Gingerbread
marzo 03, 2013
(English version below)
Che odor di Natale con i Gingerbread….! Ginger adora talmente tanto lo zenzero che farebbe sempre ricette speziate… Ma è durante il periodo di Natale che, entrando nelle case e passando tra le pasticcerie di paese, si sente un inconfondibile profumo di zenzero, vaniglia e cannella…
Sir Robin mi racconta della bellissima tradizione prenatalizia di preparare biscotti allo zenzero. Un rituale che coinvolge tutta la famiglia e diverte i più piccoli, entusiasti di creare forme e colori natalizi tra i più fantasiosi!
Ascoltiamo allora la storia del "Gingerbread":
Omino di Pan di Zenzero
Tra le varie forme però la più famosa è il cosiddetto "Omino di pan di zenzero", attribuito alla regina Elisabetta I, che originariamente avrebbe donato questi omini personalizzati ai suoi più importanti ospiti, preparati appositamente somiglianti a loro. Ma l'omino diventa un personaggio che ha ispirato storie e fiabe natalizie… Così si racconta della favola del "Gingerbread Man", omino di biscotto che fugge dal forno di una vecchina, inseguito da tanti animali con l'acquolina in bocca, finché non arriva davanti ad un fiume e si lascia trasportare da una volpe, che lo inganna, consigliandolo di posarsi sul suo naso per non cadere in acqua e sciogliersi. L'omino si avvicina al muso e la volpe lo "pappò" in un sol boccone.
Oggi sono molto diffusi a Natale, periodo in cui, accanto agli omini, si possono riconoscere forme di stelle, alberi e palline di Natale, campane, fiocchi di neve… e tutti appesi all'albero di Natale.
Royal Icing Sugar
Sono tipicamente decorati con una ghiaccia di zucchero a velo e albume, chiamata "Royal Icing" bianca o colorata di verde e rosso natalizio. Anche la Royal Icing, ormai usata per decorare ogni tipo di dolce o torta, dai più semplici ai più dettagliati, ha origini tipicamente inglesi, e oltretutto regali: si racconta infatti che sarebbe stata casualmente scoperta intorno al 1780 da pasticcieri inglesi di corte, i quali, accorgendosi che asciugando in forno torte con acqua di rose versata sopra si creava l'effetto della brina, la chiamarono "iced", ovvero "ghiacciata". Accentuando poi l'effetto biancastro con più zucchero, entrò in voga il "sugar ice". L'albume sostituì l'acqua di rose e i pasticcieri si dedicavano a sempre più complicate coperture di torte, finché nel 1840 non venne realizzata in quel modo la stessa torta nuziale della Regina Vittoria… Fu da quel momento che, venne ribattezzata come "Ghiaccia Reale", "Royal Icing". Di origine nobiliare, divenne molto popolare negli anni '50 con l'azienda Wilton ed oggi è ancora un elemento essenziale per la decorazione di torte, biscotti e Cupcakes.
Vediamo come preparare i biscotti di pan di zenzero:
- 350g farina 00
- 160g zucchero
- 150g burro
- 1 uovo
- 1 pizzico di sale
- 150g miele
- 2 cucchiaini di cannella
- 2 cucchiai di zenzero
- 1/4 di cucchiaino di noce moscata
- 1/2 cucchiaino di chiodi di garofano
- 1/2 cucchiaino di bicarbonato
- 150g zucchero a velo
- 1 albume
- coloranti alimentare
Inizio setacciando la farina con lo zucchero. Aggiungo tutte le spezie e il bicarbonato e infine il burro tagliato a tocchetti. Ci verso anche il miele e mischio il tutto con le mani (se avete un mixer tanto meglio). Quando il composto sarà uniforme e bricioloso aggiungo in ultimo anche l'uovo e impasto per bene. Formo una palla liscia e la pongo in frigo per un paio di ore coperta di pellicola trasparente.
Una volta trascorso il tempo necessario per rassodare l'impasto, lo stendo col matterello allo spessore di massimo 0,5 mm, aiutandomi con la farina, e ricavo con le diverse sagome le varie forme. Inforno a 180° per 10 minuti finché semplicemente non saranno dorati, mai troppo scuri.
Per la ghiaccia reale invece, monto a neve ferma l'albume, ci incorporo man mano lo zucchero a velo setacciato, sempre sbattendo col frullatore. Divido la glassa in tante ciotoline quanti sono i colori che voglio ottenere: a Natale si usa il bianco (senza colorante), il rosso e il verde. Li inserisco nelle sac à poche con bocchetta strettissima e decoro a piacere i biscotti.
English version
What a smell of Christmas with Gingerbread....! Ginger loves so much ginger that she would spice all her recipes with it… But it is during the period of Christmas, that, entering into every house and passing through all confectioner's, you smell the unmistakable scent of ginger, vanilla and cinnamon...
Sir Robin tells me about the wonderful tradition before Christmas of preparing ginger biscuits. A ritual that involves the whole family and that enjoy children, excited to create shapes and colors of the most imaginative Christmas figures!
