poem "Schwäbische Leibspeisa" (The Swabian Favourite Dish) or the “Spätzles-Lied” (The Spätzle Song). The manufacturing of Spätzle in Swabia can be traced back to the 18th century. In 1725 the Württembergian council and private physician Lentilius defined "Knöpflein" and "Spatzen" as "everything that is made from flour". Back then, spelt was widely used in Swabia and Alemannia. Since the region was marked by rural peasant structures and poverty, the undemanding grain spelt was very popular since it also thrives in low-nutrient soil. Spelt is high in gluten, so in times of scarcity it could be made into a dough without the addition of eggs. Consequently, it is the flour most commonly used in the preparation of Spätzle. Traditionally, Spätzle are scraped manually on a board, which is still considered a special certification mark. For efficiency reasons, a mechanical production of "homemade" Spätzle comparable with manually scraped ones emerged at the start of the 20th century. With the beginning of industrialisation and progressing prosperity, Spätzle advanced from everyday food to a delicacy eaten during the holidays. People from a Swabian farming village called it a festive dish in 1937. One year prior, regional poet Sebastian Blau (Josef Eberle's pseudonym) rendered Spätzle a symbol of Swabian identity: "… Spätzle are the foundation of our cuisine, the glory of our country, … the be-all and end-all of the Swabian menu…". Nowadays, Swabian Spätzle or Knöpfle can be found in nearly every product ranges of Swabian pasta producers and since the 1980s, they also have been successfully exported. They are mentioned in many Swabian traditions and celebrations and also form part of tourist activities in terms of culinary specialty weeks or courses, seminars and competitions where Spätzle are scraped (made). There are many cooking competitions and various world records in "Spätzleschaben" (Spätzle scraping). A number of exhibitions document the traditional knowledge of the making of Spätzle in the Swabian region from the very beginnings until today. The great importance of Spätzle for the Swabian kitchen is proofed by the novel Die Geschichte von den sieben Schwaben (The history of the seven Swabians), published in 1827, according to which in Swabia exists the tradition "of eating five times a day, which means five times soup, and two times the soup is accompanied by Knöpfle or Spätzle". In 1892, Elise Henle explained that a Swabian woman should be able to manufacture Spätzle: "s isch koi richtigs