Toruń gingerbread is a traditional Polish

Polish cuisine

Polish cuisine is a style of cooking and food preparation originating from Poland. It has evolved over the centuries due to historical circumstances. Polish national cuisine shares some similarities with other Central European and Eastern European traditions as well as French and Italian...

 gingerbread

Gingerbread

Gingerbread is a term used to describe a variety of sweet food products, which can range from a soft, moist loaf cake to something close to a ginger biscuit. What they have in common are the predominant flavors of ginger and a tendency to use honey or molasses rather than just sugar...

 that has been produced since the Middle Ages

Middle Ages

The Middle Ages is a periodization of European history from the 5th century to the 15th century. The Middle Ages follows the fall of the Western Roman Empire in 476 and precedes the Early Modern Era. It is the middle period of a three-period division of Western history: Classic, Medieval and Modern...

 in the city of Toruń

Torun

Toruń is an ancient city in northern Poland, on the Vistula River. Its population is more than 205,934 as of June 2009. Toruń is one of the oldest cities in Poland. The medieval old town of Toruń is the birthplace of the astronomer Nicolaus Copernicus....

 (Thorn).

Varieties

• Gingerbread covered with chocolate
  Chocolate
  Chocolate is a raw or processed food produced from the seed of the tropical Theobroma cacao tree. Cacao has been cultivated for at least three millennia in Mexico, Central and South America. Its earliest documented use is around 1100 BC...
  
  : "Katarzynki" (Catherine's gingerbread), Gingerbread hearts, Gingerbread hearts covered with chocolate
• Filled gingerbread covered with chocolate
• Gingerbread iced
• Gingerbread iced, filled
• Classic gingerbread
• Decorative gingerbread
• Gingerbread monuments

History

Old Polish sayings connect Toruń with making some form of "pierniki", and the expansion of the craft regarding making "pierniki" started in 13th century. Well developed bee-keeping, a fertile soil and a trade route leading through this area made this happen.

A considerable factor behind the development of gingerbread-making in Toruń was its excellent location. Situated on high-quality soil

Soil

Soil is a natural body consisting of layers of mineral constituents of variable thicknesses, which differ from the parent materials in their morphological, physical, chemical, and mineralogical characteristics...

, the area provided fine wheat for flour, while nearby villages provided honey

Honey

Honey is a sweet food made by bees using nectar from flowers. The variety produced by honey bees is the one most commonly referred to and is the type of honey collected by beekeepers and consumed by humans...

. The necessary spice

Spice

A spice is a dried seed, fruit, root, bark, or vegetative substance used in nutritionally insignificant quantities as a food additive for flavor, color, or as a preservative that kills harmful bacteria or prevents their growth. It may be used to flavour a dish or to hide other flavours...

s were brought from remote countries, mainly India, via a route through the Black Sea and Lviv

Lviv

Lviv is a city in western Ukraine. The city is regarded as one of the main cultural centres of today's Ukraine and historically has also been a major Polish and Jewish cultural center, as Poles and Jews were the two main ethnicities of the city until the outbreak of World War II and the following...

 to Germany, where the spices were transported by north-German trade companies. Some also came by sea to the port of Gdańsk.

The first mention of Toruń gingerbread comes from 1380 and speaks of a local baker called Niclos Czana. The product quickly gained fame across Poland and abroad. Toruń and the city of Nuremberg

Nuremberg

Nuremberg[p] is a city in the German state of Bavaria, in the administrative region of Middle Franconia. Situated on the Pegnitz river and the Rhine–Main–Danube Canal, it is located about north of Munich and is Franconia's largest city. The population is 505,664...

, itself famous for special pancakes, were eager to protect the secrets of their recipes from each other. Finally in 1556, they formed an agreement by which each city could bake the specialities of the other.

The artisans weren't the only ones engaged in the production of the delicacy. In the 16th century, the Cistercian Order on the outskirts of Toruń prospered mainly due to this activity and even sold their product to other countries. During the 17th century, the well-known workshop of the Grauer family appeared. The city authorities were supportive of the lucrative trade and issued several tax breaks on spice imports and export by bakers' guilds so that the trade could be increased.

In the 18th and 19th century, the city saw a fall in baking and other craftsmanship. In 1825, only three bakers were left. With the advent of capitalism, large companies took over from the local craftsmen and mass production of the gingerbread ensued.

The largest factory was owned by Gustaw Weese, based on tradition dating from 1760, when Jan Weese started to bake gingerbread. Gustaw Traugott Wesse inherited a small workshop after his father Andrzej in 1824 and changed it into a large company. In 1875 "Gazeta Toruńska" wrote on New Year's Eve that due to demand it was even sold in Africa. Other exotic places of export included Turkey

Turkey

Turkey , known officially as the Republic of Turkey , is a Eurasian country located in Western Asia and in East Thrace in Southeastern Europe...

, Japan

Japan

Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...

, China

China

Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...

 and Honolulu. In 1913, Gustaw Weese, a descendant of Gustaw Traugott Weese, constructed a factory which, after World War I ended, was employing over 500 workers. Gustaw Wese sold it in January 1939 to the Polish company "Społem" and left for his other gingerbread factory in Germany. The company in Toruń still exists and is the oldest confectionery company in Poland today and one of the oldest of Europe.

Besides Gustaw's factory there was also the Hermann Thomas company founded in 1857, which in 1907 employed 200 workers. Another important company engaged in the production of gingerbread was founded by Jan Ruchniewicz in 1907. The enterprise prospered quite successfully and had 50 workers. It was especially known for the ornamental gingerbread topped with Toruń's crest.

