India, Dec. 22 -- Gingerbread is a popular treat on the winter holiday tables. It's seen on plates or built into houses that are admired more than they are eaten. However, gingerbread was not always regarded as the popular festive treat it is today. Its history stretches back centuries, shaped by trade, religion, and economics.

Ginger comes from the plant Zingiber officinale, which is native to Southeast Asia. Long before ginger was baked into a festive treat, it was prized for its pungency and medicinal properties. By the first century CE, ginger had reached the Mediterranean through early spice routes, as per Britannica.

Early versions of gingerbread existed in ancient Egypt and Greece - but these were not "cakes" in the modern sense....