My 150-year-old Gingerbread House! 

Below is some excellent research done for us by Claudia; a food historian, specialized in nineteenth century Germany, at the University of St Andrews in Scotland. Thank you Claudia. Parameters: Joe Perry has produced an excellent study of the invention of Christmas in Germany which shows thatmany practices, decorations and foods we identify as Christmassy in the twentieth century are far younger than we might think.[1] Hobsbawm and Ranger call the period c.1870-1920 the era of the Invention of Tradition-a very apt name which describes an era of increased nationalization in Europe’s empires, where older customs were rebranded and solidified, or made up from scratch.[2] That includes national cuisines and festivities, which as Lesnizcak shows and I confirm in my own work, did not exist in Germany until around 1900.[3] So-broadly, the scholarship agrees that any local customs that predated the 1870s, e.g. in the Medieval period, usually grew out of available foodstuffs and were more likely aimed at survival among the peasantry, while monasteries formed very privileged food-stuff exchange networks in fruits, sweets and meats along with courts, and spent a lot of time hoarding, preserving, and consuming goods very creatively to bypass the many recognized fasting days of the calendar year. Hypothesising: I would not expect the appearance of “Knusperhäuschen” (literally translated as “Crunchy snack houses”) or “Lebkuchenhäuschen” (lit.: “Bread of Life houses”) or their synonyms “Pfefferkuchenhaus” (Pepper-cake house) and “Honigkuchenhaus” (Honey-cake house) before c.1880. Because central Europe is so regionally varied and split into various states with slightly different regional dialects, there are a range of terms here! Then there is the economics of it and the social dimension. Sugar prices drop throughout the eighteenth century, so, sugar prices would not have been the main restriction from c.1800 onwards. Spices were very expensive until the twentieth century, but in high usage among middle-class houses for food preservation before refrigeration. Spice usage did not drop in Germany until, again, around 1900. In terms of construction, the most complex grandes pièces come about after Antonine Carême c.1800 and are not popularized in central Europe until c.1850 through authors like Johann Rottenhöfer, the Master Chef to the King of Bavaria. Then, there is the audience of the houses: Germany has local elites all over their small towns which are often quite literate and make up about one third of the population, but, they usually do not have the spare time to construct houses until after 1860, when the general industry changes to such an extent, as to introduce female domesticity larger scale. Among urban elites thereafter, some families (c.5%-20%) would have had the means, knowledge, and access to construct houses. Alright-Sources! Testing the Hypothesis: “Honigkuchen” seems to be a literal translation of Old Testament “honey cakes” which women baked as part of worship and persists in that meaning until the mid-nineteenth century.[4] “Lebkuchen” (lit.Bread of Life) as a baked good is a medieval good and matches the Hobsbawm and Ranger medieval “custom” part of the gingerbread story, rather than the newer invented “tradition” of the modern period; Lebkuchen dates back at the very least to the 1520s, and likely, goes back even further.[5] Central Europeans used “Pfefferkuchen” for medicinal purposes in the 1600s,[6] and commonly made this dough to produce a range of dolls, shapes and smaller cookies in molds, sometimes, seemingly potentially for sacred celebratory purposes, because their molds contained carvings, which resemble Christian Coptic Orthodox contemporary sacred bread molds, and medieval host molds, which often contained a biblical reference to bread.[7] If you have ever seen a “Pfefferkuchenherz” or Peppercakeheart on a German fair today, you can see a very late and heavily adapted modern survivor of this practice. Writers used the terms “Pfefferkuchen” and “Lebkuchen” interchangeably as a version of “pain d’epices” (spiced bread) by the 1700.[8] Because spices were often the whole point of an early modern meal, and other foodstuffs used as a vehicle to transport this medicinal good into the body, this is highly intuitive and matches findings elsewhere. The earliest use of the term “Pfefferkuchenhaus” (Peppercake + house) appears in a romantic poem from 1834, and bears no relation to the Grimms or something edible, but instead appears in a list with princes, dragons and fairies.[9] Central Europe went through a climatic crisis and severe period of structural poverty in this period, so dreams of plenty would be common and often made the cut in literature of the period. The first in-depth discussion of the “Bread of Life House” or “Lebkuchenhaus” which synthesizes its fragmentary history appears in a book by Rochholz published c.1872 now held at Harvard.[10] The author of the book places the invention of Lebkuchen to the thirteenth century and tells the story of various medieval miracles achieved with the “Bread of Life”, which beautifully combines medieval sacral healing beliefs with the medicinal holism of Hippocrates and Galen which guided European medicine for millennia. This is precisely the kind of invention of tradition which Hobsbawm and Ranger discuss: you take a range of fragments, and fuse them into an invented tradition. Fascinatingly, Rochholz does not discuss Christmas at all. Instead, he discusses how difficult gingerbreadhouses are to make, which makes families lean on specialized bakers to produce them. Simultaneously, the earliest uses of the term “Knusperhäuschen” appears in a critic’s discussion of the Grimm fairytale in 1864,[11] and seems to have been solidified within the tale in an operatic adaptation of Hansel and Gretel by Engelbert Humperdinck.[12] The opera was first performed in on December 23rd of 1893, leading to an association to Christmas thereafter. The Grimm’s version of the tale held no association to Christmas.[13] By the 1880s, urban Christmas expositions display a range of foodstuffs now associated more strongly to Christmas: sweets, fruit-breads, chocolate, baked goods, and Nuremberg Lebkuchen.[14] By 1902, the association stuck, and “Lebkuchen” appear as a “typical” Christmas item in advertisements. The solidification of the “house” structure does not appear to stick in Germany until after the 1950s. Central Europe saw a lot of war between 1914 and 1945, and depression between the two wars. It is possible that the consumption of German media in North America among expats, migrants, and others Americans actually combined the three elements-house structure, gingerbread dough, and Christmas festivity-into one by the 1890s.[15] Much like Octoberfest, which was not popular beyond Bavaria and had not quite taken on its contemporary format, until after 1945 and US occupation of the German south. Historian David Blackbourn points out that central Europeans were very chameleonic, and quickly adapted into societies worldwide after migrating there.[16] Conclusion: My initial hypothesis of the 1880s was right and wrong in a very revealing manner. I had underestimated the importance of migration-three million central Europeans migrated to the Americas from the 1850s onwards and enjoyed somewhat more constancy there than their counterparts did in Europe. Central Europeans did invent the tradition of gingerbread with Christmas by 1900, matching broad patterns which historians have identified so far. But the house structure seems to have been a later, if not US-based phenomenon, then a post-war one. So, even though central Europe may have produced all the pieces, they may have been joined trans-Atlantically by the 1890s and come to form part of a more American-dominated marketing machinery in the Age of Americanization.[17] I hope that is not too much of a let-down! Congratulations on everything you have achieved-your channel is exceptional and a range of my students love it as well. All the best, Claudia

