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Where can the origins of the first Gingerbread Men cookies be traced to?
Wiki User
∙ 12y ago
And I had but one penny in the world, thou should'st have it to buy gingerbread.
-- William Shakespeare, "Love's Labor's Lost"
History of gingerbread -- Long Story ShortVolumes exist on the origins of gingerbread. For these purposes, suffice it to say an early form of gingerbread can be traced to the ancient Greeks and Egyptians who used it for ceremonial purposes. Gingerbread made an appearance in Europe when 11th-century crusaders brought the spice back from the Middle East for the rich folks' cooks to experiment with.As ginger and other spices became more affordable to the masses, gingerbread caught on. An early European recipe consisted of ground almonds, stale breadcrumbs, rosewater, sugar and, naturally, ginger.
The resultant paste was pressed into wooden molds. These carved works of art served as a sort of story board that told the news of the day, bearing the likeness of new kings, emperors and queens, or religious symbols. The finished cookie might be decorated with edible gold paint (for those who could afford it) or flat white icing to bring out the details in relief.
In the 16th century, the English replaced the breadcrumbs with flour, and added eggs and sweeteners, resulting in a lighter product. The first gingerbread man is credited to Queen Elizabeth I, who knocked the socks off visiting dignitaries by presenting them with one baked in their own likeness. Gingerbread tied with ribbon was popular at fairs and, when exchanged, became a token of love. On a more practical note, before refrigeration was a twinkle in someone's eye, aromatic crumbled gingerbread was added to recipes to mask the odor of decaying meat.
So What Is Gingerbread Like Today?Gingerbread is a baked sweet containing ginger and sometimes cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg, cardamom and anise, and sweetened with any combination of brown sugar, molasses, light or dark corn syrup, or honey.Gingerbread can take the shape of thin, crisp cookies like snaps, Polish pierniczki, Czech pernik, Scandinavian pepparkakor and Dutch speculaas cut into hearts or other fanciful shapes. The Germans like a softer, puffier version known as lebkuchen.
Gingerbread also can be a dark, spicy cake like Polish piernik, or an American version served, sometimes, with lemon glaze, or the lighter French pain d'epices.
The third form gingerbread takes today is in a house-shaped confection made with a variation of gingerbread cookie dough.
Wiki User
∙ 12y ago
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Where can the orgins of the first gingerbread men cookies be traced to?
England
Are gingerbread cookies German?
Gingerbread was first introduced into Europe by the returning Crusaders who brought back the foreign spice from the East. The first gingerbread cookies were created in Germany.
Where do cookies originate from?
It is thought that the first gingerbread was made by Catholic monks in Europe.
Who first invented the Gingerbread man?
The gingerbread man dates back all the way to the 15th Century. Queen Elizabeth I was the first to be reported having the gingerbread man (cookies) present when she was with important guests.
When was algebra first used?
The origins of algebra can be traced back to ancient mathmatics roughly 4 thousand years ago!
Who wrote the first gingerbread man story?
Queen Elizabeth's cook actually was the first rumored to have shaped the cookies into the likenesses of particular people. The gingerbread cookies were handed out to specific people whose charicatures were conveyed in the shape of the cookie. The little joke was a big hit, and started the fad. The tale of the gingerbread man comes from a long line of old European stories, all of them tell of some kind of edible fleeing the table, The Fleeing Pancake, Johnny-Pancake, and other tales share a common ilk. The story we commonly hear as children growing up of the Gingerbread running fast, fast as he can comes from a long-blended version of all these stories.
When were boilers first developed?
The origins of the fabricated plate work industry may be traced to the early development of boilers, which began in the Middle Ages when inventors experimented with the idea of harnessing the power of steam.
When did the term football hooligan first originate?
The term football hooliganism has unknown origins but can be traced back all the way into the 14th century. In 1314 Edward the second banned football because of this.
In the early 1800s the first gingerbread houses were reportedly inspired by what famous fairy tale?
The first gingerbread houses were reportedly inspired by the fairy tale "Hansel and Gretel," written by the Brothers Grimm. The story features a witch's house made of gingerbread, which likely influenced the tradition of making edible gingerbread houses.
Where did people first come from?
Sub Sahara Africa in Kenya Serenghetti Plain according to the most recent archaeological evidence combined with the Genome Project which detailed human origins based on gene evidence and effectively traced the migratory patterns of first humans!
Where did no bake cookies originate from?
The word cookie comes from the Dutch "koekje", meaning "little cake." The earliest cookie-style cakes are thought to date back to 7th-century Persia, one of the first countries to cultivate sugar.
Who created the dish butter chicken?
The origins of butter chicken can be traced back to Hindu Punjabi restaurant called Moti Mahal in Delhi. Butter Chicken is regarded to have been first introduced by Moti Mahal in Daryaganj, Delhi.
