Gingerbread | Gentle Bedtime Reading For Sleep

Welcome to the I Can't Sleep Podcast,

Where I help you drift off one fact at a time.

I'm your host,

Benjamin Boster,

And today's episode is about gingerbread.

This was a request from my son,

Caden.

Gingerbread refers to a broad category of baked goods,

Typically flavored with ginger,

Cloves,

Nutmeg,

And cinnamon,

And sweetened with honey,

Sugar,

Or molasses.

Gingerbread foods vary,

Ranging from a moist loaf cake to forms nearly as crisp as a gingersnap.

Originally,

The term gingerbread,

From Latin zingiber via Old French gingibre,

Referred to preserved ginger,

Had then referred to a confection made with honey and spices.

Gingerbread is often used to translate the French term pain de pisse,

Literally spice bread,

Or the German and Polish terms pfefferkuchen and peyernich,

Respectively.

Literally pepper cake,

Because it used to contain pepper,

Or lebkuchen,

Of unclear etymology,

Either Latin libum,

Meaning sacrifice or sacrificial bread,

Or German leib,

For loaf,

Or German for life,

Leben.

Pepper is also referred to in regional names,

Like Norwegian peperkaker,

Or Czech peyernich,

Originally pepernich.

The meaning of gingerbread has evolved over time.

For centuries,

The term referred to a traditional European pastry,

Very like a modern cookie,

Traditionally used to make gingerbread men.

In the United States,

The first known recipe for soft gingerbread to be baked in pans is found in Amelia Simmons's 1796 cookbook,

American Cookery.

Gingerbread is claimed to have been brought to Europe in 992 A.

D.

By the Armenian monk Gregory of Nicopolis.

He left Nicopolis in modern-day western Greece to live in Bondois,

North-central France,

Near the town of Pithiviers.

He stayed there for seven years until he died in 999,

And taught gingerbread baking to French Christians.

It may have been brought to western Europe from the eastern Mediterranean in the 11th century.

Since the 13th century,

Torunje gingerbread was made in Torunje,

Then state of the Teutonic Order,

Now Poland.

It gained fame in the realm and abroad when it was brought to Sweden by German immigrants.

In 15th century Germany,

A gingerbread guild controlled production.

Early references from the Vadstena Abbey show that the Swedish nuns baked gingerbread to ease indigestion in 1444.

It was a custom to bake white biscuits and paint them as window decorations.

In England,

Gingerbread was also thought to have medicinal properties.

16th century writer John Buray described gingerbread as a kind of cake or paste made to comfort the stomach.

Gingerbread was a popular treat at medieval European festivals and fairs,

And there were even dedicated gingerbread fairs.

The first documented trade of gingerbread biscuits in England dates to the 16th century,

Where they were sold in monasteries,

Pharmacies,

And town square farmers' markets.

One hundred years later,

The town of Market Drayden in Shropshire became known for its gingerbread,

As is displayed on their town's welcome sign,

Stating that it is the home of gingerbread.

The first recorded mention of gingerbread being baked in the town dates to 1793,

Although it was probably made earlier,

As ginger had been stocked in high street businesses since the 1640s.

Gingerbread became widely available in the 18th century.

Gingerbread came to the Americas with settlers from Europe.

Molasses,

Less expensive than sugar,

Soon became a common ingredient and produced a softer cake.

The first printed American cookbook,

American Cookery by Amelia Simmons,

Contained seven different recipes for gingerbread.

Her recipe for soft gingerbread to be baked in pans is the first written recipe for the cakey,

Old-fashioned American gingerbread.

In England,

Gingerbread may refer to a cake or a type of biscuit made with ginger.

In the biscuit form,

It commonly takes the form of a gingerbread man.

Gingerbread men were first attributed to the court of Queen Elizabeth I,

Who served the figurines to foreign dignitaries.

Today,

However,

They are generally served around Christmas.

Gingerbread was a traditional confectionery sold at popular fairs,

Often given as a treat or token of affection to children and lovers' sweethearts,

And known as a fairing of gingerbread,

The name retained now only by Cornish fairings.

This crisp,

Brittle type of gingerbread is now represented by the popular commercial version called the ginger nut biscuit.

