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Alsace
Dried fruit, spices, honey and citrus notes: at the heart of the Alsatian Christmas markets, pain d'épices has since the 18th century been one of the sweet treats that make the reputation of Gertwiller, the "capital" of the genre.
Pastry or bakery speciality from Alsace.
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In Alsace, pain d'épices is far more than a simple festive treat: in Gertwiller, a small village in Bas-Rhin, it has become a true institution, woven into the local cultural and culinary heritage since the 18th century. Custom then had it that lovers would offer heart-shaped pain d'épices to their sweethearts to declare their feelings, whilst conscripts sold oval ones during their festive rounds in neighbouring villages — a tradition as affectionate as it was lucrative.
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Gertwiller's reputation as the capital of pain d'épices was built over the centuries: the village had around ten workshops at the beginning of the 20th century, compared with just two today. Maison Fortwenger, founded in 1768 by Charles Fortwenger, is the older of the two: taken over in the 1980s by Gérard Risch then handed down to his son Steve, it now produces between 1,200 and 1,400 tonnes of pain d'épices a year in its workshops in Gertwiller and Ensisheim, and has established itself as a leader on the French market. To share its savoir-faire, in 2009 it opened the Palais du Pain d'Épices, a visitor centre dedicated to the history of the product and the secrets of its production. Maison Lips has been making pain d'épices in the same Gertwiller building since 1806; taken over in 1977 by Michel Habsiger, in 1996 it opened a Musée du pain d'épices et de l'art populaire alsacien, where more than 10,000 objects — including over seven hundred antique moulds — retrace the history of the product.
Taste
Enveloping sweetness carried by dried fruit, honey and citrus notes, with balanced spiced flavours.
Beyond plain pain d'épices, the Gertwiller houses offer the product in many forms: honey slabs, tongues, bags of sugar-glazed assortments, chocolate-coated or fruit-flavoured slices — including a version specially crafted to accompany foie gras.
made from flour, sugar and honey, it rests for between four and six weeks to allow the flavours to develop fully.
the mother dough is enriched with various spices in a kneader.
the dough is shaped and then baked according to methods that have remained largely manual.
each piece is decorated by hand with artisan precision.
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Pain d'épices can be enjoyed all year round in the shops of the Gertwiller houses, with a marked peak at the time of the Alsatian Christmas markets, alongside the season's other sweet treats — bredele, mannele and mulled wine.
Pain d'épices d'Alsace enjoys no official recognition (PDO (AOP), PGI (IGP), Label Rouge). Its tradition is nonetheless firmly established: Gertwiller, a village in Bas-Rhin, is recognised as the "capital of pain d'épices" and is home to two century-old artisan houses still in operation, maison Fortwenger (founded in 1768) and maison Lips (founded in 1806) — compared with around ten workshops at the beginning of the 20th century.
Family-run
Large artisan house
Family-run
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