Herr Johnston's Website
6th Annual Gingerbread Contest
Date of Contest, Categories, and Prizes

 Contest Rules

 Examples of Gingerbread Houses and Recipes

 Gingerbread House Scoring Guide

 Photos of Former Gingerbread Contest Winners

 A Little Gingerbread History



 Date of Contest, Categories, and Prizes
On December 11, 2006, Herr Johnston will sponsor the 6th Annual Gingerbread Contest. Any student enrolled at Glencoe High School or any Hillsboro School District middle school is eligible to participate in the contest. The winner(s) of the contest will receive five German large chocolate bars of your choice.



Contest Rules
These are the rules for the Glencoe German Gingerbread Contest.

1. The contest is open to any student at Glencoe High School or any of the Hillsboro middle schools.

2. Contestants may submit entries either individually, as a pair, or as a group. More than one entry     may be submitted.

3. All entries must be made entirely of gingerbread. Contestants may use the recipe which appears on     a links provided with this contest, or may use a recipe of their choice. Contestants may use pre-    baked gingerbread.

4. All entries must be submitted on a thick and sturdy cardboard, wooden, or plastic base. There is no     standard size or shape for the base. However, it must be larger than the house.

5. All entries must be decorated with candy or other edible embellishments. Anything that apears on     the house must be edible.

6. Contestants may embellish their entry with non-edible figures, material, etc. However, these     embellishments may not be connected to the house in any way. Everything that appears on, or is     connected to the house must be edible. Again, creativity is encouraged.

7. All entries are due by 4:00 PM on Monday, December 11, 2006. The winner will be selected on     the following day, December 12, 2006.

8. Submissions are to be delivered to the German room (room 222) and picked up by 3:30 PM on     Friday, December 15, 2006. All entries, not picked up by 3:30 PM, will be given away or eaten by     Herr Johnston.

If you have any questions, please email me at johnstj@hsd.k12.or.us



Examples of Gingerbread Houses and Recipes
Recipes and tips on how to build and preserve your gingerbread house (E): Gingerbread Lane
Links to other gingerbread sites (E): Gingerbread Lane
Gingerbread Recipe (E): Dinner Coop
Gingerbread Recipe (E): homecookingabout.com
Gingerbread Recipe and Patterns (E): Dolores' Gingerbread House



Gingerbread House Scoring Guide
Creativity
3 - The project is extremely creative. A unique twist on the traditional Hansel and Gretel cottage.      Features creative additions, separate buildings, etc. Creative use of color and/or materials beyond      the unexpected.

2 - The project shows some creativity in theme and design. Creative touches in color and materials.

1 - Plain, old, simple gingerbread house. Little beyond the gingerbread, four walls and a roof.


Neatness
3 - The walls are neat and straight. Details are carefully placed. Shows evidence of planning. The      designer should probably be an architect. All seams are neat and fit together well.

2 - The project is reasonably straight. Some haphazard placement of details. Could be neater. Not      polished looking.

1 - The project is crooked. Appears to be a rush job. Details are uneven and not well planned. Sloppy.      Not made with care.


Variety of Materials/Details
3 - Includes many (5+) materials besides the gingerbread icing. The project is detailed more four walls      and a roof. It contains such things as shutters, doors, window frames, door knobs, shingles      and such. Roof is pitched.

2 - The project is just a step beyond four walls and a roof. Minimal detail (2-3)

1 - Just a basic house. Little or no decoration. Roof is flat.


Use Of Color
3 - The project incorporates many colors (4+). The colors complement the overall design. Dazzling.

2 - Few colors are used (2-4). Some evidence of a plan, but not striking.

1 - Little or no color other than the project itself.


Setting
3 - The landscaping complements the overall design. There is sufficient detail (3+) in the setting to      create a “finished” effect—things such as trees, bushes, fences, walkway. All surfaces are neatly      decorated and landscaped.

2 - Some detail (1-2), but the effect is not “finished.” Some surfaces decorated.

1 - Just the project. No landscaping or extra details.


Durability
3 - The project stands on its own. The roof is not sagging. The materials are durable. Will probably      last through Christmas and beyond. All details stay firmly in place. Solid and sturdy.

2 - Project is wobbly. Details are loose and won’t stay in place.

1 - The project will not stand on its own. Could not get insurance at any price!


Overall Effect
3 - The project has a polished, professional look. Very pleasant to look at. All details work together      to create a well carried out them. Looks like a professional created it.

2 - The project is adequate, but goes little beyond the basics.

1 - Appears to be a “I had to turn something in and started it at 9:00pm the night before” project.      Probably not going to be looked at twice. Not sure whether to laugh or to cry.



 Photos of Gingerbread Contest Winners
December 2005



 A Little Gingerbread History
Here is a little gingerbread history:

The gingerbread house, immortalized in the Grimm's fairy tale of Hansel and Gretel and popularized in Engelbert Humperdink's Christmas Opera of the same name, has become a favorite of children and adults alike.

Lebkuchen (gingerbread) is first mentioned in old German documents approximately 600 years ago, and Gingerbread on wafers appears in a 1395 Zinsbuch (rent-roll) of Franconia. The name "Lebkuchen," in the Middle Ages called "Lebekouche", possibly stems from the middle high German "lebbe" = sweet or the name "leb" may have been derived from the Latin word "libum which means "Fladen" or cake. As do the wafers, used for the host during services, honey cakes and wafer gingerbread most likely originated in the monasteries. The wafer, consisting of flour and starch is edible, and has a natural taste. It holds together the Lebkuchen mass, which contains very little flour to bind it (E. Otto Schmidt).

To make the many candles they needed in the monasteries, the brothers cultivated fruit trees and kept bees for the wax. By spreading the dough, made with honey, on wafers, they produced a nourishing and healthy food. It served well on journeys and was brought to the infirm and the sick.

Gingerbread soon became a favorite outside the monasteries. Toward the end of the Middle Ages, Nuremberg was an important international trade center; so there was no shortage of the required raw materials needed for the ever more popular gingerbread, e.g. candied fruits, hazelnuts and spices. Honey, also indispensable, was obtained from the "Reichswald," a huge forest, circling the town. The "Lebküchner," producers of spiced honey cookies, began to organize their own guild of "Wachszieher und Lebzelter" (candlemaker and gingerbread baker). They made beautiful decorated candles and many varieties of gingerbread known as "Honigkuchen, Pfefferkuchen, Lebkuchen, Pfefferzelten, Lebzelten," and "Pfeffernüsse." Thus Nuremberg became the famous "Lebkuchen" (gingerbread) town as their gingerbread found fanciers all over Europe.

There are many regional variations. In Austria and Bavaria they are called "Zelten," a Germanic word that means "flat cake." Achener specialities are Mandel-Lebkuchen (smaller than those from Nuremberg, and then there are Nuss-Saftprinten, Mandel-Printen, Honig-Saftprinten, Saftprinten, Dominosteine, Nuss-Spitzkuchen, Dessert-Spitzkuchen, called Spitzkuchen because they have three corners (Spitzen).

Gingerbread hearts are offered year round at German fairs and festivals. Hung with a string around ones neck they declare "I Love You" (Ich liebe Dich) or something similar. To this day "Lebkuchen" are exported from Nuremberg to the U.S. especially for the Christmas Season. The taste for them has spread beyond persons of German origin. This is also true for many other baked German goods.