Parliament cake,

Or parlies,

A very spicy ginger shortbread,

Were eaten in the same way as salty snacks with beer,

With whiskey,

Rum,

Or brandy during midday breaks.

By the members of the original pre-1707 Scottish Parliament,

In a secret back room at a tavern and shop in Bristow Street in Edinburgh's Potterow,

Behind the University,

Run by a Mrs.

Flockhart,

A.

K.

A.

Lucky Ficky,

The landlady who is thought to be the inspiration for Mrs.

Flockhart and Walter Scott's Waverley.

The recipe is mentioned in Christian Isabel Johnston's The Cook and Housewife's Manual,

Also known as Meg Dodd's Cookery,

1826,

Published under the pseudonym of Mrs.

Margaret Dodd's of the Claycombe Inn,

St.

Ronan's,

Evoking the character of Margaret Dodd's,

The hostess of the Claycombe Inn and Walter Scott's novel St.

Ronan's Well,

1823.

It was immensely popular,

And in which she used character's Scots to give commentary on preparing national specialties.

Parkin is a form of soft gingerbread cake made with oatmeal and treacle,

Which is popular in northern England,

Originating in Yorkshire.

In the United States,

This form of gingerbread is sometimes called gingerbread cake or ginger cake to distinguish it from the harder forms.

French pain de pisse is somewhat similar,

Though generally slightly drier,

And involves honey rather than treacle,

And uses less spice than other breads in this category.

In Panama,

A confection named yiñibre is a gingerbread cake made with ginger molasses.

It is typically of the region of Chiriquí.

Another popular confection is quequi or queque,

A chewy biscuit made with ginger,

Molasses and coconut.

In Brazil,

Pão de mel,

Literally meaning honey bread,

Is a popular treat.

It consists in a type of gingerbread made with honey and other spices in small circles with a chocolate covering,

And can be found traditionally filled with doce de leite.

In Germany,

Gingerbread is made in two forms,

A soft form called Lebkuchen,

And a harder form,

Particularly associated with carnivals and street markets,

Such as the Christmas markets that occur in many German towns.

The hard gingerbread is made in decorative shapes,

Which are then further decorated with sweets and icing.

The tradition of cutting gingerbread into shapes takes many other forms,

And exists in many countries,

A well-known example being the gingerbread man.

Traditionally,

These were dunked in port wine.

At Oktoberfest in Munich,

It is customary for men to buy large gingerbread cookies in the shape of a heart,

With a ribbon for their sweetheart to wear around their neck.

The cookies are iced with romantic phrases like,

Ich liebe dich,

I love you.

In Ashkenazi Jewish cuisine,

The honey cake eaten at Rosh Hashanah,

New Year,

Closely resembles the Dutch paperkoek,

Or the German Lebkuchen,

Though it has wide regional variations.

In Switzerland,

A gingerbread confection known as a Bieber is typically a 2 cm,

Approximately 3 quarters of an inch thick rectangular gingerbread cake with a marzipan filling.

The cantons of Appenzell and St.

Gallen is famous for Bieber,

Which are artfully adorned with images of the Appenzell Bear,

Or the St.

Gallen Cathedral respectively,

By engraving or icing.

In the Netherlands and Belgium,

A soft and crumbly gingerbread called paperkoek,

Kruidkoek or ontbijtkoek is popularly served at breakfast time or during the day,

Thickly sliced and often topped with butter.

In the Nordic and Baltic countries,

The most popular form of ginger confection is the pepparkakor,

Norwegian,

Pepparkakor,

Swedish,

Pepparkakor,

Danish,

Peeparkakor,

Icelandic,

Peeparkakud,

Finnish,

Peeparkakus,

Latvian,

Or peeparkakud,

Estonian.

They are thin brittle biscuits that are particularly associated with the extended Christmas period.

In Norway and Sweden,

Pepparkakor or pepparkakor are also used as window decorations.

The pepparkakor,

Pepparkakor are a little thicker than usual and are decorated with glaze and candy.

Many families bake pepparkakor,

Pepparkakor,

Brunkakor as a tradition.

