Holiday Author Guest Post & Book Giveaway: Debut Novelist Gillian Bagwell

December 21, 2010 By 3 Comments
The History of Gingerbread
by Gillian Bagwell, Debut Novelist
In America, we associate gingerbread with Christmas, in the form of decorated gingerbread houses and gingerbread men. But gingerbread has a long history. The word gingerbread comes from the Old French word gingebras, which in turn comes from the Latin word zingiber, which meant preserved ginger. Eventually gingerbread came to mean either cake or biscuits made with ginger and other spices.
The first documented trade of gingerbread biscuits dates to the sixteenth century, where they were sold in monasteries, pharmacies and town square farmers’ markets. In Shakespeare’s play Love’s Labor’s Lost, the country fool Costard tells little Moth, “And I had but one penny in the world, thou shouldst have it to buy gingerbread.” Some early recipes had a bit more of a kick than we’re used to, calling for mustard or pepper. In Henry IV, Part One, Hotspur mentions “pepper gingerbread.”
The town of Drayton (now Market Drayton) in Shropshire, England became famous for its gingerbread biscuits, which were traditionally eaten dipped in port. Perhaps gingerbread (and possibly port!) were responsible for the Great Fire of Drayton in 1641, which started in a bakery and raged through the half-timbered buildings with thatched roofs, destroying seventy percent of the town.
The other kind of gingerbread traditional in England is a dense, moist cake, usually baked in a loaf or square shape, which is traditionally eaten on Bonfire Night, the annual commemoration on the Fifth of November of the foiling of the plot by Guy Fawkes and his accomplices to explode the Houses of Parliament in 1605.
Parkin or perkin (both diminutives of the name Peter) is a variety of gingerbread typically made with oatmeal and molasses, which originated in Northern England. It keeps well, and is traditionally not eaten fresh.
Here are two quite different English gingerbread recipes. The first, from Sir Hugh Platt’s Delights for Ladies, published in 1608, is for gingerbread biscuits. The original and updated recipes are from A Taste of History: 10,000 Years of Food in Britain. The second recipe, from October 1907, is the parkin variety of moist gingerbread cake. It was printed in 2007 in The Guardian newspaper, which noted “Back then parkin sold for eight old pence a pound.”
1608 GINGERBREAD
To make gingerbread: Take three stale Manchets and grate them, drie them, and sift them through a fine sieve, then adde unto them one ounce of ginger beeing beaten, and as much Cinamon, one ounce of liquorice and aniseedes being beaten together and searced, halfe a pound of sugar, then boile all these together in a posnet, with a quart of claret wine till them come to a stiff paste with often stirring of it; and when it is stiffe, mold it on a table and so drive it thin, and print it in your moldes; dust your moldes with Cinamon, Ginger, and liquorice, beeing mixed together in fine powder. This is your gingerbread used at the Court, and in all gentlemens houses at festival times. It is otherwise called drie Leach.
Translation!
8 oz. (225 g.) fresh white breadcrumbs
1 tsp. (5 ml.) ground ginger
1 tsp. (5 ml.) cinnamon
1 tsp. (5 ml.) aniseed
1 tsp. (5 ml.) ground liquorice (if available)
1 oz. (2.5 g. sugar)
¼ pint (150 ml.) claret
Dry the breadcrumbs under the grill or in the oven (but without browning), and add to the remaining ingredients in a saucepan. Work the mixture over a gentle heat with a wooden spoon, until it forms a stiff dough. Turn the dough out onto a wooden board dusted with ground ginger and cinnamon and roll it out to about ¼ inch (5 mm.) in thickness. It may then be impressed with a small stamp, a 1 inch (2.5 cm.) diameter butter press being ideal for this purpose, and cut into small circles, using a pastry cutter. If antique gingerbread molds are available, then they should be dusted with the ground spices before the slab of dough is firmly impressed into their designs. Then, after the surplus has been trimmed off with the knife, the gingerbread can be removed by inverting the molds, and gently knocking their edges down onto the table. Like most early gingerbreads, this version released its flavors gradually, the gentle aniseed being slowly overwhelmed by the fiery ginger.
Neither version of the recipe mentions baking, but I’m pretty sure this is a mistake. Based on modern recipes, I would bake the gingerbread at 375° for about 8-10 minutes.
1907 GINGERBREAD
225g plain flour
3½ tsp ground ginger
¾ tsp ground nutmeg
½ tsp bicarbonate of soda
A pinch of salt
125g medium oatmeal
100g unsalted butter, softened
125g light soft brown sugar
Zest of ½ lemon
100g treacle
75g golden syrup
50ml milk
50g mixed peel, finely chopped
Butter a deep, 20cm square cake tin and line the base with nonstick baking parchment. Heat the oven to 180C (160C fan-assisted)/350F/gas mark 4. Sift the flour, spices, soda and salt into a bowl, then stir in the oatmeal. In another bowl beat the butter, sugar and zest until light and fluffy. Add the treacle and syrup, beat again until creamy and smooth, then add the milk and the dry ingredients, and beat quickly until smooth once more. Fold in the mixed peel, then spoon the mixture into the tin. Cover the top with foil, bake for 40 minutes, then remove the foil and bake for a further 20 minutes, until a skewer comes out clean.

