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Gingerbread

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Author: Lisa

Ginger is a spice that is used all over the world, and it is used as medication, as well. It is well known that ginger can decrease arthritis joint pain and that it has blood-thinning as well as cholesterol-lowering properties. But the thing that most of us know about ginger is that it just tastes good. It tastes good at any time of the year, but the smell of baking gingerbread brings forth a whole host of childhood holiday memories. Somehow, ginger seems to be associated with happy times.

The earliest evidence we have of gingerbread comes from the 11th century in Europe. Gingerbread was made into spicy cakes as well as into flat hard cookies. Gingerbread has always been so popular in Europe that there are many different festivals held in its honor. Sometimes these celebrations are called gingerbread fairs — and people come from miles and miles around to attend.

Ginger is also a preservative. Using ginger in foods gives them a longer shelf life, so perhaps that is the reason why gingerbread is used to construct elaborate gingerbread houses during the holiday season.

Gingerbread is even included in one of the most famous children's stories of all time. Remember the "gingerbread" house that Hansel and Gretel found in the woods in the Grimm brother's famous tale? And who hasn't heard the fairytale, The Gingerbread Man? An old woman makes a gingerbread man that comes to life and runs away yelling, "Don't eat me! Don't eat me!" When the old man gives chase, the gingerbread man cries, "Run, run as fast as you can! You can't catch me, I'm the gingerbread man!"

There are many (hundreds…maybe thousands) of different gingerbread recipes that are used all over the world. Sometimes recipes — particularly American recipes — include the use of maple syrup or molasses.









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