Toruń gingerbread in Polish culture

Pierniki Toruńskie, as they are known in their country of origin, form a part of the symbols of the national cuisine of Poland. They have been praised in literature, poetry, and the other Beaux Arts. They were also traditionally given as a gift by the city of Toruń to Polish leaders, artists and other Poles who have marked themselves in Polish society. In the past they were also given to Polish kings. Baking moulds have survived with the likenesses of Zygmunt III and his wife, Władysław IV and queen Cecylia Renata as well with the king's seal of Władysław IV with Polish eagle and royal crown together with crests of provinces. Other notable figures who received the gingerbread as gift from the city are: Maria Kazimiera Sobieska the widow of king Sobieski, bishop of Kujawy Antoni Ostrowski

Antoni Kazimierz Ostrowski

Antoni Kazimierz Ostrowski was a Polish priest and politician. He was bishop of Inflanty , bishop of Kujawy and archbishop of Gniezno . He was one of the Polish nobles in Russian service and supported their position, including presiding over the Partition Sejm in 1773–1775.- External links :*...

, the French Emperor Napoléon Bonaparte (during his visit the whole city was illuminated and bells were rung all over the city), Zygmunt Krasiński

Zygmunt Krasinski

Count Napoleon Stanisław Adam Ludwig Zygmunt Krasiński , a Polish count, is traditionally ranked with Mickiewicz and Słowacki as one of Poland's Three National Bards — the trio of great Romantic poets who influenced national consciousness during the period of Poland's political bondage.-Life and...

 one of the leading Polish romantics, Jan Matejko

Jan Matejko

Jan Matejko was a Polish painter known for paintings of notable historical Polish political and military events. His most famous works include oil on canvas paintings like Battle of Grunwald, paintings of numerous other battles and court scenes, and a gallery of Polish kings...

, Helena Modrzejewska, Josef Pilsudski, Arthur Rubinstein

Arthur Rubinstein

Arthur Rubinstein KBE was a Polish-American pianist. He received international acclaim for his performances of the music of a variety of composers...

, Czesław Miłosz, Lech Wałęsa

Lech Wałęsa

Lech Wałęsa is a Polish politician, trade-union organizer, and human-rights activist. A charismatic leader, he co-founded Solidarity , the Soviet bloc's first independent trade union, won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1983, and served as President of Poland between 1990 and 95.Wałęsa was an electrician...

 and Pope John Paul II.

Since at least the Middle Ages, "pierniki" have been connected with Toruń in Polish proverbs and legends. One of the legends claims that the gingerbread was a gift from Queen of Bees to the apprentice Bogumił.
An old epigram by poet Frederyk Hoffman from 17th century speaks of four best things in Poland: "vodka from Gdańsk, Toruń's gingerbread, ladies from Kraków, and shoes from Warsaw". Józef Epifani Minasowicz in 18th century wrote that if one doesn't drink vodka one is not worthy of tasting the gingerbread, and Jakub Kazimierz Haur stated that peasants ate bread as eager as the gingerbread.

The famous Polish poet Ignacy Krasicki

Ignacy Krasicki

Ignacy Krasicki , from 1766 Prince-Bishop of Warmia and from 1795 Archbishop of Gniezno , was Poland's leading Enlightenment poet , a critic of the clergy, Poland's La Fontaine, author of the first Polish novel, playwright, journalist, encyclopedist, and translator from French and...

, who personally favoured pierniki, wrote about them in his poem "Monachomachia". Adam Pług wrote in 1854 about a father returning from a fair to bring his children gingerbread as a gift. Zygmunt Kaczkowski in his "Gniazdo Nieczujów" spoke of it as an exceeding noble food.

A story connected with Toruń gingerbread involves the composer Frédéric Chopin

Frédéric Chopin

Frédéric François Chopin was a Polish composer and virtuoso pianist. He is considered one of the great masters of Romantic music and has been called "the poet of the piano"....

. When 15-year-old Chopin visited the Dziewanowski family at Szafarnia

Szafarnia, Kuyavian-Pomeranian Voivodeship

Szafarnia is a village in the administrative district of Gmina Radomin, within Golub-Dobrzyń County, Kuyavian-Pomeranian Voivodeship, in north-central Poland...

, a small village near the river Drwęca

Drweca

The Drwęca is a river in northern Poland and a tributary of the Vistula river near Toruń, forming a part of the city's administrative boundary. It has a length of 207 km and a basin area of 5,344 km², all in Poland.Towns:...

, he stopped over in Toruń. He sampled the city's famous confection and grew so fond of it that he wrote a letter about it to his friend Jan Matuszyński. He even sent some to Warsaw. In honor of this, Poland's largest producer of Toruń gingerbread, the Kopernik confectionery company, has created a special, heart-shaped gingerbread called Scherzo, with Chopin's portrait on the wrapper.

The town of Toruń holds a yearly celebration dedicated to the gingerbread called Święto Piernika or Festival of Gingerbread.

Current producers

There are two main producers of Toruń gingerbread: the confectionary factory "Kopernik" S.A., and the Toruń Bakery. The first upholds its legal rights to the brand name and is the successor to a company that was founded in 1760 by Jan Wesse. The second company was formed by Toruń bakers who specialized in producing gingerbread; its aim is to spread knowledge of the craft and to produce fine gingerbread for restaurants, parties and elite meetings.

Sources

• Kopernik.com.pl

External links

• Kopernik.com.pl Kopernik S.A.: largest Torun gingerbread maker Torunskiepierniki.pl, Torun bakery Weihnachtsseiten.de, recipes Torun.pl Toruń gingerbread