Gingerbread House Day is on December 12th. I can’t wait to put together a #Gingerbread House with David and Charlie. Would you like to help us? Whether you’re a Cookie building expert or your baked house falls apart as soon as you get the third wall glued on with icing, we can all agree the best part of building a Gingerbread house is eating the sweet treat when we‘re done!
Nothing brings in the holidays like the smell of fresh baked Gingerbread. Does it? Before the decorative Cookie led the popularity contest on the holiday dessert table, baking Gingerbread was acknowledged as a specific profession.
Did you know in the 17th Century, only professional Gingerbread bakers were allowed to make Gingerbread, except at Christmas and Easter, when anyone was allowed to bake it. I didn’t know this and neither did Charlie or David.
In Europe, Gingerbread was sold in special shops and at seasonal markets that sold sweets and Gingerbread shaped as hearts, stars, soldiers, babies, trumpets, swords, pistols, and animals. Gingerbread was especially sold outside Churches on Sundays.
Religious Gingerbread reliefs were purchased for particular religious events including Christmas and Lent. Decorated Gingerbread was given as presents to adults and children or as a love token bought specifically for Weddings.
Gingerbread was also considered a form of popular art in Europe. Molds often displayed actual happenings by portraying new rulers, their children, spouses, and parties. Substantial mold collections are held at the Ethnographic Museum in Toruń, Poland and the Bread Museum in Ulm, Germany.
According to some food historians, the tradition of making Gingerbread houses started in Germany in the early 1800s. The first Gingerbread houses were the result of the well-known Grimm’s fairy tale “Hansel and Gretel.”
After this story was published, German bakers began baking ornamented fairy-tale houses made from Gingerbread. The houses were brought over to America by German immigrants and became popular during the Christmas season.
Come December, Gingerbread drinks seem to pop up on Coffee shop menus all across the Country. But if you can’t seem to find one near you, it’s easy to replicate. Either purchase Gingerbread Syrup or make your own by simmering Water, Sugar, Ground Ginger, Cinnamon, and Allspice on the stove until it reduces and thickens. Mix the Syrup with a shot of Espresso and top it off with warm Milk. And like that, you’ve got holiday cheer in a mug, no Barista required.
Did you know Gingerbread Dough is surprisingly easy to make? You might need to run to the store for the Spices Ground Ginger, Cinnamon, and Cloves and Molasses, but we’re willing to bet almost everything else you would need is already in your pantry.
The hardest part is appropriately measuring out the walls and roof for your Gingerbread House before you bake them. If you have extra Dough, why not make Gingerbread Men and Women to go along with your Gingerbread House and Charlie said don’t forget a Cat and Dog.
If you have the means bake or purchase a bunch of Gingerbread house pieces, White Frosting, and tons of colorful Candy pieces then invite your friends over for a Gingerbread House Building Contest. Don’t forget to throw holiday music on, and see who can make the most beautifully decorated Gingerbread House!
Remember Ginger is good for us and the main flavor in Gingerbread is, Ginger which is what gives Gingerbread that warm holiday taste and subtly spicy kick. Ginger also happens to have a whole host of health benefits:
For those that didn’t know Ginger can help with indigestion or nausea, Ginger is a anti-inflammatory, and might even lower cholesterol levels, lower heart disease risk factors, and have some Cancer-fighting properties. Sure, it’s probably better to eat Ginger on its own, but it’s the holidays! We won’t tell if you splurge and eat Gingerbread.
People in Europe had been eating Gingerbread for Centuries, but we can thank the Brothers Grimm for the popularity of Gingerbread houses. People in Europe published Hansel and Gretel in the 19th Century, Remember that story? I do.
If you don’t it’s the Fairy Tale where a Witch lures the brother and sister Hansel and Gretel into captivity in her house made out of Gingerbread and Candy, and then tries to fatten them up to eat them (spoiler alert: they escape!) The story became immensely popular in Germany, and people started baking Gingerbread Houses during the holidays as a result.
Remember there’s nothing like a good old-fashioned arts and crafts project to make you feel like a kid again which is even more true when the materials for your crafting are a) edible and b) chock full of Sugar. Throw in the childlike excitement that comes out in people of all ages around the holidays? That’s the trifecta right there.
Thank you,
Glenda, Charlie and David Cates
