Maluns
A plate of Maluns and apple compote, served along with various specialities of the Grisons, notably Alp cheese, dried meat and Salsiz (top right)
TypeMain dish
Place of originSwitzerland
Region or stateGrisons
Main ingredientsPotatoes, flour, butter

Maluns are a traditional dish of the Grisons, essentially made of potatoes.

Recipe

Maluns are prepared from boiled potatoes (usually one day before cooking), peeled and grated, then mixed with some flour in proportions varying according to the recipe. The resulting mixture is then slowly fried in butter and stirred constantly until it forms small golden balls or crumbs. Maluns are usually served with apple compote, which can be made with other fruits depending on the season. Other common accompaniments include various regional cheeses and cured meats, such as Salsiz (dry sausage) or Grisons Meat. They are also traditionally eaten along with milk coffee.[1]

Although seemingly easy, the preparation of Maluns requires time, especially the final part which can require more than 40 minutes of constant presence depending on the quality of the potatoes.[2] The writer and journalist Hanns U. Christen recommends, in his book Das Kochbuch aus der Schweiz, to cook Maluns at least twice before offering them to guests. Maluns are usually served as a main dish as they provide a rich meal even without the addition of meat.[3]

History

Potatoes (as well as maize) were introduced in the Grisons by Johann Gubert Rudolf von Salis in the 18th century, at Marschlins Castle, which is located in the vicinity of Landquart.[4]

The first potatoes were planted as ornamentals at Marschlins in 1717. It was not until 1758 that potatoes were served there for the first time at a castle dinner, but with very mixed success. However, a little over a decade later, a famine favored its consumption, so that by the end of the century, the potato was cultivated in all favorable regions of the Grisons.[5][6] At that time, the habit of cooking maluns spread among the peasants of the canton, to the point that some of them were given the nickname of "Magliamaluns" or "Malauner", which means "eaters of maluns".[7][8]

The Romansh word "maluns" descends from the Latin micula/miculones: "little crumbs". Maluns are also known as Bündner Kartoffelribel in German.[9]

See also

  • Capuns, another traditional dish of the Grisons
  • Rösti, a traditional potato dish of Switzerland

References

  1. ↑ Recipe: Maluns da Lai, food.ch. Accessed 2022-01-21
  2. ↑ Recipe: Maluns, swissmilk.ch. Accessed 22-01-2022
  3. ↑ "Maluns". Verein graubündenVIVA. Retrieved 13 January 2023. Ein Bauer oder eine Bäuerin hatte alle Zutaten, die für die Maluns benötigt werden, auf der Alp und brauchte – ausser Geduld – kein grosses Handwerk für die Zubereitung. Meist wurden sie zu Fasttagen serviert, da sie auch ohne Zugabe von Speck oder Trockenwurst eine reichhaltige Mahlzeit stellen. [...] Einmal wird mehr Mehl als Kartoffeln benötigt, ein andermal dominieren die Kartoffeln. Man kann normales Weissmehl verwenden, oder aber Mais- oder Gerstenmehl. Egal, wie man sie zubereitet, der Schriftsteller und Satiriker Hanns U. Christen empfiehlt in seinem Werk «Das Kochbuch aus der Schweiz», die Maluns mindestens zweimal zur Probe zu kochen, bevor man Gäste einlädt. [A farmer would have all the ingredients needed for Maluns on the alp and – apart from patience – did not need any great craftsmanship for the preparation. They were usually served on fasting days, since they provide a rich meal even without the addition of bacon or dry sausage. [...] Sometimes more flour than potatoes is needed, other times the potatoes dominate. You can use normal white flour, or corn or barley flour. No matter how you prepare them, the writer and satirist Hanns U. Christen recommends in his book "Das Kochbuch aus der Schweiz" to try cooking Maluns at least twice before inviting guests.]
  4. ↑ "Maluns". Helvetic Kitchen. Retrieved 13 January 2023. It was at Marschlins that Johann Gubert Rudolf von Salis planted the first corn and potatoes in the canton.
  5. ↑ "Kartoffelwurst, Liongia da tartuffels". Culinary Heritage of Switzerland. Retrieved 13 January 2023. Noch im Jahre 1758 wurden Kartoffeln in Marschlins erstmals als Speise aufgetischt, die Mägde und Knechte wiesen sie jedoch als „ungesund" zurück. Die Wende kam über ein Jahrzehnt später, als eine grosse Hungersnot dazu führte, vermehrt auf den Anbau von Kartoffeln umzustellen. Schon um das Jahr 1800 wurde praktisch in allen Ackerbaugebieten des Kantons Kartoffeln angebaut. [Potatoes were first served as a dish in Marschlins in 1758, but the maids and servants rejected them as "unhealthy". The turning point came more than a decade later, when a great famine led to an increased switch to the cultivation of potatoes. As early as 1800, potatoes were being cultivated in practically all arable areas of the canton.]
  6. ↑ "Recipe: Maluns". Graubünden Ferien. Retrieved 14 March 2021. Maluns is certainly not an ancient recipe, as can be seen from the fact that it requires potato as an ingredient. It would appear that potatoes were first served here in 1758 at a dinner in Marschlins Castle. Take a meditative look at what is in the pot and you will see that the ingredients for this dish (and others too) reflect the hard physical work of the peasant farmer in days gone by.
  7. ↑ "Voyage à travers l'histoire de la cuisine suisse". Consumo. Retrieved 13 January 2023. Le paysannat des Grisons a lui aussi fait preuve d'imagination en réalisant une recette capable de fournir les calories nécessaires pour effectuer les lourds travaux de ferme. C'est ainsi qu'est né le maluns vers la fin du 18e siècle, un plat comprenant des grumeaux de pommes de terre et de farine rôtis dans du beurre. Le maluns connut une telle diffusion dans les villages de montagne grisons que les habitants des lieux finirent par être appelés les «Magliamaluns» ou «Malauner», ce qui signifie «mangeurs de maluns». [The Grison peasants also showed their imagination by creating a recipe capable of providing the calories necessary for carrying out heavy farm work. This is how Maluns were born towards the end of the 18th century, a dish comprising lumps of potatoes and flour roasted in butter. Maluns became so widespread in the Grison mountain villages that the locals came to be called "Magliamaluns" or "Malauner", which means "maluns eaters".]
  8. ↑ "Malauner". Dicziunari Rumantsch Grischun (IDRG). Retrieved 13 January 2023.
  9. ↑ Maluns / Slow-Fried or Scrambled Potatoes, europeancuisine.com. Retrieved 14-03-2021


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