Schaumkuche

In several old cookbooks from the Union County area there is a popular dish called bread omelet, which is neither bread nor omelet. It is a baked dish known in Pennsylfaanisch as Schaumkuche, for which there is no better translation than the word pancake. The dish is sometimes characterized in old Pennsylvania High German sources as an Auflauf (soufflé), since the chief aerating agent is stiffly beaten egg whites.

In the larger context of food history, the Schaumkuche of Pennsylvania Dutch cookery belongs to a family of egg dishes known in southern Germany as Schmarren. The most famous of these is the Austrian Kaiserschmarrn, a fluffy dessert dish that is slashed or torn apart with forks into large pieces right before it is served. This same serving technique is used for Schaumkuche, which is why this dish is always at its best the moment it is brought to the table.