Gingerbread refers to a broad category of baked goods, typically
flavored with ginger, cloves, nutmeg or cinnamon and sweetened with
honey, sugar or molasses. Gingerbread foods vary, ranging from a soft,
moist loaf cake to something close to a ginger snap.Originally, the
term gingerbread (from Latin zingiber via Old French gingebras)
referred to preserved ginger. It then referred to a confection made
with honey and spices. Gingerbread is often used to translate the
French term pain d'épices (literally "spice bread") or the German
terms Pfefferkuchen (lit. "pepper cake", with "pepper" then referring
to spices in general) or Lebkuchen (of unclear etymology. Either Latin
libum, meaning "sacrifice" or "sacrificial bread". Or German "Laib"
for loaf).Originally, the term gingerbread (from Latin zingiber via
Old French gingebras) referred to preserved ginger. It then referred
to a confection made with honey and spices. Gingerbread is often used
to translate the French term pain d'épices (literally "spice bread")
or the German terms Pfefferkuchen (lit. "pepper cake", with "pepper"
then referring to spices in general) or Lebkuchen (of unclear
etymology. Either Latin libum, meaning "sacrifice" or "sacrificial
bread". Or German "Laib" for loaf).The meaning of gingerbread has
evolved over time; for centuries the word was used for a traditional
European pastry, closer to a cookie, like what is used to make
gingerbread men. In the United States, the first known recipe for
"Soft gingerbread to be baked in pans" comes from American Cookery
(1796) by Amelia Simmons.Gingerbread is claimed to have been brought
to Europe in 992 CE by the Armenian monk Gregory of Nicopolis (also
called Gregory Makar and Grégoire de Nicopolis). He left Nicopolis
(in modern-day western Greece) to live in Bondaroy (north-central
France), near the town of Pithiviers. He stayed there for seven years
and taught gingerbread baking to French Christians. He died in 999. Gingerbread Top Movies & Young Movies