Niffles????
 

Has anyone made 'niffles'? It is passed down from my husbands German family and we love them. It's a type of noodle- pasta that you use a grater like contraption, slide it back and forth over boiling water.
My question is, we would like to make them the day before and take them for Christmas. But, has anyone re-warmed something like this? I'm wondering if I should once again bring water to a boil and drop them in again (even tho they are cooked) or microwave them. Either way, I'm afraid of them becoming tough.

I would go to a food forum and ask. Taste of Home, King Arthur Flour, and Betty Crocker has big forums.

sounds like what I would call spaetzle
http://www.amazon.com/Norpro-3128-Sp.../dp/B00004UE89
if you google 'make ahead spaetzle' there are many hits, here's a quote from one:
Drain the Spätzle again and toss with a little oil or melted butter to keep them from sticking. Spätzle will keep in the fridge for at least a couple of days and then heated to serve. Melt some butter in a pan and toss the Spätzle in it to warm through.

Sorry, never heard of it.
When I make some pasta type thing I mix the sauce with the pasta and warm it like that, as with spaghetti.

Never heard of this either.

my best bud makes them, but she calls them something else. Equally a stilly sounding. I'll have to ask. Ribblies maybe?

Had some along time ago. Client of mine made some when she had dinner for us. Yep she made a noodle dough an took small portions and ran it over the great. She had salted the water and when finished and drained, she toss butter and a little more salt. She was German descent also. I remember it was so good.

I was trying to think what my client called them also and it was ribbles.

When we were in Germany 30-40 years ago, this is what they called spaetzle. Very good. I bought a hand held gismo to put the dough through and into the water.

OMG This is exactly the devise I was talking about. I had no idea you could still buy them. And the tip on how to re-serve them - this is what I was looking for. I see you're from MI - I live in SW MI - where are you?

I buy them in a bag at the grocery store. No need for any tool to grate -- lol.

I'm in the thumb, about half way between flint & port huron.

Interesting - my Son-I-L is from Montrose - may be close to you. I live in the corner of SW MI (Sawyer) shores of Lake MI. Guess too far away to get together - unless you come this way some time.

Pasta by any ethnic name is yummy! My son makes them by just using a board and table knife and pushing little bits off the board into the boiling broth...YUM...and if it is German it is spaetzle...

I believe these are called rivels. They are made from a very soft noodle like dough and there is a special tool to push the dough through and drop it into water or broth. You can also squish it through a colander, a slotted spoon, a larger opening strainer, etc. They cook very quickly and add good texture to soups.

I've also seen to use a colander to slide the dough across. When I made it I just dropped tiny pieces into the water.

With the grater I think this is spaetzle. I just bought a spaetzle maker a few weeks ago, the brand was Norpro. They are pretty readily available in my part of the country. You can also use a metal colander. By the spelling you might be thinking of knephla which is a small dumpling used in soup or fried with sausage and potatoes. Both are very common German Russian foods and are delicious. I must say I was vey offended by Grannie Annies comment that they were " silly sounding". Not good to make fun of others language or heritage.

Yup this works too! Great by any name!!

Both knefla and spaetzle are available in the freezer case but around here they are 6 or 7 dollars for a 1 lb bag or smaller! Lots of money for flour and egg I think.

I make them also. Can still get the spatzel press at Russo on 29th st. in Grand Rapids. I had a couple of recipes for them, but thought the neffles were fried in butter after they were cooked in boiling water, where the spatzel was just cooked in boiling water or broth.....

My husband makes spatzel often. They are delicious. I would boil them ahead of time and then heat them in butter and herbs just before serving. He made a press out of a metal pie plate, It worked until he found and actual spatzel press at Sur la Table.

We called them Kneffles... After we boiled them we fried them in butter and served them under sour kraut with spare ribs. Yummy. And there was no smell quite like it any other time in our kitchen :)

Judy in Phx, AZ

Thats how I make them as well. I use a small cutting board that has been dampened with water and I scoop pieces into the boiling broth. We make ours larger than the traditional spaazle. Sometimes I drop them into boiling beef...sometimes into chicken broth .....and sometimes I just drain and add butter and salt and pepper. YUMMY!!!

This sounds so interesting. Would they be kind of like the noodles in chicken noodle soup?

..after I read the initial thread on this subject, I bought one of these spaetzle(sp) maker gizmos... Me and mine love when I make kluski (noodles-Polish)when I make homemade chix soup, so I thought this might be fun too, and I LOVE gizmos......they are yummy......

My DH's German Grandmother used to make something she and the family called 'gershnoggels". They were small, dumpling type balls, made with cold mashed potatoes, flour, butter/lard, salt and pepper and dropped into boiling water and cooked until they floated. Not sure of the proportions. There seems to be many members familiar with German recipes. Ring any bells??

If you had trouble finding the recipe with that spelling, it's because it has a silent "k" at the beginning. Kniffles and spaezle are the same. Sure sounds yummy either way.

Hello Cindyb,
I grew up with Niffl"i"es. If you google Nifflies with the "I" you will find some hits.
My grandparents were Slovak (grandmother near Vienna), and she make Nifflies often.
As you know from others, they can be make a day before, and they will be delicious.
(Just don't cook them too long, or they will be a bit tough).
Bellevue20 (central Michigan)

...And in Hungarian cooking they are called 'nokedli' - yum! I don't think Grannie's comment was meant to poke fun of anyone's heritage or language. Personally I think 'nokedli' sounds a bit silly to my American ears, but I'm still a proud 1/2 Hungarian.

Mmm, need to make some soon!

Practice with a few ahead of time & see what works :-). I make niffles, but just pushed batter off the end of a teaspoon. I am also from MI & had a German mother in law who made spaetzle/niffles.

My Mother in law made nokedli. My husband’s family come from Hungary.

We call them spaetzle also. I have made them and kept them warm in a crockpot (using a generous amount of butter ). I suppose you could make up ahead of time then and reheat in a crockpot. Maybe do a trial run with a small batch and see if you like the result?

I originally asked this question back in 2014 and I am so happy to see it coming up again. With Christmas right around the corner I'm thinking about them again. I love the idea of reheating them in a crockpot. Thanks everyone.

Trying to think what I Can use instead of buying another gadget. The noodles are probably delicious.

Yes, these are called rivels and my grandmother made them. She would work everything through her fingers and was an expert at making them. BTW- just in case this is a local name, I’m originally from York, PA and have almost total German heritage.

Thanks, Sandy

Spaetzle is a bit different than rivels as rivels are fine and the spaetzle are a little thicker. At least they are in my family. Haven’t had them in years as we “younger” generation never learned how to make them (I’m 71).

In Switzerland, they are called Chnöpfli. They work well for making ahead. You can freeze them, too (spread out on a cookie sheet until they are frozen and then in a zip lock bag). My favourite way of heating them up again is by frying them lightly in some butter.

Spätzle are made slightly different here, not by pressing them through holes but by cutting the dough off with a knife or spatula from a board. Hence Spätzle are more longish, Chnöpfli tend to be more roundish and shorter.

‘‘Tis is a good recipe that I have made for my mom, who is German. Haven’t made it in awhile. I usually serve it with brawtwerst and red cabbage. https://www.tasteofhome.com/recipes/spaetzle-dumplings/amp/