So as a German: Firstly Gingerbread is called Lebkuchen or Pfefferkuchen here, wich means „pepper cake“, so it has always been called cake (just like you call it bread“ Stories of buildings made of caked (or pepper cake) can be found around the 1500s. Some traditions have your godparents gift you a cake house and even the mythical world „Schlaraffenland“ is made of cake houses (there is a painting from the 1500s showing a early version of gingerbread houses). But Hansel and Gretel really did popularise it, not by the written story alone, but by the pictures it inspired (since most people couldn’t read back than anyways) Hope this helps somewhat

That is an AMAZING gingerbread house, I could stare at it all day. 🤩I was searching online and I found a site, it says that in Thomas Hardy’s Jude the Obscure (1896), Jude who had grown up in his aunt’s baking business, takes to building gingerbread houses - called Christminster cakes - complete with ‘traceried windows, and cloisters." It also says Gingerbread houses were believed to have started in Germany around the 16th and 18th century. I also read a news article that in the centuries following Queen Elizabeth the first started making gingerbread figures for her guests, shaped gingerbread became popular across Europe, with figures and models used as window decorations, or given as gifts on religious holidays or birthdays. So that probably is the reason it is now something done at Christmas. 🎅

Hi Ann, German here. I did some research and what i found was that the origin of gingerbread houses isn't really known for sure. Some think they have their origins in the story of "Hänsel an Gretel", just like you said. But there are records of paintings and descriptions of houses that are (at least partially) made out of gingerbread going back to the medieval times. For example the Painting "Schlaraffenland" (the "Schlaraffenland" is a utopian fantasy land with limitless food) from Pieter Bruegels was painted in 1567 is quite popular here. And even prior to that in 1530 Hans Sachs wrote about the "Schlaraffenland" and mentioned houses that are covered with flatbread and gingerbread. love your videos! And the house you made is beautiful.

