You can’t catch me I’m the Gingerbread Man

Story by Kristy Gleeson

		"An I had but one penny in the world, thou should'st have it to buy ginger-bread." --William Shakespeare, Love’s Labour’s Lost Gingerbread has been baked for centuries in Europe, although its appearance has differed from place to place. The one thing that remained true of this syrupy bread was that it was almost always cut into shapes, such as men, women, stars or animals. Colourful decorations and stamped images dusted in white sugar to make the impression visible were also common. It’s delightful to know that this sweet treat has endured the ages – let’s have a look at its yummy history.

Sweet Beginnings

Crusaders returning home from war in the Eastern Mediterranean towards the end of the 11th century are thought to have spread its renown. From this time it became popular as a fairground indulgence. Many events took on the name and became known as ‘gingerbread fairs’. Particular shapes were associated with different seasons of the year – buttons and flowers with Easter, and animals and birds with autumn. Funnily enough, there is also an English tradition in more than one village that requires a maiden to eat gingerbread ‘husbands’ in order to secure the real thing.

London’s Lust for Gingerbread

Bartholomew Fair, a well-known London event in the 17th century, used gingerbread cakes to honour its celebrated patron saint, St Bartholomew. His image may have been stamped – and even gilded – into the delicious treats for sale. If a fair were on a special market day, cakes would most likely be decorated with edible icing depicting men, animals, flowers and even love hearts.
Later in the 17th century, gingerbread making became a profession with bakers having the exclusive right to produce it, except at Easter and Christmas. This continued until 1951 when there were only two official makers left in London.

Nuremberg, the ‘Gingerbread Capital’

Germany has the longest standing tradition of making flat, shaped gingerbreads in all of Europe. Like in England, at every autumn fair there would be stalls overflowing with gingerbread hearts. These would be decorated with white and coloured icing and tied with ribbons to tempt the passers-by.
In the 17th century Germany you could buy Lebkuchen – the German word for this delicacy. It was of such a high standard that it was used as currency for paying taxes, and considered a worthy gift for royalty and heads of state. Due to the quality, Nuremberg became known as the ‘gingerbread capital’ of the world and it is still sold there today.

Hansel and Gretel’s House

Large pieces of Lebkuchen were used to build Hexenhaeusle, or witches’ houses. In the 19th century, while flicking through old volumes of German fairytales, the Grimm brothers discovered Hansel and Gretel – a story of two children who are abandoned in the woods by poor parents and then find a house made out of lollies, bread and cake. The story was updated by them and it became the version cherished and loved by all.   

Germany, and more recently, North America have taken on the obsession with building gingerbread houses at Christmas time. And it is in the USA that the most extravagant creations can be found. Victorian abodes adorned with candy and sugar icicles go head-to-head with the more elaborate Hansel-and-Gretel-style creations, decorated beyond any child’s wildest dreams.   

Christmas in July is a great time to refine your gingerbread-baking skills. Whether you make a decorative house covered in delicious goodies or little men dressed elegantly in coloured icing, the most important thing is to prepare plenty and let your creativity run free so everyone can revel in the sweet creations. 

FAST FACT

According to the Guinness Book of Records, the world’s largest gingerbread man was made by chefs at the Hyatt Regency Hotel, Vancouver, Canada, and weighed in at a hefty 168.8kg. It was 4.23m tall, 1.72m wide and 5.08cm thick.