[1] One way to celebrate: gingerbread bars with cream cheese frosting. Here’s the recipe (photo © McCormick).
[2] Celebrate with gingerbread cupcakes. Here’s the recipe (photo courtesy Pillsbury).
[3] Gingerbread muffins. Here’s the recipe (photo © I Heart Eating).
[4] Gingerbread bundt cake. Here’s the recipe (photo © Nordicware).
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June 5th is National Gingerbread Day. But isn’t gingerbread a winter holiday food?
It became that way, only because the spices were so costly in medieval Europe, that most people only sprang for them to celebrate Christmas.
Because the spices are…well…spicy, i.e. heat-generating, they are also called warm spices, which became associated with the colder months.
But just as you can roast a turkey in July or have ice cream in December, most recipes work year-round (with an aside, to underscore the benefits of choosing fruits and vegetables seasonally).
Ginger-spiced cookies, cupcakes, and other baked goods fit right in with warm weather. Serve them with ice cream or frozen yogurt, iced coffee, or iced tea.
Or make muffins, scones, and even gingerbread waffles. The recipes are below, as is the history of ginger.
Also, check out:
The history of gingerbread.
The history of the gingerbread house.
DIFFERENT TYPES OF GINGER COOKIES
A ginger cookie is a soft, molasses-type cookie that is flavored with ginger and other spices. It is larger than, and otherwise differs from, a gingersnap.
A gingersnap is a thin, plain round cookie with a hard, smooth texture like a gingerbread cookie. It is a smaller version of the traditional German Christmas cookie known as Lebkuchen. Like gingerbread cookies, ginger snaps break with a “snap.” Gingersnaps contain a larger amount of ginger, and thus are spicier, than the chewier ginger cookies.
Gingerbread is a fancier affair, often cut into special shapes (cottages, flowers, hearts, horses, people, trees, etc., along with 3-D constructions such as houses and carousels. They are hand-decorated with icing and candies. Monks made the first gingerbread for holidays and festivals. The tale of Hansel and Gretel, published in 1812 (as part of Grimm’s Fairy Tales), vastly increased the popularity of gingerbread cookies and other treats, such as gingerbread Christmas cards. Gingerbread men and animals became popular Christmas tree ornaments.
THE HISTORY OF GINGER
What we call ginger (Zingiber officinale), is the root of the ginger plant. It likely originated in the tropical lowland forests of the Indian subcontinent and southern Asia.
It has been cultivated for 5,000 years, made into a tonic to treat ailments*, as well as a spice for food. The ancient Chinese philosopher Confucius celebrated its healing powers.
Since ancient times, the Chinese and Indians used the ginger root as medicine. Ginger originated in the tropical rainforests of Southeast Asia.
By the first century, traders had brought it to the Mediterranean via India. It became popular in the Roman Empire, where it was a symbol of wealth. The fresh roots were dried or preserved for the long voyage.
After the fall of the Roman Empire in 476 C.E., ginger and other imported spices fell by the wayside during the Dark Ages. It returned with the resurgence of trade in medieval Europe. It was commonly used to make baked goods and sweets; but again, you needed the bucks. In the 14th century a pound of ginger cost as much as a sheep!
Still used medicinally in medieval times, ginger became a popular holiday spice (it was too pricey to use year-round), most famously in gingerbread cookies. In 11th-century northern European countries, it was used to flavor buttermilk drinks and over the next two centuries became used in cooking meats and in ginger pastes.
Ginger and other spices were brought back to Europe by Crusaders who traveled to the Holy Land. In 11th-century northern European countries, it was used to flavor buttermilk drinks and over the next two centuries became used in cooking meats and in ginger pastes.
During the 13th and 14th centuries, Arabs traders voyaging to Africa and Zanzibar planted the rhizomes, spreading the cultivation of the plant.
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