Elisenlebkuchen & their shelf life

Most people probably associate gingerbread with Advent, Christmas, mulled wine, etc. Some people enjoy these juicy baked goods from late summer onwards, as soon as the first Elisenlebkuchen make it onto the supermarket shelves. Either way, gingerbread delights us for a few months every year.

But how long do they actually last? Good question! Lebkuchen have an average shelf life of about 3-4 months. Proper storage of these little treasures is crucial. Here you can find out how to store Lebkuchen properly and tricks for making hard Lebkuchen soft again.

Our Elisenlebkuchen will be soft and juicy for at least 4 months from the time of production, which is the “best before” date printed on the tin/foil. However, we have tasted the Elisen we kept unopened in the foil, and found they were still soft and delicious long after this date! You'll also find some tips on how to get hard Elisenlebkuchen soft again in our Journal.

Elisenlebkuchen taste best, of course, when they're fresh. That’s why our small bakeries only start baking Lebkuchen for you from the beginning of October. As we always bake on Mondays, your Lebkuchen delivery is always fresh.

Lebkuchen should always be stored away from air and light to prevent them from drying out or getting too warm. It’s best to keep them in a cool, dark place at around 16–18°C or in your fridge.

Once you’ve opened the packaging of your Elisen, you can protect the remaining ones from drying out by sealing the packaging tightly again, for example with a clip or a rubber band.

We package our Elisen in organic foil made from renewable resources. This foil has a high barrier density, which means that the moisture contained in the Elisen can hardly escape. As long as the foil remains sealed, the Elisen will stay fresh and moist until their best-before date. However, if you don’t seal the packet properly or leave it completely open, the moisture will escape and the Lebkuchen will dry out and go hard.

If your Elisen have gotten too hard, it’s because they have lost moisture. So, it simply needs to absorb some moisture again to regain its softness. We’ve listed two foolproof methods for this, approved by the Pfeffer & Frost team:

Place your Elisenlebkuchen in a sealable container along with a few slices of fresh bread or half an apple. After a few days, your gingerbread will be soft and moist again. It’s important to change the apple or bread slices every two days to prevent anything from going mouldy.

And if you’re in a real hurry, simply dip them in your coffee, tea or hot chocolate and they’ll be nice and soft again – and you’ll have the perfect snack for your coffee or tea time.