Certain foods and drinks are associated with special occasions, like pumpkin pie at Thanksgiving and eggnog around the holidays. Another holiday favorite that can also be enjoyed year-round is gingerbread, whether it’s a moist gingerbread loaf or crunchy gingerbread cookies topped with icing.
The spices in gingerbread always contain cinnamon and ginger but can also include additional spices such as:
- Allspice
- Nutmeg
- Cloves
- Cardamom
- Coriander
- Black pepper
We’ll explain how these spiceshttps://thecoconutmama.com/types-of-spices-herbs-seasoning-blends/ come together to create the warm, sweet flavor of gingerbread.
What is gingerbread?
When you hear the word ‘gingerbread’ you might think of something specific, like gingerbread man cookies during the holidays. The term ‘gingerbread’ actually refers to a broad range of baked goods that are typically flavored with distinct spices (more on that next) as well as sweeteners like honey and molasses instead of regular cane sugar.
Gingerbread encompasses different types of cookies, biscuits, cakes, muffins, and other baked goods – and we can’t forget gingerbread houses around the holidays! No matter what type of baked good, it can be considered gingerbread if it includes the spices traditionally found in gingerbread spice, which we’ll cover next.
Which herbs and spices are in gingerbread?
The ingredients in gingerbread spice vary a bit among recipes and brands of premade spice mixes. Some recipes for gingerbread might only call for two spices while others include more. How do you know which one to choose? It’s up to you to determine which flavors appeal to you the most!
Gingerbread spice will usually contain at least a few of the following spices (no herbs in this blend):
Cinnamon
You’d be hard-pressed to find a gingerbread spice mix that doesn’t contain cinnamon. Cinnamon provides an important flavor in gingerbread – a little bit spicy with notes of citrus that pair well with the sweetness from honey or molasses in gingerbread.
There are hundreds of types of cinnamon, but the kind you’re most likely to find in the spice aisle at your favorite grocery store is cassia cinnamon (Cinnamomum cassia). Another popular type of cinnamon for baking is Saigon cinnamon (Cinnamomum loureiroi), which is considered by some to be sweeter and superior in taste compared to cassia cinnamon.
If you’re making gingerbread spice mix you’ll want to choose ground cinnamon instead of cinnamon sticks, the latter of which are meant to provide flavor to drinks and dishes and then be thrown away.
Ginger
Ahh, ginger – you can’t have gingerbread without it! It’s safe to say that ginger is the spice that every single gingerbread recipe calls for.
Ginger is a root that provides a warm, spicy flavor that can be used in sweet and savory dishes alike. Ginger gets its warm (or hot, depending on who you ask) flavor from a compound called gingerol, which is responsible for the potential anti-nausea and other health benefits of ginger.
Allspice
Allspice is a spice that gets its name because it resembles the flavors of cloves, cinnamon, and nutmeg. It’s its own spice though (its botanical name is Pimenta dioica) and isn’t really a mix of those spices.
If a gingerbread spice recipe calls for cloves, cinnamon, and/or nutmeg then you might not see allspice in the ingredients list, but some recipes call for allspice in addition to cloves, cinnamon, and nutmeg.
Nutmeg
With its nutty, spicy, and slightly sweet flavor, nutmeg is a popular spice in not only gingerbread but other spiced foods and drinks like pumpkin pie, eggnog, and mulled wine, and it pairs well with other types of winter squash besides pumpkin.
Like ginger, nutmeg pairs well with sweet and savory dishes.
Cloves
Cloves are the dried flower buds of aromaticum trees, which are native to Indonesia but found throughout the tropics. Not only are cloves a popular addition to gingerbread spice, but you’ll also find them in other seasoning mixes like Chinese five spice, pumpkin pie spice, and garam masala.
Cardamom
There are different types of cardamom: green and black. The more popular type of cardamom is green cardamom, which is warm, spicy, and citrus-like in flavor. Black cardamom is dried over a fire and harvested when it’s more mature, which makes the flavor more pungent with a menthol-like taste.
Coriander
Did you know that coriander comes from the same plant that cilantro is from? Coriander is a spice from the seeds of the coriander plant, while their leaves are used as an herb that we know and love as cilantro!
Coriander has a similar flavor as ginger and pairs well with the other spices commonly found in gingerbread like cinnamon, cardamom, cloves, and nutmeg.
Black pepper
It’s not as commonly used in gingerbread as the other spices we’ve mentioned, but some gingerbread spice blends contain black pepper for a spicier, hotter flavor. Black pepper makes the overall flavor of gingerbread “pop” a bit more, but it might not appeal to kids since it’s spicier.
FAQs:
Nutmeg brings a nutty flavor that pairs well with the other main spices in gingerbread like cinnamon and ginger. Some recipes for gingerbread might not include nutmeg, so you don’t HAVE to include it in gingerbread. Whether you include nutmeg in gingerbread comes down to personal preference.
The essential spices in gingerbread are ginger and cinnamon. Other spices like cloves, nutmeg, and allspice complement these main spices, but the main flavors in gingerbread come from cinnamon and ginger.
Leave a Comment