LEBKUCHEN CRAFTSMANSHIP SINCE 1685
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The original Metzger Lebkuchen has been made the same way for centuries. The basis of our specialities is our top secret Lebkuchen dough, which is made exclusively from pure Austrian bee honey, rye and wheat flour and raw sugar. In a complex and delicate process, the dough is "cooked" and then stored. Afterwards, the raw dough has up to six months to mature, similar to wine or sourdough. This makes the original Lebkuchen naturally durable, soft and particularly juicy.
As part of our traditional production, we avoid baking additives, colouring and enzymes, and place a strong emphasis on the quality ingredients. This applies not only to the main ingredient - honey, but also to the spices, nuts, dried fruits and fruit jams. For marzipan we only use the best quality Mediterranean almonds and our chocolate has a high cocoa content. The special interplay of all these ingredients according to our original recipes creates the well-known, delicate Lebkluchen that you will never want to do without.
HONEY AT THE CORE: LEBKUCHEN AND CANDLES
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At the heart of it all are the busy bees who tirelessly produce honey and give the Lebkuchen it's delicate flavour, lightness and shelf life. Our traditional production gives the ingredients enough time and peace to combine and develop the full potential of their taste. The decadence of the Viennese court is reflected in our pleasantly composed Lebkuchen chocolates filled with jam, jellies or marzipan, that simply melt in your mouth.
TRADITION
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330 years of traditional handcraft
HONEY
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Bees at the heart of our tradition
NATURAL
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Exclusively natural ingredients
EXQUISITE
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Excellent taste elegantly packaged
LEBKUCHEN TRADITION
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The business of the "Lebkuchen baker" and "Candle maker" of Metzger & Söhne began in 1685 Perchtoldsdorf near Vienna. As a place of pilgrimage, many pilgrims visited the town and consumed provisions in the form of Lebkuchen cookies. Lebkuchen was traditionally pressed into wooden moulds depicting images of saints or lucky charm motifs, which were brought back as gifts from the pilgrimage but were less suitable for consumption.
The advance to Vienna around 1750 changed everything and traditional Lebkuchen was transformed with marzipan and chocolate into extravagant pieces for the sophisticated Viennese society and Habsburg Court. Today, this tradition lives on and can be tasted in Metzger's products and seen in our exquisite packaging.
PURE AUSTRIAN HONEY
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The main ingredient in our original Lebkuchen is honey: a pure natural product collected and produced for us by industrious bee colonies in the west of Austria, over the sunny months. For 500 grams of honey, worker bees have to fly out around 40,000 times, covering a distance equivalent to three times the circumference of the earth.
In ancient Egypt, honey was revered as the "food of the gods" and the source of immortality. In addition to its religious significance, the medicinal effectiveness of honey was recognised very early on. As early as 400 BC, Hippocrates knew how to reduce fever with honey ointments. With countless minerals, proteins, enzymes, amino acids, vitamins and antioxidants, honey is a popular household remedy for colds and inflammations, and has been used as a natural sweetener for thousands of years.
NATURAL INGREDIENTS
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The original Metzger Lebkuchen has been made from the same ingredients for centuries: Pure Austrian bee honey, rye and wheat flour, raw sugar and spices, free of eggs, butter, oil or milk.
Our Lebkuchen creations are filled with the highest quality marzipan, pure fruit jams and dried fruit flavours. We also use high quality and oil rich nuts such as Mediterranean almonds, hazelnuts from Piedmont and pistachios from Sicily, which naturally have an intense flavour. All our products are free of palm oil, artificial flavours, colours and preservatives.
EXQUISITE EXPERIENCE
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Our finely balanced Lebkuchen creates an exquisite taste experience. The combination of fluffy yet moist, lightly spiced Lebkuchen, pistachio marzipan and a crisp, shimmering coating of dark chocolate topped with a dark green shining pistachio is neither too sweet nor too heavy, but a pleasure that simply melts in your mouth.
Our high quality boxes and tins are the perfect gift for someone special, and true taste of Viennese indulgence.
Our specialities are the perfect companion with coffee, tea, wine or whisky, or as a snack or dessert. The subtly spiced taste is popular with Lebkuchen and gingerbread lovers, alike, as well as general sweet connoisseurs, who are often surprised to discover that Lebkuchen can taste exquisite.
SUSTAINABle & REGIONAL
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We prefer to rely on longterm partners with whom we have worked with for decades. Each supplier supplies pure, natural, regional products of the best quality, and attaches a great importance to sustainable management. For example, the honey comes from small beekeepers in the area who work sustainably and not from factory farming. Only Austrian honey is used.
Are you looking for high quality products for your business? Please get in touch: lebkuchen@metzgersoehne.com