Salon International de l'Agriculture 2026

 

On Sunday I went to the annual

Salon de l’Agriculture.

Desperately Seeking Gingerbread - Strasbourg

I grew up eating gingerbread men, women, pigs, cats, dogs for Christmas. The rest of the year I got by on gingersnaps.

Naturally you would think Strasbourg in Alsace would be loaded with gingerbread.

You would be very wrong.

Strasbourgundians (I made that word up) are overly fond of anything pain d'épice - a kind of honey spice bread and very soft to boot. 

Bonjour tristesse.

So many festive boulangeries in Strasbourg

Filled to the brim with kuglehopf and other local specialties. And I do mean filled.

Certainly they have the right cookie cutters to make a decent gingerbread man or dog.

These must be from the US since they bear the word 'GINGERBREAD'

They have the essential spices too, but they choose to put them into their steaming pots of mulled wine only. Why is this? Should I move to Strasbourg and open my own gingerbread shop?

I was certain peeking in the window that these were hard, crisp gingerbread. They were not ;(

Pain d'epice usually comes in giant loaves. Franchement I think it a bit unfair to deceive innocents like myself making pain d'epice into santa men shapes. Don't you?

People who live in gingerbread-style houses

Should eat gingerbread! There oughtta be a law. Humph

I was drawn to the creme de la creme of patisseries in Strasbourg, Thierry Mulhaupt

I was drawn to his beautiful passion fruit and citron tartes, but no gingerbread.

I did of course get a small passion fruit tarte for research purposes natch. Yum yum

This patient medieval doggie in the Musee de l'Oeuvre Notre-Dame looks like he's waiting for a gingersnap in my opinion.

This rather downcast medieval doggie looks like he didn't get his gingersnap.

I mean do these soft, puffy cakes look tasty to you? Be honest. Where's the crunch? Where's the snap?

OK. Clearly this is a Noodle lady in traditional dress. No one is fooled here.

In the end I did get a gingerbread woman of sorts...

Perhaps the December Paris map is a subliminal homage to the missing gingerbread in my life..

I did hear recently of an American making real gingerbread cookies in the 3rd. I will investigate further and report back Parisbreakfast fans. Fingers crossed.