THE FAMOUS FOOD "CHRISTMAS EDITION"

GINGERBREAD

MERRY MERRY HI GUYS...
   WELCOME BACK ONIJJANG READERS.... in this post i share another famous food that i know and this famous food is really popular when Christmas is coming, do you guys know about it?? i think all of you will get the right answer hahahah.. that right its ginger bread, usually people make this when Christmas and there is type gingerbread like cookies or gingerbread house so this Christmas will minus with this special things right.

HO..HOO..HOOO THANK HO..HO..

   No confection symbolizes the holidays quite like gingerbread in its many forms, from edible houses to candy-studded gingerbread men to spiced loaves of cake-like bread. 

   In Medieval England, the term gingerbread simply meant ‘preserved ginger’ and wasn’t applied to the desserts we are familiar with until the 15th century. 

   The term is now broadly used to describe any type of sweet treat that combines ginger with honey, treacle or molasses.

   Gingerbread refers to a broad category of baked goods, typically flavored with ginger, cloves, nutmeg or cinnamon and sweetened with honey, sugar or molasses. Gingerbread foods vary, ranging from a soft, moist loaf cake to something close to a ginger biscuit

   A gingerbread man is a biscuit or cookie made of gingerbread, usually in the shape of a stylized human, although other shapes, especially seasonal themes (Christmas, Halloween, Easter, etc.) and characters, are common.

HISTORY

   Recorded as early as 1296 in Ulm of Germany, Gingerbread was shaped into different forms by monks in Franconia, Germany. The first documented figure-shaped gingerbread biscuits were credited to Elizabeth I of England when she presented them to her valuable guests. 

    Gingerbread houses, Lebkuchenhaus or Pfefferkuchenhaus, originated in Germany during the 16th century, which became associated with Christmas tradition.  This “gingerbread house” tradition is still in practice around the world today.

   Throughout Europe, Gingerbread became a symbolic food in many cultures too. In the medieval time, it was primarily a fairground delicacy throughout France, Germany, Holland and England.  

   In 15th-century Germany, where gingerbread was taken so seriously that one had to belong to a gingerbread guild in order to bake it. In the 17th century, Gingerbread-making was eventually recognized as a profession in itself that only gingerbread bakers had the exclusive right to make it, except at Christmas and Easter.

   In modern days, Nuremberg, Germany, known as the gingerbread capital of the world, gingerbread is still considered an art form there.

GINGERBREAD HOUSE

   The gingerbread house became popular in Germany after the Brothers Grimm published their fairy tale collection which included "Hansel and Gretel" in the 19th century. Early German settlers brought this lebkuchenhaeusle - gingerbread house - a tradition to the Americas.

   Gingerbread houses never caught on in Britain as they did in North America, where some extraordinary examples can be found. But they do exist in other parts of Europe.

History of Shaping Gingerbread

    The gingerbread bakers were gathered into professional baker guilds. In many European countries gingerbread bakers were a distinct component of the bakers’ guild. 

    Gingerbread baking developed into an acknowledged profession. In the 17th century only professional gingerbread bakers were permitted to bake gingerbread except at Christmas and Easter, when anyone was allowed to bake it.

   In Europe gingerbreads were sold in special shops and at seasonal markets that sold sweets and gingerbread shaped as hearts, stars, soldiers, babies, riders, trumpets, swords, pistols and animals. Gingerbread was especially sold outside churches on Sundays. 

    Religious gingerbread reliefs were purchased for the particular religious events, such as Christmas and Easter. The decorated gingerbreads were given as presents to adults and children, or given as a love token, and bought particularly for weddings, where gingerbreads were distributed to the wedding guests. 

   A gingerbread relief of the patron saint was frequently given as a gift on a person’s name day, the day of the saint associated with his or her given name. It was the custom to bake biscuits and paint them as window decorations. 

   The most intricate gingerbreads were also embellished with iced patterns, often using colors and also gilded with gold leaf. Gingerbread was also worn as a talisman in battle or as protection against evil spirits.

