To Make Ginger Bread Of Almonds

This recipe comes from the early modern English manuscript tradition, roughly dated to between 1625 and 1725. Recorded under the authorship of John King, it reflects the fashionable use of almonds and spices like ginger in elite English households. 'Marchpane'—the predecessor to modern marzipan—was a luxurious sweet and often intricately moulded for display at banquets. Ginger, newly imported and prized for its warmth and piquancy, was a favorite addition to sweets in this era, marrying the exotic with the locally produced almonds. Recipes like this showcase the transition from medieval spice blends toward more focused flavor combinations.

In the 17th century, cooks would have used a large mortar and pestle to grind almonds into a paste, and wooden boards for kneading. Ornate gingerbread moulds, often carved with symbolic patterns, gave these treats their distinctive look. Drying was done in the residual heat of a wood-fired bread oven or in a purpose-built 'stove', a kind of early hot cupboard for gentle heat.