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

I did a little reading about this, because I’ve not heard of it.

The main thing stopping it going bad appears to be simply that there’s a lot of sugar in the batter. For example [this recipe](https://tajemnicesmaku.pl/ciasto-na-piernik-staropolski-dojrzewajacy?lang=en) uses 750g honey & sugar to 1kg flour, plus a bit of milk and some eggs.

That’s enough sugar to make it hard for bacteria to grow, especially when you’re keeping it at a cool temperature. The spices may also help a little. (And it also seems like a fair dry batter – most of the liquid in that recipe is honey.) [Someone’s experiments](https://www.sambilton.com/maturing-gingerbread-pt1/) suggest there can be a bit of fermentation going on but just enough to add a little flavour.