Latest in the German mythology series, here is Roggenhund or Kornhund, aka Rye Dog or Grain Dog. A harvest spirit, the Rye Dog can appear at any time of year. It's always hungry and never satisfied. Roggenhund can completely ruin everyone's hard work at harvest.
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The Rye Dog or Grain Dog eats flour, especially rye flour which is popular for bread in Germany. Besides flour, the rye crop has various uses.
What's special about rye?
Germany is the top producer of rye grain in the world. Roggenbier or rye beer, originating in Bavaria, southern Germany, is a lager made from up to 60% rye malt. And let's not forget rye whisky.
Rye grain is also used for crispbread and some types of liquor. For breakfast, it can be boiled, eaten whole or rolled like oats as a cereal. For weight loss, rye flour makes a person feel fuller longer. It increases resistance to diseases such as type 2 diabetes, heart disease and some cancers. Rye grain also makes nutritious animal feed.
There's evidence of rye cultivation in Neolithic times. As a crop rye became popular during the Bronze Age. It was grown along the Rhine and Danube Rivers; also in Ireland and Britain.
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So, when you've lovingly sown, nurtured, harvested the crops and ground your rye flour by hand, the last thing you want is Roggenhund sniffing around to eat it all up. The loss of a crop can be a disaster for a household depending on it through winter.
Empower the Flour!
1. First be sure flour's stored properly in secure airtight containers. Glass or ceramic were used in the days before mass production of plastics. Avoid fabric bags as they are easily torn. In sealed glass containers flour stays fresh about 10 months.
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2. Sprinkle caraway around the storage area. This helps protect stores from hungry spirit dogs and also any freeloading Faerie folk who might take a liking to the larder. It could be one reason we find caraway in rye bread today.
Caraway is among the flavors most disliked by supernatural entities. Also known as meridian fennel and Persian cumin, it has a strong licorice citrus taste. If you're lucky enough to have a house Kobold, be sure to keep caraway away from this spirit or the Kobold will leave, and not always in a friendly way.
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