ginger bread spice
The gingerbread spice is a mixture of spices that is traditionally used in the preparation of the eponymous pastry . Nowadays it is not only used in the production of the actual gingerbread , but also for other products such as yoghurt , chocolate , tea or coffee blends , which are supposed to be given a seasonal, Christmas / winter aroma.
composition
There is no fixed, ubiquitous standard mixture for gingerbread spices. The recipes differ for the individual gingerbread specialties, the exact composition is a well-kept secret of gingerbread bakers. There are definitely regional preferences. For example, cinnamon is often represented in a fairly high proportion in German recipes, while it is completely absent in Eastern or Northern European recipes or is only used very cautiously. Conversely, pepper can only be found linguistically in German gingerbread, whereas in Eastern Europe it is actually used in regional recipes. A gingerbread spice mixture used in southern Germany can contain, for example, cinnamon , cloves , allspice , coriander , ginger , cardamom and nutmeg or mace . One possible gingerbread mix includes anise , ginger, pepper, and allspice. Besides actual spices also other flavors are often used as peel of citrus fruits ( orange , lemon or bitter orange ) or floral water, such as orange or rose blossom water.
Gingerbread spice is also available in stores as a spice mixture. However, these spice mixtures only contain dry spices that have already been finely ground.
Special spice mixes
In addition to the gingerbread spice, there are a number of other spice mixtures that are also used seasonally for certain products and are composed of similar spices.
Nine kinds of spice
A traditional spice mix for gingerbread is the “nine different spices”. The background of this spice mixture is the symbolism that nine spices stand for perfect praise to God. This refers to the trinity on the one hand and the three elements earth , air and water as well as the trinity earth, heaven and hell on the other . The nine spices are: allspice / clove pepper , cinnamon , ginger , anise , coriander , cardamom , nutmeg , cloves and fennel .
Mulled wine spice
The spices used in the preparation of mulled wine are very similar to the gingerbread spice mixture and, like these, are also available in stores as a ready-made mixture and are usually offered in tea bags . Common mulled wine spices are cinnamon , cloves , orange peel or lemon and aniseed .
Speculoos seasoning
The Spekulatius spice is also a not clearly defined, but nevertheless quite typical mixture of spices that is characteristic of Christmas baked goods. The spices used for speculoos are very similar to those for gingerbread, but are not quite as versatile: In addition to a high proportion of cinnamon , these are nutmeg , cloves , cardamom , aniseed and lemon peel.
Individual evidence
- ↑ Cornelia Mack: The great Christmas book. Hänssler: 2008, p. 32. ( ISBN 9783775147569 ).