Tested. Taped. Tasty.
17. October 2024
STOLLEN TESTING
Committed to the highest quality
Only genuine with the seal – yes, this statement can be described as a credo here in Dresden’s Stollen country, because behind the golden Stollen seal lies a promise: tested quality. And one of the most important measures in the association’s work: the Stollen inspections.
At the beginning of each season, an independent expert committee consisting of representatives from the baking and confectionery trade and food industry experts closely examines the stollen produced by all Dresden stollen bakers. This is done on behalf of the Schutzverband Dresdner Stollen e. V. (Dresden Stollen Protective Association) and with the common goal of all association members to ensure the high quality standard of this traditional Dresden pastry and thus make stollen fans from all over the world happy.
Only if the stollen meet the trained eye and refined taste buds of the experts are they allowed to be marked with the golden stollen seal and thus sold as Dresdner Christstollen.
BOARD MEMBER AND MASTER BAKER RALF ULLRICH
“The stollen testing is not a contest to find the most beautiful or the best stollen. Rather, our goal is to preserve the quality and exclusivity of our traditional product.”
HOW IS THE TEST CONDUCTED?
17 days, 150 test stollen
The Dresden stollen is like a human being: it’s not just about appearance (or, as the experts say, external characteristics) … The internal characteristics, smell, and taste are also tested, of course.
These four criteria are graded using an evaluation procedure that has been tried and tested for three decades now. They are weighted differently in the overall result. Taste plays the most important role. A minimum of 16 points is required, and a Dresden stollen can achieve a maximum of 20 points.
Ten stollen are examined for their culinary qualities in each test. The experts do not know which bakery they come from at first, because in order to ensure the independence of the scoring, the baked goods are evaluated without any indication of the member company. Beforehand, an independent test buyer purchases a Dresden stollen “incognito” from each member bakery, just as a customer would. After the purchase, the buyer reveals their identity and informs the baker or confectioner that the stollen has been selected for testing.
WHO TESTS THE STOLLEN?
Extensive expertise and a passion for stollen
The testing panel consists of a total of six experts: four testers are responsible for sensory and visual evaluation. The test supervisor moderates the test. The baked goods are presented and professionally sliced by the test stollen preparer.
The testing panel has been working digitally since 2020. The sensory test is carried out using specially developed software. Each examiner has a laptop in front of them. The display guides them through the test, allowing them to enter their expert opinion on the Stollen and evaluate the pastries based on the test scheme, which defines possible faults. The score is calculated automatically when any deviations are entered by naming specific abnormalities. So the testers smell, feel, look, taste – and type their observations into the touch display.
GOOD TO KNOW!
A Dresdner Christstollen must be handmade in a bakery that operates year-round within a strictly defined radius of the Saxon capital. In addition, manufacturers must adhere to the strictly prescribed basic recipe: in relation to the amount of flour, the dough must contain at least 65 percent raisins, 50 percent butter or butterfat, 20 percent candied orange and lemon peel, and 15 percent sweet and bitter almonds. The use of margarine, artificial flavors, or preservatives is not permitted.
BILDERGALERIE
Looks like talking to an Angel. Motive der Kampagne
In einem großen Fotoshooting im Juni 2024 entstanden wundervolle Motive, die im Markenmagazin, auf Plakaten, in den Social-Media-Kanälen sowie unzähligen Printprodukten zum Einsatz kamen. Und auch, wer die Schaubackstube auf dem Striezelmarkt besuchte, tauchte in die himmlische Stollenwelt ein.