Ann, do you ever watch Tasting History with Max Miller? I feel like you two would make a fabulous collaboration. I loved this video. Your gingerbread creations are always magnificent and thank you so much for explaining how your house wasn't quite perfect. That honesty makes you my favourite.

I know it’s Christmas when Ann is making a gingerbread house and every year more extravagant than the last ❤

This is an amazing gingerbread house. You have outdone yourself! Though I am in Germany, I have no knowledge of when it started, but I recommend you contact the creator of the channel tasting history. Max Miller , here on youtube. as the name says he’s basically all about finding the origin of old recipes and re-creating, the oldest one, the historical one. And he already has a video on gingerbread just not houses yet. Frankly, since you are two of my most favourite content creators, I would be absolutely psyched if you could even do a collaboration on this but I’m sure he’ll be happy to help even if it’s just with information.

I love these historical baking videos so much, they’re like a history lesson, science experiment and baking tutorial all in one

WOW that has to be the best gingerbread house ever made. Absolutely AMAZING, Ann. It would be interesting to know how long that took you. Thank you for all the hard work you put in to your videos, Merry Christmas

The traditional Czech recipe is 1:1 honey and flour (wheat and rye) and a mixture of spices. The dough is pressed into carved wooden moulds.

Ann, your gingerbread house is just absolutely beautiful, and so is your curly hair. I find it strange Christmas is celebrated in summer in Australia.

The German Lebkuchen or Pfefferkuchen have a lot of regional variety, and versions that can be pressed into wooden forms or cut to shape are quite common. From what I can find the earliest German mention of Gingerbredhouses is from 1795(Georg Gustav Füllerborn). They weren't very common for a while, but the connection to fairytales made them more so. They aren't mentioned in every Version and the story varies, but a story in 1817(Karoline Stahl) does include it.

Gidday from the antipodes! I took a different tack, and tried to find the earliest reference to Gingerbread Houses in Australian and New Zealand newspapers. The earliest exact New Zealand reference is actually a year earlier than the one you found - (Unknown Author, "The Ladies' Page - Table Talk," (Otago Witness, Dundein) issue 2133, January 1895. p. 46.) Quote: "In the cortege which received the Emperor of Germany at Thorn there figured a delegation of manufacturers of gingerbread who carried a small house entirely made (except a few wooden supports) of gingerbread, sugar, and chocolate. It was a yard high by two long, and weighed two quintels (a little more than two-and-a-half hundredweight). The Emperor having admired this new specimen of art, the manufactorers of it were so delighted that they at once sent the gingerbread house to the little Princes at Potsdam." This story suggests the gingerbread house was a monster, well over 100kg ( - a hundredweight is eight stone) and freaking huge in length. So some Germans would be better placed to see if the good ladies of 1890s central Otago just thought German gingerbread makers were unbelievably awesome. The earliest Australian references are genuinely intriguing, they honestly need more contextual examination than one intrigued Australian historian doing a quick primary search. But prima facie, it appears that "Gingerbread House" was a metaphor for a decorated structure in the mid-1800s in Australia. The earliest reference in this manner I could find was 1856. This article was comparing Russian houses to English ones. Quote: "It might be worth while to inquire whether this use of iron is not applicable at home, for, although we are wont to build rather gingerbread houses, they are not much inferior in solidity, except in the new quarters of London, to the generality of houses in Russia. ("The Coronation Fetes" Empire (Sydney) Issue 5, 26 December 1856. p 6.) This would suggest the concept of a decorated gingerbread was reasonably common prior to this (i.e. understandable enough to be used in broad print.) The second oldest example of "gingerbread house" being used in this way - to describe something decorative - is from a satire of an Australian politician. ("What Martin Means to Do," The Yass Courier (NSW) 20 January 1864, p. 4.) He is satirized as saying; "Now, I mean to show them what a real reformer is, and the first thing I shall do is to demolish that gingerbread Upper House." This is actually a really cool pun, the article is dope. ((James Martin was, of course, the Premier of New South Wales during this time.)) I found references to decorated buildings being called "Gingerbread Houses" in Australian print in 1879 ("Local and General." The Cumberland Mercury (Parramatta, NSW) 13 September 1879. p 8), in 1880 ( 'IN THE BUSH.', Ovens and Murray Advertiser (Beechworth, Vic.) 15 June 1880, p. 4.) etc etc all the way to 1903. There are about five of them in fifty years, which is hardly extensive, but it is consistent in its metaphorical use. But during this period, this metaphor basically stops! References get more targeted, and more numerous. There are far more direct references are to either real gingerbread houses that are being given out on stage, ("Real Gingerbread House." Bendigo Advertiser (Vic) 25 January 1906. p 6.) or fairytales ("The ladies." Evening Journal (Adelaide, SA) 16 March 1901. p 3. ) There are also direct references to the Hansel and Gretel story around this period - there seems to have been an Opera which directly made the witch's house specifically from "gingerbread". ("GRAND OPERA SEASON." The Daily Telegraph (Sydney, NSW) 6 June 1907. p 7.) Basically, there are a few possibilities here. It looks like the term "gingerbread house" was in modest use as a metaphor for a decorated building; it does seem that gingerbread houses are linked to fairy stories by at least 1901. It appears that by 1907 at least one stage production decided it made sense to produce Hansel and Gretel with a gingerbread house; and by 1910 reproductions of the story in print for children reference gingerbread houses, implying widespread cultural adoption in Australia of that interpretation. ("The Witch of the Gingerbread House." The Star (Sydney, NSW) 1 February 1910. p 3.) Interesting! It seems there was no specific trigger, but a general cultural upsurge based on multiple convergent ideas and activities. Merry Christmas, and don't feel pressured to make a two-yard long 125kg gingerbread house.