In Russia,

A gingerbread maker was first mentioned in Kazan Kadestres in 1568.

Gingerbread confections are called praniki,

Derived from the Russian term for spices.

Historically,

Three main centers of gingerbread production have developed in the cities of Vyazma,

Gorodets,

And Tula.

Gingerbreads from Tver,

St.

Petersburg,

And Moscow were also well known in the Russian Empire.

A classic Russian gingerbread is made with rye flour,

Honey,

Sugar,

Butter,

Eggs,

And various spices.

It has an embossed ornament or text on the front side with royal icing.

A Russian gingerbread can also be shaped in various forms and stuffed with varenye and other sweet fillings.

In Poland,

Gingerbreads are known as pierniki,

Singular piernik.

Some cities have traditional regional styles.

Torunia gingerbread,

Piernik torunski,

Is a traditional Polish gingerbread that has been produced since the Middle Ages in the city of Torunia.

It was a favorite delicacy of Chopin when he visited his godfather Friedrich Florian Scharbeck in Torunia during school vacation.

Krakow gingerbread is a traditional style of the former Polish capital.

In the Czech Republic,

Gingerbread is called piernik and is a popular Christmas biscuit and a decoration.

Common shapes include hearts,

Stars,

And animals,

And gingerbread houses are also popular.

Towns associated with piernik include Pardubice and Miletin.

In Romania,

Gingerbread is called torta dulce and usually has sugar glazing.

A variety of gingerbread in Bulgaria is known as madenka,

Made of honey.

Traditionally,

The cookie is as big as the palm of a hand,

Round and flat,

And with a thin layer of chocolate.

Other common ingredients include honey,

Cinnamon,

Ginger,

And dried clove.

In Ukraine,

Medievnik,

Made of honey,

Means either dry honey cookie or prianik,

Also called medianik,

Or a spongy honey cake,

A fruitcake.

Mikulichiki are traditional Western Ukrainian cookies or gingerbread that are baked for St.

Nicholas Day and given to children.

Panianki are usually baked for Christmas Eve in eastern Ukraine.

They are pink because they are colored with beet juice.

Lebkuchen,

Hannekuchen,

Or Pfefferkuchen are honey-sweetened German cakes,

Molded cookies,

Or bar cookies that have become part of Germany's Christmas traditions.

They are similar to gingerbread.

The etymology of leb and the term lebkuchen is uncertain.

Proposed derivations include from the Latin lebum,

Flatbread,

From the Germanic word leib,

Loaf,

And from the Germanic word lebba,

Very sweet.

Another likely possibility is that it comes from the old term lebhonik,

The rather solid crystallized honey taken from the hive that cannot be used for much besides baking.

Folk etymology often associates the name with leben,

Life,

Leib,

Body,

Or leibspieße,

Favorite food.

Kuchen means cake.

Some time in history,

Bakers noticed that honey-sweetened dough would undergo a natural fermentation process when stored in a cool location for several weeks,

Creating air bubbles that would improve the quality of the bread.

Lebkuchen was started in November and baked in December after undergoing this fermentation period.

Lebkuchen was invented by monks in Franconia,

Germany in the 13th century.

Lebkuchen bakers were recorded as early as 1296 in Ulm and 1395 in Nuremberg.

The latter is the most famous exporter today of the product known as Nuremberger Lebkuchen.

Local history in Nuremberg relates that Emperor Frederick III held a Reichstag there in 1487 and he invited the children of the city to a special event where he presented Lebkuchen bearing his printed portrait to almost 4,

000 children.

Historically,

And due to differences in the ingredients,

Lebkuchen is also known as honey cake,

Honigkuchen,

Or pepper cake,

Pfefferkuchen.

Traditionally,

The cookies are usually quite large and may be 11.

5 cm in diameter if round and larger if rectangular.

Unlike other cities where women could bake and sell the holiday cookies at will,

In Nuremberg only members of the Baker's Guild were allowed to bake the cookies.

Since 1808,

A variety of Nuremberg Lebkuchen made without flour has been called Elisenlebkuchen.

It is uncertain whether Elisa was the daughter of a gingerbread baker or the wife of a margrave.

