How it all began?
The origin of gingerbread is unclear, but many food historians believe it was born after the 11th Century crusaders returning from the eastern Mediterranean brought ginger to Western Europe.
It was initially prepared only in aristocratic households. However, as the price of ginger and a few other spices dropped, gingerbread became popular among the common people. Some historians say the first-known recipe for gingerbread came from Greece in 2400 B.C. However, there is no definite proof to this theory.
In Medieval period, “gingerbread fairs” were held regularly, and gingerbread was a very popular dish among the people. These gingerbreads were made in several shapes such as animals, birds and humans. An evidence of the cookie’s popularity is its mention in Shakespeare’s “Love’s Labour’s Lost” (1597).
A royal connection
Queen Elizabeth I is credited with the invention of the gingerbread men. She gifted the dignitaries visiting her court, gingerbread cookies that resembled them.
All the way from Germany
The iconic gingerbread houses prepared in western countries during Christmas, originated in Germany during the 16th Century.
However, these intricately decorated cookie houses became popular only following the 1812 fairytale of ‘Hansel and Gretel”, written by Brothers Grimm.
Across the ocean
Gingerbread was introduced in a few other regions, including North America, during the period of colonisation. Today, gingerbread is an inseparable part of North American holiday season.
The type of gingerbread prepared in this part of the world is a little different from those in Europe. For instance, the gingerbread prepared in the U.S. is moist and soft, whereas the ones in Britain are dense and harder.
Why is gingerbread a Christmas tradition?
Nutrition experts suggest that this could be due to the medicinal properties of ginger. Ginger, as a spice, can provide warmth for the body during winter and can also be an effective calming agent for a festive season that involves eating a lot of heavy treats. Some believe that during the Medieval period, gingerbread preparation was restricted to gingerbread chefs or masters most of the year, except during Christmas and Easter, due to the high price of ginger. The common people, therefore, prepared the dish only during the festive season, making gingerbread a season-specific dish.
Wide varieties
The three most iconic-flavours of gingerbread are brown, wafer-based and honey. There are several offbeat flavours as well, and these include cranberry, oatmeal, gluten-free, paleo, orange-scented, caramel, chocolate and almond spice. Apart from the usual gingerbread men and houses, there are many other adaptation such as gingerbread pie, cheesecake, cake, granola, latte, French toast, scones, pancakes, trifle, doughnuts and waffles.
Picture Credit : Google