I love the gingerbread episodes, Ann. ❤ Beautiful work as always! I'm looking forward to seeing what sort of sleuthing outcomes show up!

Wow, what a gorgeous confection! I once made a gingerbread house following a recipe in a German cookbook. That gingerbread was about an inch thick -- MUCH thicker than any other recipe I've seen. The resulting house was also a simple, four-walled structure. Thank you so much for sharing your artistic work!

Wow, you just turned that from a great gingerbread house to an astonishing one by adding these leaves. What a talent you have. I feel like the recording was doubling the effort needed to construct the house, but I'd love to watch the full version of your baking, creating, mixing, melting... Probably took a good day or two to complete that? Awesome job Ann!

Can we just talk about the hard work and dedication she put into the making of this video?

A culinary masterpiece, as always! Happy Holidays! As for the Grimm - as far as I know, they didn't really invent any of "their" stories; they gathered some folktales and shaped them more to their liking.

Wow, her voice is so nice for narration. She'd be great for audio books :)

Tis the season for the annual Ann Reardon gingerbread house 🎉

In the Northern Hemisphere, I imagine ginger would be desirable around Christmas and afterward to warm up those who eat things made of ginger, including gingerbread, whether made into houses or not, and of course they'd probably drink ginger tea. That's a beautiful gingerbread house!

I JUST checked to see if there was a new HTCT video. 10 minutes later it shows up!!! Yaaay!

I really loved watching the assembly of the most beautiful gingerbread house while listening to history! I myself am not a christian, but this video was beautiful! Thank you, Ann!

This brings me great joy. I might make one in secret for me misses. She’s German and I like doing things like this for her. She has what can only be described as very German reactions. People think I’m nuts when they hear her talk about/critique it but her little smiles tell me everything I need to know.

I love the journey you take us through while building your Gingerbread house. Merry Christmas Ann, Dave, James, Matt and Jedd. Hope you all have a happy holiday and a wonderful New Year.

Your gingerbread house is magnificent! I always wanted to make one myself, and this year I got the opportunity to make one for my office. The reciepie I use is from the french region of Alsace near Germany and called Lebkuchen. It's mainly honey, sugar, chopped nuts, flour and for the spices, cloves cinamon and nutmeg. I made royal icing to decorate and build, my co workers were very happy and we shared it with tea and coffee. I also made holly bushes for those who didn't like gingerbread in butter cookies.

Based on some preliminary searching, it seems that the German gingerbread also comes in a harder variety that may be more conducive to building houses. This is speculation, but I think people were having trouble making houses out of bread, so instead they used gingerbread. And then in later versions of Hansel and Gretel, the bread house was changed out for a gingerbread house.

Now all I want is gingerbread! If only I had Ann's skill and patience 😆 Thanks Ann for another informative video!

