What’s one treat this time of year you don’t really see any other time? Well honestly a lot but a big one is GINGERBREAD! My family is known for our elaborate houses we’ll make. I get to help with them on breaks.
But have you ever wondered why gingerbread is a Christmas thing? Well first up let’s explain what Gingerbread is. And why do we call it bread when it’s a biscuit?
Well for starters there’s two “types” one is the cookie and ones more like a loaf of bread or a cake. Guess which came first! Yep the more bread or cake like one. Though originally in medieval times Gingerbread was just preserved ginger root. Then over time it took to mean a type of spiced sweet bread.
Gingerbread used to be a year round thing and each season had different shapes. They even held gingerbread fairies where you could buy them in all sorts of shapes! But over time it became mostly a Christmas treat. I can’t really find a reason other than that, it just got more popular that time of the year. Perhaps it was due to Ginger’s preservative nature or just how the spices that are used in it became associated with deep winter as they make you warm and cozy.
Gingerbread biscuits as we knew it came about in Germany where they make many kinds of spiced cookies. It’s there it evolved from a cake like bread to the flat cookie we all think of now. It’s also where Gingerbread houses started, thanks to the Brothers Grimm. Yeeepp they invented that in Hansel and Gretel! However it is Queen Elizabeth the first that is known for popularizing Gingerbread! She’d have them made to look like her court members.
The history of Gingerbread is actually very long and I have left out so much of it but this is just a brief bit of it! Hope you enjoy and enjoy some gingerbread soon too!