Spätzla, Spätzle [ˈʃpɛtslə] or Spatzen are Swabian or Alemannic pasta of an elongated shape which is served as a side dish or with other ingredients as a main dish. Similar pasta of a rotund shape is called Knöpfle in Baden-Württemberg and in Bavarian Swabia. Spätzle are egg-based pasta made with fresh egg of an irregular form with a rough, porous surface. The glutinous dough is put directly into boiling water or steam and the form varies between thin and thick, elongated and short. They are the only pasta that is cooked for the first time during the fabrication. The moist dough is either pressed through a perforated metal plate or it drips through this plate into the boiling water. Other ways to prepare Spätzle are more applicable for domestic use. Name Spätzle is the Swabian diminutive of Spatz and possibly means “sparrow” or “clump”. Spätzle used in this context stands in plural form. In the 18th century this dish was referred to as "Wasserspatzen" (engl. water sparrows). In Switzerland and in Markgräflerland (Margraves’ Land) the dish is called "Spätzli" or "Chnöpfli" and in the Low Alemannic area "Knepfli". There is an equivalent and common dish in Hungary ("nokedli" and also "galuska" – whereas both terms are naturalised loanwords) and Slovakia ("galuska" or "halušky") with Austria connecting both cultures. In Northern Austria, Spätzle are called "Nockerln" (as in the dish Eiernockerl) whereas dumplings are also referred to as "Nocken" in Carinthia and Tyrol. The name probably refers to the form of the Spätzle in the 18th century, which was compared to the shape of the sparrow. Some linguists derive it from the word “clump”, meaning dough which tends to form clots. Depending on the form, some regions differentiate between Spätzle (the length exceeds the diameter around more than the fourfold) and Knöpfle (the relation of length to diameter is under two). Spätzle which went wrong, which are very lumpy or stick together are also called “raven”, “little stork”, “black horse”, “nightingale”, “grandfather” or “eagle”. History and meaning The history of Spätzle and Knöpfle in Swabia goes back centuries and is very important to Swabian cuisine. In Swabian literature, there is a multitude of poems about “the favourite dish of the Swabian people”. Examples are poems such as "Das Lob der Schwabenknöpfle" (The Praise of Swabian Knöpfle) which was published in the regional newspaper Schwarzwälder Bote (Black Forest Messenger) in 1838, the