I've been excitedly awaiting this year's gingerbread house. So delighted with the result and love the delve into history 💛

Hi Ann, first of all thank you for this video - this format of watching you bake as you share your research and educate us is incredible! This is my favourite recent video of yours! I asked my German partner to help me find some more info on gingerbread houses. We also came across the Hans Sach's Schlaraffenland from 1530, but we also found an even older mention! A document from 1487 describing an occasion for which the king of Nuremberg invited 4000 children to the castle and gifted them with lebkuchen which some of them built into houses. Unfortunately this is from a citation and we struggle to find the primary source but I thought it's still worth mentioning! Thank you for your content - we especially enjoy watching the 200 year old recipes series in the evenings after work as well as cake rescue. I wish i learned more from cake rescue though because its a running joke ar home that all my baked goods are delicious but very ugly lol

I just watched tasting histories with max miller video on gingerbread and he made the version with breadcrumbs that you mentioned and they look like candies! Highly recommend watching. He goes into more detail about all the history she mentioned while actually trying the original recipe!

out of all the amazing work in this video, i have to admit i was enchanted by the tiny leaves! how delicate and realistic they look, and how easy it is for you to get that wrist flick right. ann, you're a true artist! but i'm sure you're well aware of that XD thanks for sharing your research, your passion and your food with us! hope you & yours have a wonderful new year as well!

In the 1400 recipe I recognised “canelle” which really sounds like our Dutch word for cinnamon (kaneel), made me think haha. I love these historical videos, Ann! Merry Christmas to you, Dave and the kids. 😊

Merry Christmas Ann, Dave, and the kids! Been enjoying your videos for years, keep up the good work! See you next year.

Wow, never thought that you would mention my lovely hometown Nuremberg in one of your videos! 😊 Your Gingerbread House is absolutely stunning, i love it ♥️

I love the 100 Year old recipe series so much!

Oh I love the staircase and the ivy! Every year it's different, but this year is perhaps now my standing favorite of Ann's houses

I have loved the 150 year old series this is so cool. Merry Christmas to you Dave and the Boys 🎉🎉🎄🎄🎅🎅🎅

3:15 I already love it, so pretty and not even slightly finished!

I dont like gingerbread... But I loved this video ❤️ i love the way you research properly and diligently, i wish more people did this!

You are amazing, Ann! You may also want to contact Max Miller of Tasting History, he also has a huge fan base, that's used to searching for historical recipes. Have a blessed season, and may the new year be full of hope and joy.

Wow your gingerbread houses just get more amazing every year Ann.❤😊

The chocolate vines, a very nice detail to add. This is a gorgeous piece.

That was a lovely gingerbread house. This was a fun tale while you made this house. It was very entertaining as I love watching you bake and decorate (you're so good!). Thanks for sharing this, Ann. Happy Summer Solstice to you all and a very Happy Christmas. 🎄🤗❤

What a beautiful gingerbread house! I really enjoyed the format of this video - with voiceover sharing the history of gingerbread while watching you construct this amazing piece of confection. Thanks!

Hooray! When December rolled around, I was waiting for the annual gingerbread house. Incredible, as always. God's blessings to you too!

I did a quick and dirty search in German and found an article from german historian Klaus Graf, who found references to gingerbread houses or at least part of houses made from gingerbread in the story of the Schlarraffenland (eng. Cockaigne), specifically a poem by Hans Sach from 1530 that says "Leckuchen die Haußthür vnd ladn", which describes a house with a door (and another part that I don't know) made from gingerbread. (Vers 12, quoted from Hans Sachs-Forschungen: Festschrift zur vierhundertsten Geburtsfeier des Dichters, Author: Arthur Ludwig Stiefel, 1894, p. 39.) Another thing to mention is that "gingerbread" doesn't have just one german translation. "Lebkuchen" is the most common now, but other possible translations are "Pfefferkuchen", "Magenbrot", "Honigkuchen", and that's not even counting regional variants. So it's possible that Hänsel und Gretel is the wrong german fairytale to look into for the origin of ginger bread houses, but I could not find any specific studies into the history of them.

Every year …. You bring a little gingerbread joy to us, thank you! The house was gorgeous but the story was even better!! So fascinating😮 Happy Holidays all🧡🖤🧡

My recipe for gingerbread that we eat is different than the one we use for making a house. The one I have for eating was passed down from my great, great, great, great grandma Tata from 1760. I have had to tweak it for more modern ingredients, but I still have the wove paper it was written on. We don’t eat the gingerbread we use to make a house. So I use lots of shortening for that recipe. It makes the gingerbread more sturdy so you can build with it. The other recipe (grandma Tata’s) is the one we use for eating. It’s fantastic!! I love gingerbread!!

