The gingerbread house has a humble foundation

Whether it is in the form of a cake, a house or a little bald man, gingerbread is one of the staples of the Christmas season.

And anyone who has stepped into a store recently and seen the stacks of pre-made kits for gingerbread houses knows how popular the tradition has become.

But this commercial phenomenon had quite humble beginnings.

Ginger was first cultivated in Southeast Asia some 7,000 years ago, a rhizome prized for its spicy, aromatic root stalks. Later, it became an important part of the spice trade, although it was used more for medicinal purposes, such as preventing colds and soothing upset stomachs, than for baking.

There are references to ginger in the writings of the ancient Romans and Egyptians. Its botanical name, zingiber, is Sanskrit for "horn shape."

According to the culinary encyclopedia "Larousse Gastronomique" (Clarkson Potter, $85), gingerbread was introduced to Europe by medieval Crusaders who returned from the Middle East with mysterious ingredients. The sugars, nuts, citrus fruit and spices -- including ginger -- were soon integrated into baking.

But early versions of "gingerbread" were unlike what we enjoy today. It was a solid confection made with day-old breadcrumbs and sweetened with honey. Cooks were forced to use a generous amount of spices to cover up the stale bread flavor.

Through the centuries, gingerbread cakes spread to the Netherlands, Britain, Germany, Belgium, France and Italy, with each culture making its own adaptations. Many historians believe that baking with ginger likely developed rapidly after it was discovered that it acted as a preservative for pastries and bread.

In Britain, for example, gingerbread became a lighter cake, sweetened with treacle or molasses. The French made pain d'epices, or spice bread, and the Italians crafted dense, rich panforte.

Germans created a flatter, cookielike treat known as lebkuchen. Nuremberg even became know as the "gingerbread capital" with master bakers following strict regulations for making their gingerbread creations.

There is some debate about when the first gingerbread man was created. Some say it was in Paris sometime around the 11th century. Catholic monks sold their homemade gingerbread cakes at street fairs and for special religious celebrations. They constructed their delicacies into designs that depicted saints, religious motifs, animals, flowers and men.

Other historians give credit to Queen Elizabeth I, who impressed dignitaries with portraits made of gingerbread.

Gingerbread houses likely began in Germany in the early 1800s after the Brothers Grimm published the fairy tale of Hansel and Gretel -- two children left to starve in the forest, who came upon a house made of bread and sugar decorations. However, some believe that the Brothers Grimm were simply writing about something that already existed.

Immigrants from Northern Europe brought their gingerbread traditions with them to America. The introduction of the cookie cutter made gingerbread cookies easier to make.

"For Christmas over a hundred years ago, Pennsylvania German children in Lancaster County helped cut out and decorate foot-high cookies to stand in the front of windows of their stone or brick houses," writes Linda Campbell Franklin in her book, "300 Years of Kitchen Collectibles."

Decorated with buttons and big smiles made from white icing, they "were a cheerful sight to snow-cold passers-by," Franklin explained.

Today, home cooks and commercial bakers make their gingerbread cookies a bit smaller. But they still have the same cheery effect.

(Kathy Stephenson can be contacted at kathys(at)sltrib.com. For more stories, visit scrippsnews.com.)

(Distributed by Scripps Howard News Service, www.scrippsnews.com.)