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

….what the…

okay, this is not a thing.

Do not “allow your gingerbread batter to ripen”.

It is not a fermentable thing. Gingerbread batter is not a lager or ale. It is not sourdough. It is not a wine. It is not kimchi. It is not sauerkraut. There are no lactic fermentation bacteria in gingerbread batter.

Ignore whoever told you this and make gingerbread the normal way.

And who the hell told you this?

This is not a thing. It’s not remotely a thing.

Whoever does this that you know? Don’t eat their food. ANY of their food. Ever.

Edit: yes, as pointed out in other comments, it’s a thing in [Lebkuchen](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lebkuchen), a traditional German Gingerbread recipe that is specific to Bavaria and other southern German regions. However, unless you specifically make a Lebkuchen-style gingerbread this is highly, HIGHLY inadvisable unless you follow specific fermentation protocols. Don’t just take your grandma’s [gingerbread](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gingerbread) recipe* and dump it in the fridge for a few months. That’s not a thing, should not be a thing, and is an invitation to food poisoning.

Chances are the person who told this to the OP had heard about Lebkuchen’s process and applied it incorrectly to gingerbread without understanding the difference between the two recipes, which brings us back to the original admonition of DO NOT FERMENT GINGERBREAD. You can age Lebkuchen all you want, but gingerbread? Oh hell no.

*unless it’s Lebkuchen and she taught you how to make it.

Second Edit: to be clear, Lebkuchen is NOT gingerbread. ***It is Lebkuchen***. You can look up Lebkuchen recipes and gingerbread recipes, and comprehend the difference between the two. Lebkuchen does not have fat or eggs in it; gingerbread has both.