Lebkuchen

lebkuchen - www.healthnote25.com

Lebkuchen or "gingerbread" is a typical German cake type. This bread has ginger flavor and is made from flour dough with honey, eggs, hazelnuts, walnuts, almonds, candied oranges, lemon pieces, marzipan and spices such as cinnamon, ginger, anise, pimento, coriander and cardamom.

Although ginger bread has been made in Europe for centuries, among these countries Germany is the country with the longest history in tradition of making it. Lebkuchen was first made in Nürnberg in 1395. In 1643, the citizens of Nürnberg built an association of bakers Lebkuchen pioneered by 14 bakers to make Lebkuchen with careful recipes and rules.

Until 1867, Lebkuchen was still made by hand. Currently, most of Lebkuchen is made with engines, but so, many bakery producers in Nürnberg still make it by hand. Now, it is estimated that around 2000 Lebkuchen pieces are made per minute in Nürnberg with a workforce of 4000 people. Some are made by large companies and some are by family companies whose recipes are passed down from generation to generation. The oldest gingerbread recipe from the 16th century is still kept in the German National Museum.

In 1996, Nürnberg ginger bread was declared a "Geographical Status Protection" and endorsed with an EU stamp that only Lebkuchen from the city of Nürnberg could be called "Nürnberger Lebkuchen".