I have waited for this for months! Excellent video as always Ann!❤ Merry Christmas to you and your family

Every year your gingerbread house gets even better but this year it is truly a work of art. It looks AMAZING!!!!

I watch your channel for 5 years for many reasons but this time i was actually listening to the story you tell and didn't pay enough attention to the recipe 😅 You can do story telling for a hobby 👍🏼👍🏻

It's so impressive to watch Ann. She creates high quality, original videos. And when she directs you to her website, it's for something actually useful and original rather than just copy-pasting other people's work. Top-tier RU-vidr right here.

Wonderful! Really enjoyed the research & also the original Hansel & Gretel story ... all while the most amazing gingerbread house was taking place on screen! Well done & Merry Christmas :D

Hello Ann the fairy tale opera Hansel and Gretel from the late 19th century, had an enormous impact on the fairy tale as a Christmas fairy tale. It was premiered on Christmas Eve and is still an integral part of all opera houses around the world during the Christmas season. humperdinck changed a lot of the content so that it was more child-friendly. In the center is the gingerbread house and the nibblewitch. Since then many children get a gingerbread house in Germany for St. Nicholas Day.

That is beautiful! Excellent work. It is always interesting to try to figure out where something originated. I appreciate the effort you put in to the information you present. I was just wondering a few days ago if we were going to get a gingerbread house video this year. So I was extra happy to receive the notification.

I also love gingerbread cake and if you don’t want to make it homemade they have the box mixes out this time of year and it is my all-time favorite, I just sprinkle it with some powdered sugar and I am a happy camper. I hate to call what you made a gingerbread house because it’s so much more, from the curtains to the roof it is just spectacular. Thank you for sharing with us. I wish you and your family a very Merry Christmas and a happy new year🎄

Nuremberg style gingerbread is amazing, and you can still buy it in Germany. The best quality doesn't even have flour in it, it's a dome of creamy, spicy, nutty, sweet, somewhat wet mixture spread on wafer, with royal icing or chocolate on top. You are right in saying that there are different gingerbread recipes. The kind that we make in my home country, Hungary, is so hard and dry right after baking that it needs to be stored for at least a couple of days before eating, while the honey in the dough absorbs enough moisture from the air and makes the cookie (it is rather a cookie) grow pleasantly soft.

Hi, I am from Germany - and i lived near Nuremberg for some time - "Pfefferkuchen", "Printen" (Aachen) or the older "Honigkuchen" (especially from the Lausitz in Eastern Germany has been around since at least the late middleages. The idea of such a house seems to have been around since at least the early 16th century - as there are many paintings of such houses from that period. Most notably "Das Schlaraffenland" - but many more. After researching I think the "Lebkuchenhaus" has its origins in poems and art pieces of the early 16th century - and then the idea took of as some kind of "Sehnsucht" especially in times of great hunger and poverty. These collectivly shared images where then intertwined with Grimms Märchen (which were uncomparably popular for many decades).

I absolutely love the way you tell stories. Your voice is always pitched just right. I personally don't listen to them, but you would be perfect for Audible. Children's stories especially.

In Poland, there are still two kinds of gingerbread, or piernik: the biscuity kind you can make into shapes, and the soft cake one that does use a lot of the same spices (and traditionally is either layered or filled with plum preserve). I would've thought both kinds would still be popular everywhere else? (Also there's a city here, Toruń, which is very famous for its intricately decorated gingerbread cookies all over Europe, and they also specialise in bread figurines, which might be an offshoot of the same trade, I believe).

When it comes to gingerbread cookies you can search for information on Toruń which is a Polish city (founded by a Prussian order (in latin) Ordo domus Sanctae Mariae Theutonicorum on Prussian lands in the 13th century) that's famous for gingerbread making. The bakers guarded the recepies but the oldest known recepies definitely contained flour and also honey, spices like pepper (Polish name for gingerbread comes from pepper). I don't know if that helps or if anyone mentioned that in previous comments but here you are! 😅

Blown away! The most beautiful Gingerbread house 🏡❤❤❤

Your level of editing and video production is so under-appreciated.

This is what true content creation is. This is what every true serious content creator should aspire to do. Unfortunately, its all gone downhill on this platform where people are making content in the service of an Algorithm, rather than anything useful or insightful. Thank You for this channel!

