[Sca-cooks] Lebkuchen question

[Terry Decker]

The earliest recipes I have for Lebkuchen are in Sabina Welser.  The 
original text refers to Lebkuchen as Lezelten, which suggests to me Lese 
meaning harvest of gathering.  If I am correct in this linguistic 
assumption, then Lebkuchen was a harvest treat that probably oozed over into 
the High Holy Days.  It also makes me believe that Lebkuchen derives from 
lebbe (sweet) rather than libum and that the derivation may be more modern 
than we think.

While Welser is mid-16th Century, Lebkuchen is probably quite a bit older. 
It is very similar to the honey pepper cakes that became the modern panforte 
and are referenced in the early 13th Century.  Since early Lebkuchen can be 
connected with southern Germany, it may be that the origin is in the 
panforte of Siena.

I suspect that these boiled honey cakes are quite a bit older than either 
Lebkuchen and panforte and probably have their origin in some of the 
celebratory offering cakes made in Ancient Greece.  However, chasing down 
any evidence is likely to be a full-time project.

Bear


> What is the history of Lebkuchen, perhaps including
> the origin of the name.  I know the period era
> Lebkuchen/gingerbread is not like the modern cake like
> version. So Im curious, where did it originate (either
> the boiled honey version or other things) and where
> when how did the more modern holiday treat emerge.
> For that matter, when and where did the association
> with the winter holidays come from since nowadays you
> (or at least I) cant imagine December without
> lebkuchen herzen and domino stones and all those other
> chocolate/gingerbread treats that threaten my recently
> schrunken waistline.
>
> In Service and Curiosity
> Gwen Cat