Sources:

The Guardian newspaper
http://www.guardian.co.uk/lifeands
tyle/2007/nov/03/features.weekend3

Wikipedia
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gingerbread

A Taste of History: 10,000 Years of Food in Britain, Brears et al., published by English Heritage in association with British Museum Press, 1993

Shakespeare Lexicon and Quotation Dictionary, Alexander Schmidt, 1902, reprinted by Dover Publications, Inc., 1971

About the Author:

Gillian Bagwell is the author of The Darling Strumpet, a novel based on the life of Nell Gwynn, who rose from the streets to become one of London’s most beloved actresses and the life-long mistress of King Charles II, coming on January 4 from Berkley Publishing Group.

For information about Gillian’s books, other articles, and links to the blogs of her research adventures, please visit her website, gillianbagwell.com.

About the Book:

The Darling Strumpet: A Novel of Nell Gwynn, Who Captured the Heart of England and King Charles II

Publication Date:  January 4, 2011
Publisher:  Berkley Trade

A thrilling debut novel starring one of history’s most famous and beloved courtesans.

From London’s slums to its bawdy playhouses, The Darling Strumpet transports the reader to the tumultuous world of seventeenth-century England, charting the meteoric rise of the dazzling Nell Gwynn, who captivates the heart of King Charles II-and becomes one of the century’s most famous courtesans.

Witty and beautiful, Nell was born into poverty but is drawn into the enthralling world of the theater, where her saucy humor and sensuous charm earn her a place in the King’s Company. As one of the first actresses in the newly-opened playhouses, she catapults to fame, winning the affection of legions of fans-and the heart of the most powerful man in all of England, the King himself. Surrendering herself to Charles, Nell will be forced to maneuver the ruthless and shifting allegiances of the royal court-and discover a world of decadence and passion she never imagined possible.

Book Giveaway:

Thanks to the publisher, I have 1 copy of Gillian’s debut novel to give away to a lucky reader of the USA/Canada!

Rules:

1. Giveaway is open to residents of the USA and Canada only!

2. Please complete the form below (do not leave information in the comments – it will not count!)

3. Giveaway ends January 4, 2011 at 11:59pm EST; 1 winner will be selected and contacted thereafter.

4. Once the winner is contacted, he/she will have 48 hours to respond to my email or another winner will be chosen (make sure to check your spam filters!).

5. No PO Box Addresses!

6. Book will be shipped directly from the publisher.

Til next time, stay crazy….for books, that is!
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Comments

  1. CarolL says:
    December 21, 2010 at 12:28 pm

    Thank you for the post on the gingerbread. Very interesting.I love reading about Nell Gwynn and how she held the king's love . Very interesting reading. Congrats on your debut. Happy Holidays everyone.Carol LLucky4750@aol.com

    Reply
  2. debbie says:
    December 21, 2010 at 12:43 pm

    It's interesting your recipe in the 1900's didn't have molasses in it. Most of the ones I have seen from the 1800's and up have molasses. It really is interesting to see how our food evolved over time.The food in the seventeenth century was really interesting.

    Reply
  3. Librarypat says:
    December 27, 2010 at 6:20 pm

    I have heard very good things about this book. Love the cover.Thanks so much for the recipes. It is interesting how food items become popular, change and develop over the years. I may just have to try these.

    Reply

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