So listen to the story of the "Gingerbread":
The Gingerbread was brought to Europe in 992 by an Armenian monk named Gregory of Nicopolis. He left Armenia to live in Bondaroy, in France, where he passed the recipe to French priests and Christians. Later migrants Germans took it to Sweden, where the tradition of preparing ginger biscuits spread largely. They consider this spice very digestive and it was custom to bake mainly white and colored biscuits to adorn the windows. In the 17th century gingerbread was sold in markets, among them the English Market Drayton Shropshire: a market that gained popularity for its gingerbread. So it became known and tradition in England, where still the families bake gingerbread mostly at Christmastime.
Among the various forms of gingerbread there is the most popular called "Gingerbread Man", attributed to Queen Elizabeth I, who originally was alleged served these personalized figurines to her most important guests, specially prepared similar to them. But the little man becomes a popular character who inspired Christmas stories and fairy tales... So there is a story of a "Gingerbread Man" who escapes from the oven of an old lady, chased by many animals with mouth watering, until he arrives in front of a river and a fox offers to help him. The fox said to him to settle on his nose avoiding to fall into the water and melt. The little man set on the muzzle and the fox ate him in one gulp.
Alongside the men-shaped one there are lots of Christmas figures, like stars, Christmas trees and baubles, bells, snowflakes... and all hanging on a Christmas tree.
Royal Icing Sugar
They are typically decorated with a glaze of icing sugar and egg white, called "Royal Icing" white or colored, like green and red for Christmas. Also Royal Icing is originally English, now used to decorate any type of cake or pie, from the simplest to the most detailed one: it was accidentally discovered in the 1780s by confectioners of the British court, who, realizing that, when rose water poured over cakes dries in oven, it creates a frosting effect, called "icing". They accentuate this white effect adding more sugar, so it came into vogue "sugar ice". Egg white replaced rose water and confectioners dedicated themselves to more and more complicated cake decorations, until in 1840 it was done the wedding cake of Queen Victoria... It was from that moment renamed as " Royal Icing". From noble origin it became very popular in the 50s with the Wilton enterprise and today it is still an essential element for the decoration of cakes, cookies and cupcakes.
Let's see how to bake Gingerbread Cookies:
Ingredients
For the royal icing instead, I mount egg whites until stiff, I incorporate sifted icing sugar, always beating with the blender. I divide the icing into small bowls to color them. Usually at Christmas we use white (no color), red and green. I put them in pastry bag with very closed tip and I have fun to decorate my cookies.
English version
What a smell of Christmas with Gingerbread....! Ginger loves so much ginger that she would spice all her recipes with it… But it is during the period of Christmas, that, entering into every house and passing through all confectioner's, you smell the unmistakable scent of ginger, vanilla and cinnamon...
Sir Robin tells me about the wonderful tradition before Christmas of preparing ginger biscuits. A ritual that involves the whole family and that enjoy children, excited to create shapes and colors of the most imaginative Christmas figures!
So listen to the story of the "Gingerbread":
Among the various forms of gingerbread there is the most popular called "Gingerbread Man", attributed to Queen Elizabeth I, who originally was alleged served these personalized figurines to her most important guests, specially prepared similar to them. But the little man becomes a popular character who inspired Christmas stories and fairy tales... So there is a story of a "Gingerbread Man" who escapes from the oven of an old lady, chased by many animals with mouth watering, until he arrives in front of a river and a fox offers to help him. The fox said to him to settle on his nose avoiding to fall into the water and melt. The little man set on the muzzle and the fox ate him in one gulp.
Alongside the men-shaped one there are lots of Christmas figures, like stars, Christmas trees and baubles, bells, snowflakes... and all hanging on a Christmas tree.
They are typically decorated with a glaze of icing sugar and egg white, called "Royal Icing" white or colored, like green and red for Christmas. Also Royal Icing is originally English, now used to decorate any type of cake or pie, from the simplest to the most detailed one: it was accidentally discovered in the 1780s by confectioners of the British court, who, realizing that, when rose water poured over cakes dries in oven, it creates a frosting effect, called "icing". They accentuate this white effect adding more sugar, so it came into vogue "sugar ice". Egg white replaced rose water and confectioners dedicated themselves to more and more complicated cake decorations, until in 1840 it was done the wedding cake of Queen Victoria... It was from that moment renamed as " Royal Icing". From noble origin it became very popular in the 50s with the Wilton enterprise and today it is still an essential element for the decoration of cakes, cookies and cupcakes.
Let's see how to bake Gingerbread Cookies:
- 350g flour 00
- 160g sugar
- 150g butter
- 1 egg
- 1 pinch of salt
- 150g honey
- 2 teaspoons of cinnamon
- 2 tablespoons ginger
- 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 150g icing sugar
- 1 egg white
- food colors
For the royal icing instead, I mount egg whites until stiff, I incorporate sifted icing sugar, always beating with the blender. I divide the icing into small bowls to color them. Usually at Christmas we use white (no color), red and green. I put them in pastry bag with very closed tip and I have fun to decorate my cookies.
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