A favourite family recipe on my mom’s side is kuchen (we pronounce it “kooka”), which is basically German for “cake.”
My grandma always made it as a special treat Christmas morning. I looked forward to it with anticipation every year as a kid. Cake for breakfast! No wonder I loved this family tradition.
My kids love kuchen too and the tradition of having it at Christmas. My husband, Tim, doesn’t really see what the big deal is. To him, it’s just cake with apples.
Do you have a bucket list? I started mine January 1, 2000. Learning to make kuchen was item #139. I checked it off on December 12, 2021.
I didn’t get to learn from my grandma but cherish the experience of learning from my mom. It was an all-day project! But the kuchen turned out excellent and the dough was extra tender. Mom told me it was because of all my extra kneading. There was definite positive energy in the kitchen that day.
One funny story Mom told me was that her auntie made kuchen too, but with cottage cheese. Mom has no idea why one sister made kuchen with cottage cheese and the other made it with apples.
I did a little research and laughed as I realized there are as many different recipes for kuchen as there are families. One article from the Farmer’s Almanac stated that “we do know that kuchen is part of a 400-year-old ‘kaffee and kuchen’ (coffee and cake) tradition… many Germans gather with friends and family to enjoy.”*
What is common among all the kuchen recipes is the dough. It isn’t particularly sweet. It has less sugar and more shortening that our usual cakes.
But when it comes to kuchen topping, anything goes… apples, cottage cheese, custard, figs, berries, peaches, plums, spices, and more. All this time, I thought it was only made with apples!
This made me think about the traditional benefits plan, which unlike kuchen hasn’t been around for 400 years. The “dough” – the base – of every benefits plan is similar, and that’s necessary; for instance, a benefits plan that didn’t include disability insurance would be missing a key ingredient.
But as with kuchen, we can be creative with the toppings for our benefits plan. We can add a health spending or flex account so employees can choose what they want for coverage. Not everyone likes apples.
I can imagine my mom gasping if she heard Tim say, “I would probably prefer kuchen with peaches.”
I’ve seen employers’ own preferences influence the benefits plan they design. They don’t want to make changes because they like it the way it is… with apples only.
Just like families, every workplace is different. Employers need the right combination of benefits to attract and retain employees and enhance productivity, health, and wellbeing. When you provide employees with what they value most, it’s good for business!
If you’re not sure you’re offering the toppings your team values most, give me call.
“The way your employees feel is the way your customers will feel. And if your employees don’t feel valued, neither will your customers.”
– Sybil F. Stershic
*Amber Kanuckel. “What the heck is kuchen?,” Farmers’ Almanac, Oct. 8, 2021.
