiss city of Zürich, I have moved, lock, stockpot, and Kitchenaid, to the city of Paris, France. So, my blog has a new look, a new name, and a new focus. Chueche Bueb, is no more but welcome to Pain, Beurre, Vin, named for three of the cornerstones of French cuisine, and dedicated to a twenty-first century take on 'mastering the art of French cooking.'
Living in Paris will be a culinary adventure, which I intend to punctuate with learning the classic recipes, as well as writing about contemporary trends and attitudes to food in France. Watch this space for hints, tips, and photographs of what I hope will be some of the best food in the world.
All the posts from Chueche Bueb will continue to be available in the archive. So, 'Uf Wiederluege, Züri' and 'Bonjour, Paris!'

Sächsilüüte: a very Zürich festival

Today is the local holiday of Sächsilüüte (six bells) in which the people of Zürich officially celebrate the end of winter. They do this by setting fire to a poor unsuspecting snowman on the top of a large bonfire, in a square specially reserved and named for this. The snowman, or Böögg's head contains explosives and if it blows off quickly then it will be a good summer: if the snowman lingers, so will the cold weather.
Accompanying this spectacle, is a whole day of feasting, associated with the city's thirteen traditional guilds. In the morning, they gather in bars and restaurants close to their Guild Halls and drink beer while the Guild band plays music. In the afternoon, the Guilds process through the city to Sächsilüütawiesä, a large square by the lake for the burning of the Böögg, which starts as the bells of the Grossmünster strike six.
Throughout the day, the city is full of stalls selling swiss sausages (bratwurst, cervelat to name but two), cheeses and cakes and biscuits. The most traditional are salty brezels and sweet Lebchueche (love cakes). These come in the shape of hearts and are inscribed with mottos such as 'Ich ha di gärn' (I love you) or, for those men backward in coming forward 'Du weichei' (you wimp!) Other sweet specialities appear to be nougat and also variations on the fig roll.
Here are some pictures taken this morning while things were getting going.

Building the bonfire under the Böögg

Fresh brezels

Nougat and fig cakes

Lebchueche: 'du weichei', 'meine Prinzessin'

Bergchäs (mountain cheese)

B 

Zouft zur Mäise (wine merchants, saddlers and painters)

Easter Bunnies Sprüngli Style

It can't have escaped your notice (unless, like me you have spent the last 10 days in the Far East) but Easter is coming very soon! My personal contribution to Easter will be revealed tomorrow, but for now I want to show you what Sprüngli, here in Zürich has been up to. They are changing their window display daily: yesterday sponge rabbits and today icing sugar pictures on top of cakes. They are quite original!

A Chuecheli* lover's guide to Zurich

 When it comes to buying and eating bread and cakes, Zurich is a bit disappointing. Among all the high-end jewellery and watch shops, you are hard pressed to find a traditional Konditorei or Backerei such as you might see in Munich or Vienna. I guess the sizeable population of bankers is more interested in spending their time making money than whiling it away enjoying a cappuccino and Apfelstrudel like their Austrian neighbours.
It is not to say that Zurich pâtisserie doesn't exist; it's just not so present as you might expect and I use the word pâtisserie, because there is a distinctly french influence to what is available. The most famous Zurich pâtisserie, Sprüngli, is known for it's Luxemburgerli, which are essentially mini french macarons. And if you want the authentic french version you can pick them up from the Zurich branch of Ladurée but without the authentic Parisian queues.
A recent outing to Honold (est. 1905) Zurich's self-styled 'confiserie' revealed a second growing influence on cakes, that of the English-speaking ex-pat community who have brought their love of cupcakes to Switzerland. And it's telling that Zurich's own cupcake shop has an English name 'Cupcake Affair'.
In fact, you can buy cupcake-making equipment all over the city, perhaps aimed at wives of expat bankers sitting bored at home and wondering what to do with that Neff oven.
As a footnote, I must add that just round the corner from my apartment is Zurich's only 24-hour 365-day-per-year Backerei where you can buy fresh baguette at 3am.

*'chuecheli': swiss german for little cake

Sprüngli Luxemburgerli

Chaussons aux pommes for carnival at Sprüngli

The real deal: Ladurée macarons

Traditional ...

... and not so traditional at Honold

Gruezi Mitenand (again!)

Welcome to my second attempt at a blog. My first one, Züri Blog which aimed to document the City of Zürich through its COOP supermarkets, was a great idea but impractical. Firstly there are too many COOPs around the city and secondly, I found myself outside the city too much to make updates which were of a useful regularity. So, now I am back! This time with Chueche Bueb a blog that combines my two favourite pastimes of writing and baking.
I had the idea for this blog a while ago because of something I noticed on Facebook. No matter how many witticisms, insightful comments or exotic photographs I posted, the only thing that would really get my friends' attention was when I shared pictures of food I had prepared.
So, I am sure you are all asking yourselves where I got the name from. Well, as I live in Zürich, it seems appropriate to choose a Schwyzertüütsch (Swiss German) name. Chueche Bueb translates literally as Cake Boy and is a homage to two things: firstly it's an early version of the term 'metrosexual' which I think is really amusing and also it's the name of the shop of my favourite pâtissier Eric Lanlard.
Enough of explanations: let's get started with the really fun stuff ... the food! And as the subject of the ultimate food blog would have said: Bon appetit!