Imagine being immersed in a small pastry workshop, with the scent of spices in the air and your hands sticky with icing. It’s December, Christmas is upon us, and you’re struggling with yet another attempt to build a gingerbread house that doesn’t look like a medieval ruin. But behind every collapsed roof and crooked wall, there is a story that intertwines fairy tales, history and precious spices.
From pharaohs to the Middle Ages: the long journey of gingerbread
If you thought that gingerbread was a recent invention, know that its roots date back to ancient times. The Egyptians and Greeks already prepared spicy desserts, even if it wasn’t the crumbly biscuit we know today. The real leap in quality occurred in the Middle Ages, when global trade began to bring exotic ingredients such as cinnamon and ginger from oriental markets to European tables.
It’s quite fun to imagine medieval cooks experimenting with these new spices. They were a bit like the star chefs of their time: they combined flavours, innovated and, above all, they knew how to leave their mark. Meanwhile, guilds of gingerbread bakers – yes, they even had a union – began creating intricately shaped sweets, molded into actual sculpture molds.
And then there was Elizabeth I of England. Always ahead of trends, the queen had the habit of serving gingerbread men depicting their faces to dignitary visitors, a little disturbing, sure, but definitely an idea to copy for the next themed party.
Hänsel, Gretel and the pastry witch
If there is a story that made gingerbread a worldwide phenomenon, it is Hänsel and Gretel. Published by the Brothers Grimm in 1812, the fairy tale has a key point that everyone remembers: the house made of bread and sweets, which attracts the two hungry children.
But be careful: here comes the twist. The Grimm didn’t invent gingerbread houses. Historians debate which came first: the houses or the fairy tale. What we know for sure is that, just as the Grimms were becoming popular with their stories, the trend for gingerbread houses was already taking off in Germany.
From the old continent to the New World
In the 19th century, German Christmas traditions began to spread to the United States thanks to numerous waves of immigration. Christmas trees, markets and, of course, gingerbread houses found fertile ground in the New World. A moment of great importance was Engelbert Humperdinck’s opera Hänsel and Gretel, which debuted in the USA in 1895 and consolidated the link between Christmas and gingerbread.
From there, it was a short step to global adoption. In the following years, magazines such as Good Housekeeping began to suggest ideas for fairy-tale themed parties, including desserts inspired by fairy tales: it was the prelude to the culture of “designer cakes”, where American mothers transformed themselves into confectionery architects to make their children happy. own children.
From tradition to sugar tourism
Today, building gingerbread houses has become a universal pastime, so much so that some creations are real tourist attractions. An example? The gingerbread village that a New York chef, John Lovitch, creates every year, using three tons of sugar and biscuits.
Gingerbread Man, as he is called, holds the Guinness World Record for the largest gingerbread village, the Gingerbread Guinness World Records.
And you? The next time you try to glue two walls together with icing, remember that you’re participating in an age-old tradition. Sure, your result may not compete with the works of a 15th century baker, but at least you can boast that you’re in good company.
What if everything were to collapse? Eat it! It’s still Christmas.
