Where does Gingerbread come from?!
Where does Gingerbread come from?
I need to do a mood board for my Food Technology class, and I'm unsure of where Gingerbread originated from. It's somewhere in Europe, I think, but which country exactly?
Answers:
From what I can tell no one knows specifically where it originated in Europe, but I did find this quote:
"The manufacture of gingerbread appears to have spread throughout Western Europe at the end of the eleventh century, possibly introduced by crusaders returning from wars in the Eastern Mediterranean."
Source(s):
http://wwwiz.com/issue04/wiz_d04.html...
I think it may be Germany - they have something called Lebkuchen, with is a similar type of thing. But don't quote me !!
Of all the countries in Europe, Germany is the one with the longest tradition of flat, shaped gingerbreads
Gingerbread as we now know it is really a German idea. It was made at Christmas since the spices used were rare, exotic and expensive; later also hugely popular at fairs, where it was sold or given as prizes, and sometimes gilt (covered with gold leaf); it was popular in medieval times in England and Scandinavia and came to America with immigrant settlers.
Originally the term gingerbread simply meant preserved ginger; it evolved into the cake type treat we know today only after centuries. There's even some evidence the ancient Romans used a form of gingerbread, i.e. spice bread made with honey. It's one of our most ancient tastes and more popular than ever.
Credit for gingerbread should also be given to those countries that traded with Europe and contributed their spices in past centuries: China, Japan, Jamaica...
Good gingerbread history websites below.
i like gingerbread (eating it, buying it and baking it), so i'm happy to answer this question for you. i hope it's what you're looking for!
firstly, gingerbread is a sweet which can take on the form of a cookie (either crunchy, like a gingersnap or soft, like lebkuchen) or a cake, which is dense, soft, and treaclely.
the term "gingerbread" referred to preserved ginger, then to a confection made with honey and spices. the word comes from the Latin "zingiber" via Old French "gingebras". gingerbread is now translated into French as "pain d'epices".
the origin of gingerbread dates back to ancient times when ginger, as a spice, was known for its medicinal properties. in the 11th century, crusaders brought this spice with them when they were returning from the middle east. catholic monks baked gingerbread for special religious festivals. they baked the cakes in specific designs depicting saints and other religious motifs. the early designs were made using a "cookie board", which was a kind of forerunner of the modern cookie cutter. as the cost of spices dropped, gingerbread was baked more often. in the 16th and 17th centuries, gingerbread became lighter because people replaced the use of breadcrumbs with flour in its ingredients. treacle replaced honey and butter and eggs became popular additions to enrich the mixture.
i hope this helps you. good luck!
It may have originated from S.E. Asia because that is where the hot root is extracted and made into a bread and gingerbread men.
ginger?
and biscuit
mix the two together?