   Gingerbread was a significant form of popular art in Europe; major centers of gingerbread mold carvings included Lyon, Nuremberg, Pest, Prague, Pardubice, Pulsnitz, Ulm, and Toruń.

   Gingerbread molds often displayed actual happenings, by portraying new rulers and their consorts, for example. Substantial mould collections are held at the Ethnographic Museum in Toruń, Poland and the Bread Museum in Ulm, Germany. 

   During the winter months medieval gingerbread pastries, usually dipped in wine or other alcoholic beverages, were consumed. In America, the German-speaking communities of Pennsylvania and Maryland continued this tradition until the early 20th century. 

   The tradition survived in colonial North America, where the pastries were called ginger snap cookies and gained favor as Christmas tree decorations.

   The tradition of making decorated gingerbread houses started in Germany in the early 1800s. According to certain researchers, the first gingerbread houses were the result of the well-known Grimm‘s fairy tale “Hansel and Gretel” in which the two children abandoned in the forest found an edible house made of bread with sugar decorations. 

   After this book was published, German bakers began baking ornamented fairy-tale houses oflebkuchen (gingerbread). These became popular during Christmas, a tradition that came to America with Pennsylvanian German immigrants. 

   According to other food historians, the Grimm brothers were speaking about something that already existed.

Modern Gingerbread

    In modern times the tradition has continued in certain places in Europe. In Germany the Christmas markets still sell decorated gingerbread before Christmas. 

   (Lebkuchenhaus or Pfefferkuchenhaus are the German terms for a gingerbread house. Making gingerbread houses is still a way of celebrating Christmas in many families. 

   They are built traditionally before Christmas using pieces of baked gingerbread dough assembled with melted sugar. The roof tiles can consist of frosting or candy. The gingerbread house yard is usually decorated with icing to represent snow.

  A gingerbread house does not have to be an actual house, although it is the most common. It can be anything from a castle to a small cabin, or another kind of building, such as a church, an art museum or a sports stadium and other items, such as cars, gingerbread men and gingerbread women, can be made of gingerbread dough.

CHARACTERISTIC

    Most gingerbread men share a roughly humanoid shape, with stubby feet and no fingers. Many gingerbread men have a face, though whether the features are indentations within the face itself or other candies stuck on with icing or chocolate varies from recipe to recipe. 
   Other decorations are common; hair, shirt cuffs, and shoes are sometimes applied, but by far the most popular decoration is shirt buttons, which are traditionally represented by gum drops, icing, or raisin

TYPES OF GINGERBREAD

   The three distinct types of gingerbread are brown gingerbread, wafer-based gingerbread and honey gingerbread.

BROWN GINGERBREAD

This includes all gingerbread dough made with honey or syrup and baked without using a wafer base. For every 2 parts flour, at least part sugar or sweetener should be used. Ground seeds are optional.

WAFER GINGERBREAD

This type of gingerbread contains at least 12.5% almonds and/or walnuts and is baked with a wafer base. If necessary, substitute a 14% ground seed mixture.

HONEY GINGERBREAD

This is one of the oldest types of gingerbread. Made with honey, eggs, flour and the finest spices, the dough mass can be modified using additional flavors should you choose.

FACTS

• Gingerbread is a sweet food-product flavored with ginger and typically using honey or molasses rather than just sugar. Gingerbread foods vary, ranging from a soft, moist loaf cake to something close to a ginger biscuit. The different types likely share a common origin.
• Parkin is a form soft gingerbread cake made with oatmeal and treacle which is popular in northern England. 

source by

http://www.pbs.org/food/the-history-kitchen/history-gingerbread/

http://www.sweetoothdesign.com/cookie-gingerbread

https://www.thespruce.com/the-history-of-gingerbread-1135954

http://www.lebkuchen-gandl.com/en/all-things-gingerbread/types-of-gingerbread/

http://confectionarychalet.com/docs/history-of-gingerbread/