I was told that gingerbread batter should be left in the fridge to ripen for around a month, but preferably longer. What exactly happens when it matures, and why it doesn’t go bad?

Question

UPDATE:

People are either screwing with me (though I asked people who don’t know one another so it’s highly unlikely) and they consistently say that they either never heard of that or that it should be 3-4 weeks maturation time. Primarily because honey and some spices have antibacterial features, so it doesn’t go bad

In: 1305

Answer 1

Not all ginger bread recipes call for this. It is common in Germany and some Norwegian recipes. But regardless of whether it should mature or not, ginger bread dough can often go long without spoiling. This is because it has a high fat and sugar content, and while sugar *is* food for microorganisms they also need water to live at all. It’s the same reason dried meat keeps so well. The food is there, but not the water.

I can’t say for certain that the spices don’t have anything to do with it, but I don’t think the honey has. It would be too diluted.

When foods mature it is generally for a couple of reasons: harsh flavors mellow out because certain aromatic compounds escape. The flavors may also meld and disperse more evenly. There is some microbial activity which creates new aromatic compounds. A lot of microbial activity can spoil the food, but a little bit is completely safe and healthy and gives great flavor.