The marriage maker

In the 18th century, peperkoek got an intriguing name: hylickmaker. A recipe published in the De Volmaakte Hollandse Keuken-meid (The Perfect Dutch Kitchenmaid) contains flour, brown sugar, honey, cloves, nutmeg and cinnamon in equal measure, candied citron, dried orange peel and potash. Potash is an old-style leavening agent made by burning the wood from oak and beech, dissolving the ash in water, and evaporating the filtered solution until you get a soluble salt that gives bakes a rise when it comes in contact with an acid. Potash consists of potassium carbonate and potassium salts such as potassium chloride and potassium sulphate. While some chemists will still sell potash or potassium, sodium bicarbonate (bicarbonate of soda or baking soda) can be used instead. Baking powder, on the other hand, cannot be used as the dough has to rest.