{"product_id":"forever-stamps-2013-gingerbread-houses-holiday-celebration-first-class-postage","title":"Gingerbread Houses 2013 Forever Stamps — Block of Four, Holiday Issue","description":"\u003ch2\u003eIssue facts\u003c\/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eIssue Date: November 6, 2013\u003cbr\u003eCity: New York, NY\u003cbr\u003ePrinted by: Banknote Corporation of America\u003cbr\u003ePrinting Method: Offset\u003cbr\u003ePerforations: Serpentine Die Cut 11\u003cbr\u003eColor: Multicolored\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch2\u003eThe set\u003c\/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eOne of a block of four issued for the 2013 holiday season. The houses were not photographed from stock — designers built them specifically for these stamps.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch2\u003eWhere gingerbread comes from\u003c\/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe word traces to \u003cem\u003egingerbras\u003c\/em\u003e, borrowed from thirteenth-century France, meaning preserved ginger. Before refrigeration, cooks added the spice to dishes partly to cover the smell of meat that had turned. By the following century the term had become gingerbread.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eOne of the earliest known recipes, from the 15th century, called for boiling breadcrumbs in honey, spicing the mixture and pressing it into carved wooden molds. English bakers of the 16th century swapped the breadcrumbs for flour and added eggs and sugar. Queen Elizabeth I, who took dessert seriously, is credited with the first gingerbread man.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch2\u003eRegional variations\u003c\/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eCandy-decorated houses became a holiday fixture soon after. Recipes still differ widely: wine, brandy or ale in some countries; candied citrus peel, pepper or anise in place of ginger in others; honey or molasses instead of sugar. The medieval version and the American one share a name and not much else.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Forever Stamp Center","offers":[{"title":"100 Stamps (5 Books)","offer_id":47100625879239,"sku":"ST13-A1-5","price":19.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true},{"title":"300 Stamps (15 Books)","offer_id":47100625912007,"sku":"ST13-A1-15","price":54.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true},{"title":"500 Stamps (25 Books)","offer_id":47100625944775,"sku":"ST13-A1-25","price":89.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true},{"title":"1000 Stamps (50 Books)","offer_id":47100625977543,"sku":"ST13-A1-50","price":149.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true},{"title":"5000 Stamps (250 Books)","offer_id":47100626010311,"sku":"ST13-A1-250","price":699.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0770\/6250\/4647\/files\/1-5-1-1-800x800_c5a813d7-b4e7-487d-84c4-4bac82888bf9.jpg?v=1788603836","url":"https:\/\/www.foreverstampcenter.com\/products\/forever-stamps-2013-gingerbread-houses-holiday-celebration-first-class-postage","provider":"center","version":"1.0","type":"link"}