If You Like Shopping

What Christmas would be if you do not see everywhere the ginger men, the ginger witch’s house, etc. Combine them with the snow outside and your mind will wander back in your childhood memories when the house was full of noise, the smell of homemade cookies, cozy fire.

Ginger is brought to Europe from China and India in the 9^th century.

The gingerbread was first mentioned on the records of a town which claim itself to be the “home of gingerbread” – Market Drayton in Shropshire (England) in 1793. Unofficially probably it is baked earlier.

The most famous ginger spices are the ginger man and the ginger witch’s house. The largest ginger man ever made was in Vancouver, Canada on 19 November 2003. Its weight was 168.8 kg.

Here is recipe how to make old fashioned gingerbread:

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup white sugar
• 1/2 cup butter
• 1 egg
• 1 cup molasses
• 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon ground ginger
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup hot water

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease and flour a 9 inch square pan.
2. In a large bowl, cream together the sugar and butter. Beat in the egg, and mix in the molasses.
3. In a bowl, sift together the flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, ginger, and cloves. Blend into the creamed mixture. Stir in the hot water. Pour into the prepared pan.
4. Bake 1 hour in the preheated oven, until a knife inserted in the center comes out clean. Allow to cool in pan before serving.