Lebkuchen Declared One of Nature's Best Remedies

National Geographic Magazine has declared Lebkuchen one of "Nature's Best Remedies".

OK - so they did not come right out and say "Lebkuchen is one of Nature's Best Remedies" but...

On the cover of the National Geographic bookazine (very thick and glossy magazine) entitled "Nature's Best Remedies" they show an image of hands holding a beautiful variety of herbs and plants - "medicinal herbs and plants to treat a variety of ailments".

And of the nine varieties in the photo, at least six of them are used in the making of Lebkuchen - citrus, cacao, cinnamon, cloves, star anise, ginger. Perhaps you can identify even more?

Lebkuchen Schmidt - premium Lebkuchen baker in Nurnberg Germany - offers an explanation of what makes Lebkuchen so special. Lebkuchen is a complex taste developed over centuries with the combination of eight herbs including:

*   Anise   *   Cardamom   *   Mace   *   Allspice   *   Ginger   *   Coriander Seed   *   Cloves   *   Cinnamon

Those herbs combined with hazelnuts, walnuts and almonds, candied lemon and orange peel, marzipan and honey (along with some flour, sugar and eggs) make what for some is the very essence of Christmas treats!

Germans have a long, long relationship with healing herbs and plants and even today they are available as medicinal agents - as drugs - to cure and heal.

An interesting series of books that I have blogged about before - The Hangman's Daughter series by Oliver Pötzsch (available in German and English) - explores in detail the use of herbs and plants in the mid-1600's. Great reads - I really enjoyed these books!

But back to Lebkuchen...it's always wonderful to have an authority like National Geographic Magazine declare your foods good for you!

Gingerbread World has just received the photos of some of the new chests and tins that Lebkuchen Schmidt has designed for Christmas 2015 - here's a sneak peak at a few.

And if you just can't wait till next November to enjoy Lebkuchen, we've got a few packages of fresh Lebkuchen that arrived in late March that are available to buy on our website!