Leibniz-Keks
The Leibniz-Keks or Choco Leibniz is a German brand of biscuit or cookie produced by the Bahlsen food company since 1891. It was created by the firm as a rival to a similar French biscuit, the Petit-Beurre.[1]
Name
[edit source]The brand name Leibniz comes from the philosopher and mathematician Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz (1646–1716). The only connection between the man and the biscuit is that Leibniz was one of the more famous residents of Hanover, where the Bahlsen company is based. At the time when the biscuit was first made there was a fashion of naming food products after historical celebrities (such as Mozartkugeln).[2][3]
The Leibniz-Keks is a plain butter biscuit, known in German as a Butterkeks, modelled on the French Petit-Beurre created in 1886 by Lefèvre-Utile. Due to the popularity of the Leibniz-Keks, Keks has since become the generic German word for biscuit or cookies.[citation needed]
Design
[edit source]The original Leibniz biscuit has a simple and distinctive design. Fifty-two "teeth" frame the rectangular field on which "LEIBNIZ BUTTERKEKS" is imprinted in capital letters. This was Hermann Bahlsen's original 1891 design.
The biscuit has been featured in a series of "Monuments of German Design" by the Süddeutsche Zeitung.[4][dead link]
Varieties
[edit source]In addition to the original Butterkeks, there are several varieties of Leibniz on the market today. These include Choco Leibniz (styled as "more chocolate than biscuit"), Leibniz Milch & Honig (milk and honey), Leibniz Vollkorn (wholemeal), and Leibniz Zoo (animal shapes).
References
[edit source]- ↑ "From Bourbons to Digestives: how biscuits got their names". bbc.co.uk. Retrieved 27 May 2019.
- ↑ "Our Story". www.bahlsen.co.uk. Archived from the original on 2020-06-14. Retrieved 2020-06-14.
- ↑ "Bahlsen products FAQ" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2013-03-19. Retrieved 2009-10-14.
- ↑ "Monuments of German Design, first published on 4 April 2003 in the Sueddeutsche Magazine No 14".