What is the History of Gingerbread?
The first gingerbread is thought to have been made by Catholic monks in Europe for special holidays and festivals. England, France, and especially Germany were known to eat and celebrate with gingerbread treats. Ginger was called “zingebar” in Latin, “gingerbras” in Old French and “gingerbread” in Medieval England. “Lebkuchen” is the German word for gingerbread. Until the fifteenth century, “gingerbread” referred only to preserved ginger itself. Ginger was found to have preservative qualities and in the fifteenth century it began to be used in cakes and cookies. Crusaders returning to Europe from the Middle East brought back spices such as ginger and catholic monks formed the ginger into cakes and pressed it into molds. Gingerbread also became a popular treat at European fairs and was added to meat to preserve it and help cover up the strong odor of aging meat.