I just love how you tell the history but at the same time we can enjoy the making of the ginger bread house ❤️🥰🥰

I've been having trouble sleeping, and you talking so lovingly about gingerbread history amidst the background of your beautiful gingerbread house put me right out! I'd pay for more videos of you reading baking/food history with your incomparable creations!

The leaves on the ivy was so satisfying to watch. Could watch you make those for hours :)

What a great thing to see after a month of too sick with Covid&heart surgery it made my day-what a feat

😮😮😮!!! That is an absolutely amazing gingerbread house!! I'm a pastry chef, and I know how hard that was to make... I am gobsmacked!!

This year’s gingerbread house is so beautiful that watching you put it together warmed my heart a filled it with the joy and spirit of Christmas. I wish you and your family the very merriest of Christmases !!

That old recipe with saffron and sandalwood sounds good. I’d make a bread pudding out of that.

Hiya Ann! Another German here! First off, the house looks absolutely spectacular, kudos! You are incredible!! I noticed a small detail in the translation at 5:17 and in the article on your website. I think the text reads "[...], da kamen sie an ein Häuslein, [...]" which translates to "they came upon a little house" not "saw". Just a minor detail but I thought I'd mention it. Much love and happy holidays ❤

the vines were such a nice touch ☺️

WOW WOW WOW WOW WOW! You have outdone yourself that gingerbread house is AMAZING!

Hi Ann I hope you and your family are doing well. That gingerbread house looks really beautiful 😍 I love your gingerbread houses every year they look so nice. Wishing you and your family a Very Merry Christmas and a safe new year ❤

Just discovered this- really fantastic work, and a wonderful essay of facts on gingerbread! thank you for really bringing this holiday tradition into focus - and in creating a stunning masterwork of the confectioners art!

Stunning gingerbread house! Looks fantastic, and love the use of brown icing!

I was wondering what was missing from my Christmas this year. Now my holidays are complete! Thank you Ann

I was just gathering ingredients for a gingerbread house! This is so beautiful Ann.

I love love love your gingerbread houses I look forward to it every year!! Makes my heart happy!!

What a lovely gingerbread house! You are so talented snd have such confidence and patience.

8:06 the way you’re speaking here reminds me of the the sprookjesbos in the efteling where a narrator is telling the fairytails as they play out.

The house came out beautiful!

In Julius Stinde's book The Buchholz Family: Sketches of Berlin Life, Volume 2, (1887), pg. 96 we read: “In one confectioner’s there was even an artistic castle made of nothing but gingerbread, and some equally artistic-looking men made of plums to represent knights.” Our German friends below, however, can probably find many more citations. As for England, I wasn't aware of how important a trade the selling of gilded gingerbread figures ("toy gingerbread") was. Really interesting rabbit-trail!

This house is an absolute masterpiece! Thank you for this beautiful video!

Ooh Anne! This is wonderful you really outdone yourself! Wishing you and your family family a happy and healthy holiday season!

Merry Christmas Ann, Dave & family.

Beautiful gingerbread house. I enjoyed watching the assembly and was stunned by the final reveal.

I love these really old recipes videos. They are the best. I feel so fancy while watching them lol

What a lovely and delightful video! 🥰 Your gingerbread house is beautiful. And watching you build it was mesmerizing. 😊

MERRY CHRISTMAS to Ann, your family & everyone reading this comment 😘🎄

Just as I was wondering whether there will be a Gingerbread house video this year this video came out loved it. Merry Christmas Ann and to your family

You never stop amazing me with your new gingerbread house every year.

Stunning! Absolutely gorgeous! Thank you for such joy in this video! Happy holidays!

Opened RU-vid to pass the time while waiting for my gingerbread cookie dough in the fridge an your video was the first thing that was recommended 😂 As a German I know of Nuremberg and its Gingerbread but actually have never thought about the origin of the house concept. Like other have pointed out, Gingerbread is a cake by litteral translation. So now that I think of it, it doesn‘t seem too far fetched that the bread house was covered in it.

Wow! Your artistic skill is amazing. The historical and technical cooking details are what make you one of the stars of my RU-vid subscriptions. Thanks for posting this video.

This is ridiculously pretty. I’ll probably try making a gingerbread shack instead though 🤣

Work of art. Love all the stories. Thank you all.

This is the best gingerbread house you have ever made! It is gorgeous!