Gingerbread - a Brief (and tasty) History!
Gingerbread as we know (and love!) it today is believed to have been invented in China in the 10th century. Known as ‘Mi-Kong’ (literally honey bread), it was made from wheat flour and honey and was occasionally seasoned with aromatic plants. Texts from the 13th century list Mi-Kong as part of Genghis Khan's horsemen’s rations - an inclusion that helped to spread gingerbread across the Mongol Empire.
Gingerbread arrived in the West in the Middle Ages after men fighting the crusades came across it in the Holy Land and brought the recipe and necessary spices back with them. ‘Lebkuchen’ (gingerbread in German) was first mentioned in Ulm in 1296 and by 1370, a gingerbread maker in Munich was so successful he paid a tax.
Gingerbread in Alsace
A text from 1453 notes that gingerbread was on the tables of the Cistercian monks of Marienthal in Alsace during the Christmas holidays. By the Renaissance, ‘Lebküchler’ (gingerbread makers) were so numerous in Alsace that they had their own corporation.
The capital of Alsatian gingerbread is Gertwiller, located at the foot of Mont Sainte Odile, between Barr and Obernai. The first known gingerbread maker in the town was Andréas Schmidt who was born in 1727 and lived at house no. 71. His parents were already gingerbread makers and innkeepers in nearby Mittelbergheim. By 1900 there were eight or nine manufacturers in a village of 800 and until the middle of the 20th century, you could find a stand selling Gertwiller gingerbread during festivals in almost every town in Alsace.
Alsatian gingerbread is made from flour, honey, sugar, spices, baking powder and - depending on the variety - hazelnuts, almonds, candied fruit or candied ginger.
It was traditional for lovers to offer a heart-shaped gingerbread to their beloved, while children collected the embossed images they were adorned with and young girls used them to decorate their poetry notebooks.
Today, Gertwiller is home to the Gingerbread Museum. Housed in an 18th century tithe barn, it is the result of half a century of collecting by Michel Habsiger, manager of the family-owned gingerbread makers, Pains d'épices Lips. Among the more than 10,000 objects on display is a fascinating collection of Alsatian gingerbread moulds from the 15th and 16th centuries. Made from fruit wood, they are finely carved with magnificent scenes, bearing witness to the luxury surrounding this commodity at that time due to the rarity and price of spices.
Why not come and explore this museum – and taste some authentic Alsatian gingerbread – as part of our magical Alsatian Christmas Holiday visiting Christmas Markets in Alsace 2024.