Shocking Discovery in a Cookbook

Are the Germans Now Challenging Us Over the Schnitzel?

Austria’s schnitzel apparently has a surprisingly German history.(Bild: Johann Stockhammer)

The Wiener Schnitzel is considered a culinary icon of Austria. But a new historical lead is now causing a stir: The roots of this breaded specialty may lie much further north—in Germany.

An Austrian culinary historian examined cookbooks, recipe collections, and historical sources spanning several centuries to investigate this. In the process, she came across evidence that the technique of breading was already well known north of the Alps long before the Wiener schnitzel became Austria’s national dish.

Breading Technique Described as Early as 1691
As reported by the German newspaper “Bild,” corresponding references can already be found in historical German cookbooks. According to the “Complete Nuremberg Cookbook” from 1691, poultry and fish were coated with a mixture of breadcrumbs and flour and then fried in lard. However, there was no mention of a schnitzel at that time.

The evidence becomes even clearer nearly 100 years later. In the “New Lexicon of French, Saxon, Austrian, and Bohemian Culinary Arts” from 1785, there are recipes for so-called “Karbonaden.” These are slices of meat or cutlets.

The Crumb Coating: A Key Difference 
According to the study, the key difference lies in the preparation. The German karbonaden were drizzled with butter, breaded with breadcrumbs, and then fried. The Austrian versions, however, did not call for this method of preparation. Instead, they were served with beef broth or doused in it.

Coated in breadcrumbs and fried in lard: this is how they were cooked centuries ago.(Bild: P. Huber)

For culinary historian Sabine Flöcklmüller, this is an important clue to the origin of this method of preparation. The combination of meat and breading is found in the historical recipes from Germany that were examined, while comparable Austrian dishes were still prepared differently at that time.

Another clue leads to a cook from Bavaria
A historical trail also leads to Bavaria regarding the development of the schnitzel as we know it today. According to Flöcklmüller, the first Wiener Schnitzel in its current form can be traced back to the Bavarian cook Anna Maria Neudecker.

Neudecker reportedly worked in the Bohemian spa towns of Karlsbad and Franzensbad and described her recipe as early as 1831. The term “Viennese schnitzel” finally appeared for the first time in a Viennese cookbook in 1886.

History Is More Complex Than You Might Think
However, this does not mean that Austria’s most famous meat dish can simply be dismissed as “German.” The Wiener Schnitzel has long been closely associated with Austrian cuisine and has become a culinary classic here.

Rather, historical research suggests that the oldest known precursors to breaded meat dishes can be found in German cookbooks. The history of the Wiener Schnitzel is thus likely more complex than its name might initially suggest.