At the time, gingerbread was commonly eaten in the winter because ginger supposedly “warmed the body” and thus could help restore the balance of the humors (earth, air, water and fire) which physicians at the time believed was the key to health.

There’s a story behind this post…when I first came up with the idea for this blog, my goal was to give my readers facts and anecdotes that will hopefully come to mind when they’re eating, cooking or shopping at the grocery store. Because don’t you just love it when you have a deeper appreciation for something on account of knowing its fascinating history, its biological significance or its connection to various people or places? Today when I was eating a gingerbread cookie,  I realized I don’t know anything about the origins of gingerbread! Thus I was compelled to uncover the deeper meaning behind this Christmas tradition. Upon doing so, I’ve discovered a wealth of random gingerbread facts. So stay tuned, there are many more to come!

I learned about this fact from: http://www.enotes.com/topics/gingerbread and http://thecreationofanneboleyn.wordpress.com/2013/12/12/gingerbread-and-tudor-medicine/