The Secret History of Christmas Baking: Recipes & Stories from Tomb Offerings to Gingerbread Boys

Review Quotes:

"With equal parts sugar, spice, humor, and heart, Linda Raedisch takes us on a rollicking adventure through the surprising (and at times surprisingly dark!) histories behind our favorite holiday treats (and ones we'd never heard of but now can't wait to try!), then lays out easy-to-follow steps to make and decorate them. Inventive, captivating, and so very smart. I learned a ton from this book, which will no doubt become a staple of the Scholarly Cookbook genre (and if that's not a thing, it is now!). Truly the best kind of gift, Christmas or other."--Wendy Mass, author of the New York Times bestselling novel, The Candymakers

"The Secret History of Christmas Baking is many things: a compendium of (sometimes strange) culinary delights, a personal remembrance of family traditions, and a whirlwind tour of the sometimes sinister, occasionally tragic, and always colorful backstories of ingredients, recipes, methods, and madnesses that flavor our most beloved holiday treats. Linda Raedisch tempers a historian's eye with wry humor and reverence. This book is a must-read for any baker, marzipan enthusiast, or kitchen witch."--Caren Gussoff Sumption, contributing writer for Krampusnacht: Twelve Nights of Krampus

"As an author and a historian, I was delighted to find that this work is much more than a cookbook. Linda Raedisch gives us a unique historical narrative and, along with each recipe, fascinating details that provide insights of how each dish is related to...times long past."--Robert A. Mayers, author of Searching for Yankee Doodle

"If Mrs. Beaton, Hildegard, and The Two Fat Ladies got together with a medieval monk and had a love child, it would be The Secret History of Christmas Baking. Linda Raedisch has made me rethink my aversion to fruitcake. Oh, and the book's peppered with crafts for when you can't face down one more cookie. I am insanely jealous that I did not write this book."--Natalie Zaman, award-winning author of Magical Destinations of the Northeast and Color and Conjure

"Fun and engaging...A holiday gift of a book, full of fascinating history, recipes that re-create the historical Christmas of the past, and present ideas for creating new traditions...A joy to read, both enlightening and mouthwatering! You'll find yourself saying, 'I never knew that!' and wanting to try some of the traditional Christmas foods yourself."--Jack Santino, PhD, folklorist and author of Halloween and Other Festivals of Life and Death

"Linda Raedisch's latest book describes itself as The Secret History of Christmas Baking, but it is much more than that. It is a fascinating history of the remarkably violent medieval spice trade...For serious bakers, it describes the uses of a variety of spices, nuts, and other rare ingredients...It provides the promised history of baking with a variety of historical recipes, some made primarily at Christmas and some not, from Europe and Asia, as well as DIY instructions for paper crafts displayed at Christmastime in one culture or another."--Tom A. Jerman, author of Santa Claus Worldwide

Contents

Introduction . . . 1 Getting Ready 12

Chapter One: The Black Land . . . 19

Chapter Two: The Cake of Life . . . 29

Chapter Three: Pepper Cake (Hold the Pepper) . . . 53

Chapter Five: St. Nicholas's Shadow . . . 79

Chapter Six: The Bitter and the Sweet . . . 93

Chapter Seven: All Wrapped Up . . . 123

Chapter Eight: The Sunny Side of the Alps . . . 141

Chapter Nine: Run, Run, as Fast as You Can . . . 167

Chapter Ten: Stirring Things Up . . . 195

Chapter Eleven: A Christmas Kitchen Herbal . . . 211

Conclusion: Back to the Black Land . . . 255

Appendix . . . 257

Bibliography . . . 265

Index . . . 287

Linda Raedisch has been contributing crafts, recipes, and ethnobotanical lore to Llewellyn's Herbal Almanac since 2012. She is the author of The Old Magic of Christmas and The Secret History of Christmad Baking. Outside the kitchen, she has special interests in papercrafts, minority languages, and exploring the suburban jungle. You can follow her culinary, crafting, and linguistic adventures on Instagram @lindaraedisch.

Explore the Surprising and Sometimes Dark Origins of Beloved Holiday Bakes

Spice up your season by rolling, molding, and kneading your way through some of the world's most iconic Christmas recipes. Interspersed with tales of sailors, saints, tomb raiders, and artisans, The Secret History of Christmas Baking proves that even the humblest holiday treat has a global backstory.

Did you know that the ancient Egyptians had their own version of gingerbread or that marzipan was once considered a pharmaceutical? Linda Raedisch dispels some long-standing culinary myths and delves into the darker chapters of the West's centuries-long romance with sugar and spices. In addition to more than forty recipes for modern bakers, you'll find illustrated instructions for dressing up your cakes and cookie plates with paper stars, angels, and witches. From Linzer tartlets to Christstollen, you can turn your kitchen into an Old World Christmas market stall.

Contributor Bio:Raedisch, Linda

Linda Raedisch has been contributing crafts, recipes, and ethnobotanical lore to Llewellyn's Herbal Almanac since 2012. She is the author of The Old Magic of Christmas and The Secret History of Christmad Baking. Outside the kitchen, she has special interests in papercrafts, minority languages, and exploring the suburban jungle. You can follow her culinary, crafting, and linguistic adventures on Instagram @lindaraedisch.