The Secret History of Christmas Baking

"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, where untold lives were lost, accidentally or intentionally, for the sake of a few peppercorns, on ships traveling between Asia, Africa and Europe. For serious bakers, it describes the uses of a variety of spices, nuts and other rare ingredients— allspice, almond, anise, bitter orange, black pepper, cacao, cardamom, cinnamon, citron, cloves, coriander, cumin, ginger, hazelnut, mace, pecans, pine nuts, rose, saffron, and vanilla—that most Americans find more medicinal rather than tasty. And it provides the promised history of baking with a variety of historical recipes, some made primarily at Christmas and some not, from in Europe and Asia, as well as DIY instructions for paper crafts displayed at Christmas time in one culture or another." - Tom A. Jerman, author of Santa Claus Worldwide: A History of St. Nicholas and Other Holiday Gift-Givers

"Fun and engaging...A holiday gift of a book, full of fascinating history and recipes that recreate the historical Christmas of the past and present ideas for creating new traditions... A joy to read, both enlightening and mouth-watering! 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