Her name is associated with some of the Lebkuchen produced by members of the Guild.

Since 1996,

Nuremberger Lebkuchen is a protected designation of origin,

Meaning that it must be produced within the boundaries of the city.

Lebkuchen range in taste from spicy to sweet and come in a variety of shapes with round being the most common.

The ingredients usually include honey,

Spices,

Such as aniseed,

Cardamom,

Coriander,

Cloves,

Ginger,

And allspice,

Nuts including almonds,

Hazelnuts,

And walnuts,

Or candied fruit.

In Germany,

Types of Lebkuchen are distinguished by the kind of nuts used and their proportions.

Salt of hartshorn and potash are often used for raising the dough.

Lebkuchen dough is usually placed on a thin wafer base called an oblet.

This was an idea of the monks who used unleavened communion wafer ingredients to prevent the dough from sticking.

Typically they are glazed or covered with very dark chocolate or a thin sugar coating.

But some are left uncoated.

Lebkuchen is usually soft,

But a harder type of Lebkuchen is used to produce Lebkuchenherzen,

Lebkuchen harts,

Usually inscribed with icing,

Which are available at many German regional fairs and Christmas fairs.

They are also sold as souvenirs at the Oktoberfest and are inscribed with affectionate,

Sarcastic,

Or obscene messages.

Another form is the witch's house,

Hexenhausel,

Or Hexenhauschen,

Made popular because of the fairy tales about Hansel and Gretel.

The closest German equivalent of the gingerbread man is the Honigkuchenpferd,

Honey cake horse.

The Nuremberg type of Lebkuchen is also known as Elisenlebkuchen and must contain no less than 25% nuts and less than 10% wheat flour.

The finest artisan Lebkuchen bakeries in Nuremberg boast close to 40% nut content.

Lebkuchen is sometimes packaged in richly decorated tins,

Chests,

And boxes,

Which have become nostalgic collector items.

Several Swiss regional varieties also exist and have been declared part of the culinary heritage of Switzerland,

Such is the case with Berner Honiglebkuchen.

A gingersnap,

Ginger nut,

Or ginger biscuit is a biscuit flavored with ginger.

Gingersnaps are flavored with powdered ginger and a variety of other spices,

Most commonly cinnamon,

Molasses,

And clove.

There are many recipes.

The brittle ginger nut style is a commercial version of the traditional farings once made for market fairs,

Now represented only by the Cornish faring.

Ginger nuts are not to be confused with pepper nuts,

Which are a variety of gingerbread,

Somewhat smaller in diameter,

But thicker.

Northern European ginger nuts,

Also called gingerbread or brunker in Danish,

Literally brown cookie,

Pepperkakkar in Swedish,

Peeperkakkat in Finnish,

Peeperkakkas in Latvian,

Peeperkakkat in Estonian,

And peeperkakkar in Norwegian,

Literally pepper cakes,

Are rolled quite thin,

Often under 3mm,

And cut into shapes.

They are smooth and are usually much thinner,

And hence crisper,

And in some cases more strongly flavored than most global varieties.

Cloves,

Cinnamon,

And cardamom are important ingredients of these,

And the actual ginger taste is not prominent.

All spice and cloves have been used to season ginger biscuits.

In 2009,

McVitie's ginger nuts were listed as the 10th most popular biscuit in the UK to dunk into tea.

In Australia,

Produced since the 1900s,

Arnott's Biscuits manufactures four different regional varieties of ginger nut to suit the tastes of people in different states.

The darker and more bitter Queensland biscuit is 8.

5g in weight and average about 6.

5mm in thickness compared to the lighter South Australian biscuit which is heavier at 11.

7g in weight and average about 8.

6mm in thickness.

Ginger nuts are the most sold biscuit in New Zealand normally attributed to its tough texture which can withstand dunking into liquid.

Leading biscuit manufacturer Griffins estimates 60 million of these cookies are produced each year.

This has become the title of a book 60 Million Ginger Nuts,

A Chronicle of New Zealand Records.

In Canada and the United States the cookies are usually referred to as ginger snaps.

Further,

They are generally round drop cookies usually between an eighth and a quarter inch thick with noticeable cracks in the top surface.